Great Captain Island Light
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 The light in 1935 (U.S. Coast Guard photo) |
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| Location: | Greenwich, Connecticut |
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| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
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| Foundation: | Stone |
| Construction: | Granite and Wood |
| Year first lit: | 1868 |
| Year first constructed: | 1830 |
| Deactivated: | 1970 |
| Automated: | 1970 |
| Tower shape: | Octagonal |
| Height: | 51 ft |
| Original lens: | Fourth order Fresnel lens |
| Characteristic: | alternating red and white flash every 6 s |
Great Captain Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Great Captain Island in the western Long Island Sound off the coast of Greenwich, Connecticut
[edit] History
The original Great Captain Lighthouse was built in 1829. An inspection in 1838 revealed the stone tower had been poorly constructed and the walls were already severely cracked. In 1858, a fourth order Fresnel lens was installed. In 1867, it was determined a new tower needed to be built and the new tower was completed in 1868. The original Fresnel lens was installed in the new tower.
The structure is of the same design as lighthouses at Sheffield Island in Norwalk; Morgan Point in Connecticut; Old Field Point Light and Plum Island in New York; and Block Island North in Rhode Island.[1]
In 1970, a skeleton tower replaced the light and the lighthouse fell victim to vandals. In 1973, the town of Greenwich acquired the lighthouse and had full time caretakers living in the light. The town hopes to restore the lighthouse and re-light it. In 1991 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
No public tours of the lighthouse or island are available.[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b [1]"Great Captain Island, CT" page at LighthouseFriends.com Web site, accessed August 21, 2006
[edit] External links
- History of the lighthouse
- Great Captain Island Lighthouse - from Lighthousefriends.com
- Postcard picture of the lighthouse, 1914
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