Stratford Shoal Lighthouse

Year Built

Originally built in 1837, current structure built in 1877.

Cost

$125,000

Type

Octagonal tower

Height

35 feet

Location

Long Island Sound, Fairfield County

Automated Year

1970

First Lit

1877

Lens Type

Fourth order Fresnel lens (original), VRB-25 (current)

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

Active

Color

Unpainted tower, white lantern

Last Keeper - Date

Roland W. Ludington (1970)

Description

It is an active aid to navigation and not open to the public.

Brief History

•  The sight for the Stratford Shoal Light in 1837. A lightship was stationed at the sight in 1837.
•  The original Fresnel lens was replaced in 1894 and again in 1905.
•  In 1915, Keeper Emil Usinger saved five people whose boat was adrift in a gale.
•  In 1933, Keeper Lewis J. Allen and Assistant Keeper Alfred Auger set out in their small rowboat in a winter storm to save the crew of a disabled cruiser.
•  In 2016, the lighthouse was transferred to the Korstad Marine Preservation Society under the guidelines of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act.