Bridgeport Harbor Lighthouse

July 16, 2019
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Bridgeport Harbor Lighthouse, Connecticut

BRIDGEPORT HARBOR LIGHT

Location: West side of Bridgeport Harbor entrance and north side of Long Island Sound, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Station Established: 1851
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1871
Operational: NO
Automated: N/A
Deactivated: 1953
Foundation Materials: IRON SCREW PILES
Construction Materials: WOOD
Tower Shape: OCTAGONAL
Markings/Pattern:
Relationship to Other Structure: INTEGRAL
Characteristic: Red
Original Lens: SIXTH ORDER

Historical Information: 

  • An original lighthouse was built at this sight in 1851. It was an octagonal tower with a fixed red light on the top of a box light structure on iron piles. There were no keeper’s quarters at the sight. The original lens was a sixth order Fresnel.
  • In 1871 a replacement light was built. It was a wooden dwelling with the tower attached to the roof. The new light had a fourth order lens.
  • The Coast Guard replaced the lighthouse with a skeletal tower in 1953. While dismantling the lighthouse, it caught fire and was destroyed.

Researched and written by Melissa Buckler, a Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Light House Society volunteer.