en Stratford Point Light

Stratford Point Light
	Stratford Point Lighthouse
Location	Stratford, Connecticut; United States
Coordinates	41°09′07.19″N 73°06′11.78″W / 41.1519972°N 73.1032722°W
Tower
Constructed	1822 (first)
Foundation	concrete
Construction	cast iron tower
Automated	1970
Height	35 ft (11 m)
Shape	conical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings	white tower with brias red band, red lantern roof
Operator	United States Coast Guard
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Light
First lit	1881 (current)
Focal height	52 ft (16 m)
Lens	First order Fresnel lens (1855); Third order Fresnel lens (1881); Fourth order Fresnel lens (1906); 190 mm lens (1990)
Range	16 nmi (30 km; 18 mi)
Characteristic	Fl (2) W 20s.
	Stratford Point Lighthouse
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Area	less than one acre
Built	1881
Architectural style	Late Victorian
MPS	Operating Lighthouses in Connecticut MPS
NRHP reference No.	89001476
Added to NRHP	May 29, 1990

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 4-acre (1.6 ha) tract at the southeastern tip of Stratford Point.

History

The first Stratford Point Lighthouse was built in 1822. In 1855 a fifth order lens was added to the 28-foot (8.5 m) wooden tower. In 1881, the tower and dwelling were razed and replaced with a 35-foot (11 m) 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.^[4]

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 – )

References

^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Connecticut". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
^ Connecticut Historic Light Station Information & Photography United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 23 June 2016
^ Stratford Point Lighthouse New England Lighthouses. Retrieved 23 June 2016
^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.

"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.