Tongue Point Lighthouse

Year Built

1895

Cost

$4,500

Type

Conical tower with balcony and lantern

Height

31 feet

Location

Bridgeport Harbor

Automated Year

1954

First Lit

1895

Lens Type

Sixth order Fresnel lens (original), 155 mm lens (current)

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

1966

Color

Black tower and lantern

Last Keeper - Date

Flora McNeil (1904 – 1919)

Description

The lighthouse is on the grounds of a power plant and cannot be visited, but it can be seen distantly from some points on shore.

Brief History

•  The Bridgeport Breakwater Light is also known as Tongue Point Light and/or Bug Light.
•  On March 1, 1895, the sixth-order Fresnel lens in the lighthouse was lighted for the first time, replacing a temporary lantern that had been in use since the beginning of the previous year.
•  In 1897, with the advent of electricity, a new invention was tested at the lighthouse – an electric gong fog signal.
•  In 1967, the Coast Guard planned to remove the lighthouse but local boaters protested.
•  In 1990 Tongue Point Light was added to the National Register of Historic Places.