Stratford Point Light

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox lighthouse

| image = Stratfpt.jpg

| caption = Stratford Point Lighthouse

| location = Stratford, Connecticut
United States

| coordinates = {{coord|41|09|07.19|N|73|06|11.78|W|display=inline,title}}

| yearbuilt = 1822 (first)

| yearlit = 1881 (current)

| automated = 1970

| yeardeactivated =

| foundation = concrete

| construction = cast iron tower

| shape = conical tower with balcony and lantern

| marking = white tower with brias red band, red lantern roof

| height = {{convert|35|ft|abbr=on}}

| focalheight = {{convert|52|ft|abbr=on}}

| currentlens =

| lens = First order Fresnel lens (1855)
Third order Fresnel lens (1881)
Fourth order Fresnel lens (1906)
190 mm lens (1990)[http://www.newenglandlighthouses.net/stratford-point.html Stratford Point Lighthouse] New England Lighthouses. Retrieved 23 June 2016

| range =

| characteristic = Fl (2) W 20s.

| managingagent = United States Coast Guard{{Cite rowlett|ct|accessdate=2016-06-23}}

[http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHCT.asp Connecticut Historic Light Station Information & Photography] United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 23 June 2016

| module = {{Infobox NRHP|embed=yes

| name = Stratford Point Lighthouse

| nrhp_type =

| image =

| built = {{Start date|1881}}

| architecture = Late Victorian

| added = May 29, 1990

| area = less than one acre

| mpsub = [https://npgallery.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/64500080.pdf Operating Lighthouses in Connecticut MPS]

| refnum = 89001476{{NRISref|version=2013a}}

}}

}}

Stratford Point Light is a historic lighthouse in the Lordship neighborhood of Stratford, Connecticut,

United States, at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The second tower was one of the first prefabricated cylindrical lighthouses in the country and remains active.

It sits on a {{convert|4|acre|adj=on}} tract at the southeastern tip of Stratford Point.

History

Image:StratfordPointLighthouse1908Postcard.jpg

The first Stratford Point Lighthouse was built in 1822. In 1855 a fifth order lens was added to the {{convert|28|ft|adj=on}} wooden tower. In 1881, the tower and dwelling were razed and replaced with a {{convert|35|ft|adj=on}} tall, brick lined cast-iron tower and equipped with a third order Fresnel lens. The light was automated in 1970 with a modern beacon. It is an active aid to navigation and is used for Coast Guard housing.

The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Head keepers

  • Samuel Buddington (1822 – 1843)
  • William Merwin (1843 – 1844)
  • Samuel Buddington (1844 – 1848)
  • Amy Buddington (1848 – 1861)
  • Rufus Warren Buddington (1861 – 1869)
  • Benedict Lillingston (1869 – 1874)
  • John L. Brush (1874 – 1879)
  • Jerome B. Tuttle (1879 – 1880)
  • Theodore Judson (1880 – 1919)
  • William F. Petzolt (1919 – 1946)
  • Daniel F. McCoart (1946 – 1963)
  • Richard L. Fox (1963 – )

See also

References

{{reflist}}

  • "Lights & Legends, A Historical Guide to Lighthouses of Long Island Sound, Fishers Island Sound, and Block Island Sound", Harlan Hamilton, Westcott Publishing Company, 1987.
  • "Northeast Lights: Lighthouses and Lightships, Rhode Island to Cape Mary, New Jersey", Robert G. Bachand, Sea Sports Publications, 1989.
  • "Lighthouses of Southern New England: Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, A Pictorial Guide", Courtney Thompson, CatNap Publications, 2002.