Bridgeport Harbor Light

Current light

Location	Fairfield County, Connecticut, US
Coordinates	41°09′24″N 73°10′48″W / 41.1567°N 73.18°W / 41.1567; -73.18
Tower
Constructed	1953
Construction	concrete (foundation), metal (tower)
Height	52 ft (16 m)
Shape	square skeletal tower with light[1][2]
Markings	square (green)
Power source	solar power
Operator	United States Coast Guard
Light
Focal height	57 ft (17 m)
Characteristic	Q G
1871 light
Early picture postcard of the lighthouse
Constructed	1871
Construction	lumber (tower)
Shape	octagonal tower atop keeper's house
Markings	white (tower), grey (roof), black (lantern)
First lit	November 1871
Deactivated	1953
Characteristic	F R
1851 light
Constructed	1851
Foundation	iron screw piles base
Construction	lumber (tower)
Shape	octagon
Deactivated	1871
Characteristic	F R

The Bridgeport Harbor Light, later the Bridgeport Harbor Lighthouse, was a lighthouse in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. It is located on the west side of the Bridgeport Harbor entrance and the north side of Long Island Sound. Originally constructed in 1851 and rebuilt in 1871 with a dwelling, it had a red-fixed light throughout its service life. The builder and first keeper of the light was Abraham A. McNeil who is also credited as improvising the first light for the Bridgeport Harbor in 1844. By 1953, the lighthouse was in poor condition and the United States Coast Guard opted to build a skeleton tower in its place. In the 2014 edition of the Light List Volume 1, the skeleton tower is marked as "Light 13A" with a height of 57 feet (17 m) and a visual marker of a square green dayboard with a green reflective border. The lighthouse was sold and an attempt was made to move it to serve as a monument for Connecticut's maritime history, but it was later decided to scrap the structure. The lighthouse caught fire and was destroyed during the dismantling in 1953.

1851 light

According to Waldo's History of Bridgeport and Vicinity, Volume 1, Abraham A. McNeil first set a light atop a mast to mark the Bridgeport Harbor in 1844.^[3] The next day Captain John Brooks Jr. set up his own improvised light with another boat.^[3] Constructed in 1851, the first Bridgeport Harbor Light was an octagonal tower on a box-like structure stood on iron piles.^[4] The exact details of its construction are not recorded and there is no complete description, but it is known to have had a fixed red light.^[4] Waldo identifies Abraham A. McNeil as the builder of the light.^[3] The light had no keeper's quarters and was only accessible by boat.^[4] By 1870, a new lighthouse was needed, partly because of the increased maritime traffic.^[4]

1871 lighthouse

Completed in 1871, the rebuilt light had a dwelling with the attached tower containing a fourth-order Fresnel lens.^[4] It retained the original fixed red light, but also included a fog bell.^[4] In 1900, the lighthouse was identified in the Light List as having a red screw-pile structure, a white tower and dwelling with a slate-gray Mansard roof topped with a black lantern.^[5] The lighthouse had a fog signal that sounded every 15 seconds and was operated by machinery.^[5] Although the focal height of the light is unlisted, the center of the light stood 34 ft (10 m) above the ground.^[5]

In 1873, a request for $5,500, equivalent to $134,000 in 2022 was submitted to Congress for the "additional protection" of the "screw-pile light house".^[6] During the first session of the 43rd Congress, the $5,500 was appropriated for the lighthouse.^[7] In 1898, during the Spanish–American War the lighthouse was equipped with 10-inch guns to ward off enemy attacks, making it one of the few armed American lighthouses in history.^[8][9] These guns never saw action as there was no attack on the coast.^[8] In 1920, $5925 was estimated to be needed for riprap protection.^[10]

By 1953, the lighthouse was in poor condition and the U.S. Coast Guard opted to replace it with a skeleton tower.^[4] The lighthouse was sold to the Fairfield Dock Company, which initially planned to move it ashore, but it was later decided to dismantle and scrap it.^[4] A plan existed to move the lighthouse ashore to a city park as a monument to Connecticut's maritime heritage, but the location could not be agreed upon.^{[4][8][note 1]}

Skeleton tower

The skeleton tower constructed from 1953 continues to serve Bridgeport Harbor. In the 2014 edition of the Light List Volume 1, the skeleton tower is marked as "Light 13A" with a height of 57 feet (17 m) and a visual marker of a square green dayboard with a green reflective border.^[11]

List of keepers

See also

• List of lighthouses in the United States
• List of lighthouses in Connecticut
• History of Bridgeport, Connecticut
• Tongue Point Light marks the western side between the inner and outer harbor areas of Bridgeport Harbor.
• Black Rock Harbor Light marks the entrance to the Black Rock Harbor just to the west of Bridgeport Harbor.

Notes

• Page 166 of The Field Guide to Lighthouses of the New England Coast: 150 Destinations in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut misidentifies a photo of the Tongue Point Light as the Bridgeport Harbor Light.^[15]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bridgeport Harbor Lighthouse.

• "Bridgeport Harbor Lighthouse, Bridgeport, Connecticut". New England Lighthouses. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
• Picture of the third Light
• Picture of the current Light

This page was last edited on 12 January 2023, at 20:26