Stonington Harbor Light facts for kids

The Stonington Harbor Light is a very old lighthouse built in 1840. You can find it on the east side of Stonington Harbor in Stonington, Connecticut. This lighthouse is a great example of how lighthouses were built in the mid-1800s. It stopped being used as a light in 1889. Since 1925, the building has been a museum for the Stonington Historical Society. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 because of its importance.

A Look at the Stonington Lighthouse

The Stonington Harbor Light stands at the very end of Stonington Point. It helped ships find their way into Stonington Harbor. The lighthouse has two main parts: the tall tower and the keeper's house. Both are made from large, strong granite blocks. The keeper's house also has a wooden part attached to it.

How the Lighthouse Was Built

The tower is shaped like an octagon, which means it has eight sides. It is about 35 feet (11 m) tall and 10 feet (3.0 m) wide. On top of the tower is a round glass room called the lantern house. This is where the light used to shine from. The keeper's house is about 1½ stories tall and measures about 30 feet (9.1 m) by 30 feet (9.1 m).

From Light to Museum

Before this lighthouse, the government built another one in Stonington Harbor in 1823. It was on Windmill Point. But the land there started to wash away because of erosion. So, that first lighthouse was taken down. Its stone blocks were then used to build the Stonington Harbor Light we see today.

When it was first built, the light used an oil lamp. It also had eight special mirrors called parabolic reflectors. These mirrors helped to make the light brighter and send it out over the water. However, this technology was already a bit old-fashioned. So, in 1856, a new, more powerful lens was installed. This was a sixth-order Fresnel lens, which was much better at sending light far away.

In the 1880s, a new lighthouse was built further out in the harbor. It was called the Stonington Breakwater Light. Because of this new light, the Stonington Harbor Light was no longer needed. It was officially stopped from being used in 1889.

Today, the Stonington Historical Society owns the site. They use the building as The Old Lighthouse Museum. Inside the museum, you can learn all about the area's long history. There are exhibits about sailing and the local culture. You can even see the original 1856 Fresnel lens that once lit up the harbor!

See also

• List of lighthouses in Connecticut
• List of lighthouses in the United States
• National Register of Historic Places listings in New London County, Connecticut