Bridgeport Harbor

Year Built

1871 (original) - 1953 (current)

Cost

$3,500

Type

Octagonal tower atop keeper's house (original) - Square skeletal tower with light (current)

Height

52 feet (current)

Location

Fairfield County

Automated Year

N/A

First Lit

1871 (original)

Lens Type

Fourth-order Fresnel lens (original)

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

1953

Color

White (tower), gray (roof), black (lantern) (original)

Last Keeper - Date

John Chilly (1946 – at least 1950)

Description

1953, The 102-year-old Bridgeport Harbor lighthouse was destroyed accidentally by fire as it was being dismantled by workmen.

Brief History

•  1867, Lower part of structure, which had been corroded, repaired; fenders, bolts, renewed. Damage to lantern by vessel running into it, repaired, and the whole beacon repainted.
•  1871, The rebuilding of this beacon was authorized by the appropriation of July 15,1870.
•  In 1898, Under authority of the Secretary of the Treasury, dated April 7,1898, a battery of two 10-inch guns was placed on the light-house foundation by the War Department.
•  On June 25, 1922, Daniel F. McCoart, keeper of Bridgeport Harbor Light Station, Conn., rescued the occupants of a motor boat which had struck a submerged foundation, tearing a hole in the bottom.
•  1953, The Bridgeport Harbor Lighthouse was dismantled in 1953, and a skeletal tower was erected in its place.