Year first lit 1801 (current) Construction brownstone tower Opened 1760 Automated 1912 | Foundation surface rock Height 27 m Range 27,780 m Year first constructed 1760 (first) | |
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Location New LondonConnecticutUnited States Tower shape tapered octagonal prism tower with balcony and lantern Markings / pattern white tower, black lantern Similar New London Ledge Li, New London Customhouse, Stonington Harbor Light, Fort Trumbull, Ocean Beach Park | ||
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, with its "white, octagonal pyramidal tower [reaching] 90 feet above ground and 89 feet above water."
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Map of New London Harbor Lighthouse, Pequot Ave, New London, CT 06320, USA
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.
History
The original New London Harbor Lighthouse was built on the west side of the entrance to New London Harbor in 1760, 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.
On May 7, 1800, Congress appropriated funds to rebuild the lighthouse. 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.