Stratford Point

Type:
Year Established:
1822
Existing:
Yes
Source:
LL-1908
Stratford Point
Download:
File Type:
jpeg (image/jpeg)
Photo Date:
2009
Photo Credit:
Skip Sherwood
Photo Courtesy of:
US Lighthouse Society
Collection / Donor:

LOCATION

Location:
LONG ISLAND SOUND/HOUSATONIC RIVER
Latitude:
41° 9.1'
Longitude:
73° 6.2'
City / Town:
STRATFORD
U.S. State:
Connecticut
Location County:
FAIRFIELD
Country:
United States

OWNER & ACCESS

Open to Public:
No
Light List Data:
  1. Stratford Point
Light list data courtesy Gary Riemenschneider

STRUCTURE

Year Tower Established:
1881
Tower Construction Material:
CAST IRON/BRICK LINING
Tower Foundation:
CONCRETE
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
52 feet above water
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern:
35 feet
Tower Shape:
CONICAL
Tower Daymark:
Red and White
Fog Signal Building?:
Yes
Year Fog Signal Building Constructed:
1911
Fog Signal Bldg Construction Materials:
BRICK
Keeper's Quarters?:
Yes
Year Keeper's Quarters:
1881
Keeper's Quarters Style:
CARPENTER GOTHIC
Keeper's Quarters Construction:
WOOD
Other Structures:
RADIOBEACON

OPTICS

Active Aid to Navigation?:
Yes
Current Optic:
190 MM
Original Optic Type:
THIRD ORDER, FRESNEL
Year Original Lens Installed:
1881
Private Aid:
No
USCG Access to Optics:
No

More Information

Documents Photographs Postcards Architectural Plans Newspaper Clippings Objects People
Comments:
  • March 3, 1821 - Congress allocates $4,000 for a light station. Four acres of land were purchased and a 28' octagonal wood lighthouse was constructed by Judson Curtis. The lighthouse wall panels are painted alternately black and white
  • First light was from 2 groups of 5 lamps with parabolic reflectors that rotated.
  • 1855 - Argand lamp upgrade with 6 lamps with reflectors, and a new clockwork
  • 1857 - Fourth order Fresnel lens installed
  • 1860 - Lens is changed to a third order Fresnel lens
  • 1874 - Fog bell suspended in a wood-frame tower
  • 1880 - Congress approves funds for new lighthouse - painted completely white
  • May 15, 1899 - daymark change with brownish horizontal stripe added
  • 1911 - Fog signal changed to compressed air siren
  • 1940's - WWII lookout room assembled atop the lantern
  • 1969 - Lantern removed for DCB-224 aerobeacons. Lantern moved to Booth Memorial Park
  • July 19, 1970 - Station is automated. USCG remain on site until 1978
  • Vandals quickly take advantage of no Coast Guard presence on site
  • 1982 - Coast Guard returns to station to prevent further vandalism
  • 1990 - DCB aerobeacon is removed for a smaller, more efficient optic. The lantern is removed from the park, restored and replaced on the lighthouse
  • 1990 - lighthouse planed on National Register of Historic Places
    • Entered by:
    t.wheeler
    Entered Date:
    Jul 20, 2017