New London Harbor Light
 New London Harbor Light (USCG/1984) | |
  Connecticut | |
| Location | New London, Connecticut |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°19′00.0″N 72°05′23.1″W / 41.316667°N 72.089750°W |
| Year first constructed | 1760 |
| Year first lit | 1801 |
| Automated | 1912 |
| Foundation | Surface rock |
| Construction | Brownstone |
| Tower shape | Octagonal |
| Height | 89 ft (27 m) |
| Original lens | 11 lamps, 13 inch reflectors. |
| Current lens | Fourth order Fresnel lens |
| Characteristic | white light, 3 s on, 3 s off |
| Admiralty number | J0732 |
| ARLHS number | USA-541 |
| USCG number | 1-21845 |
New London Harbor Light is a lighthouse in Connecticut, United States, on the west side of the New London harbor entrance. It is the nation's fifth oldest light station and the seventh oldest U.S. lighthouse; it is both the oldest and the tallest lighthouse in Connecticut, and on Long Island Sound,[2] with its "white, octagonal pyramidal tower [reaching] 90 feet above ground and 89 feet above water."[3]
The light is visible for 15 miles and consists of three white flashes and one red flash. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. It is currently owned and maintained by the New London Maritime Society as part of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act program.[4]
History
The original New London Harbor Lighthouse was built on the west side of the entrance to New London Harbor in 1760,[5] before the United States was established as an independent nation. Following the act of 7 August 1789, the lighthouse was ceded to the United States, according to the "Memoranda of Cessions" by Connecticut.[5]
On May 7, 1800, Congress appropriated funds to rebuild the lighthouse.[5] It was removed in 1801 when the current stone tower was built. In 1855 a fourth-order Fresnel lens replaced the original 11 lamps with 13-inch (330 mm) reflectors. Illumination was converted to oil-vapor lamp in 1909 and acetylene in 1912. The light was electrified in 1930. The present keeper's house was built in 1863.[6]
See also
References
- ↑ Lossing, Benson (1868). The Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812. Harper & Brothers, Publishers. p. 694.
- ↑ Susan Hodara (15 August 2014). "Taking In the History of New London, a City Shaped by the Sea". The New York Times.
- ↑ United States Coast Guard (1972). Historically Famous Lighthouses. Washington, DC: US Coast Guard, Public Information Division. p. 10.
- ↑ http://www.theday.com/local/20150806/new-london-maritime-society-takes-over-as-new-london-ledge-light-owner
- 1 2 3 4 United States Coast Guard (1972). Historically Famous Lighthouses. Washington, DC: US Coast Guard, Public Information Division. pp. 9–10.
- ↑ "NRHP nomination for New London Harbor Light" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
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