Stratford Shoal Light

Stratford Shoal Light, officially Stratford Shoal (Middle Ground) Light, is a lighthouse on a shoal in the middle of Long Island Sound approximately halfway between Port Jefferson, New York and Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Stratford Shoal Light
Middle Ground
Stratford Shoal Light in 1997
Connecticut
LocationLong Island Sound
Fairfield County
Connecticut
United States
Coordinates41°3′35.3″N 73°6′4.7″W
Year first constructed1837 (lightship)
Year first lit1877 (first tower, still active)
Automated1970
Foundationgranite ashlar caisson
Constructiongranite tower
Tower shapeoctagonal tower
Markings / patternunpainted tower, white lantern
Tower height35 feet (11 m)
Focal height60 feet (18 m)
Original lensFourth order Fresnel lens
Current lensVRB-25
Range13 nautical miles (24 km; 15 mi)
CharacteristicFl W 5s.
Fog signal2s. blast every 15s.
RaconY 
Admiralty numberJ0812
ARLHS numberUSA-1010
USCG number1-21260
Managing agentUnited States Coast Guard[1][2][3][4]
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Stratford Shoal Lighthouse
Nearest cityStratford, Connecticut
Arealess than one acre
Built1878
ArchitectHowell, D.V.
MPSOperating Lighthouses in Connecticut MPS
NRHP reference No.89001477[5]
Added to NRHPMay 29, 1990

Location

The Stratford Shoal Light is located roughly midway between New York and Connecticut (hence its alternate name Middleground or Middle Ground Light), 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) from Old Field Point Light in New York and 5.5 nautical miles (10.2 km; 6.3 mi) from Stratford Point Light in Connecticut.[6] There was some debate about whether the lighthouse is New York or Connecticut. It was originally the state of New York, not Connecticut, which ceded the area on which the lighthouse is located to the federal government,[7] but most modern official maps place it within Connecticut's side of Long Island Sound by about 1,000 feet (300 m).[8]

The lighthouse is located on Stratford (or Middleground) Shoal which is a little over a mile in diameter and as little as nine feet below mean lower low water.[6] The shoal has been identified as a danger to navigation for centuries.

History

Adriaen Block, the first European to explore Long Island Sound, identified two low islands at the site of current Stratford Shoal during his 1614 voyage. These islands were eroded below the surface of the water within 100[7] or 200 years.[9] The shoal was first marked for navigation in 1820 by a pair of spar buoys placed on its north and south ends.[7] In 1831, Congress appropriated $1,000 to erect a warning beacon on the shoal, but no further action was taken on the project.[10] The beacon was to have had the shape of an iron spindle.[7]

Lightship LV-15

Congress next appropriated $10,000 for the construction of a "floating light for Middle Ground, Long Island Sound".[11] Built in Norfolk, Virginia 1837, the lightship constructed was 73 feet (22 m) long and weighed 100 tons. It carried a lantern on each of its two masts, plus a hand-operated bell and a foghorn as fog signals. The lightship was anchored off the southeastern edge of Stratford Shoal on January 12, 1838;[11] just eight days later, it drifted off its station.[7] The lightship would display a chronic inability to hold its station in future years, even after its single anchor chain was supplemented with second and third anchors. It was dragged from its station by ice more than half a dozen times, most notably in 1875 when it ran aground at Orient Point, and in 1876 when it drifted to Faulkner Island.[7]

When standard hull numbers were assigned to lightships in 1867, the Stratford Shoals lightship was named LV-15; previously it had been known as "Middle Ground floating light", "Stratford Shoal Light Vessel," or "Stratford Point Light Vessel".

Lighthouse

The Stratford Shoal lighthouse was completed in 1877 to replace the lightship. The lighthouse was constructed on a small, man-made island (on the spot of two former natural islands that were washed over by the sea). Originally, lighthouse keepers were utilized to maintain the facility. The lighthouse was automated in 1970 and is currently an active aid to navigation.[12]

It has historical significance as an example of the masonry lighthouse design used in waterbound U.S. lighthouses immediately before the use of sparkplug lighthouses. It is similar to some Hudson River lighthouses, and "embodies the enormous cost and heroic effort required to put these designs in place in the treacherous waters of Long Island Sound."[13]:6

Yacht Racing

Several local yacht clubs located on Long Island Sound use the lighthouse as a midpoint or rounding marker for races all called the Stratford Shoals Race. One annual regatta dating back to 1931 organized by Riverside Yacht Club continues to this day; while others are more recent including 2018 races by Lloyd Harbor YC, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, and the New York Athletic Club.

Head keepers
  • William McGloin 1877 – 1880
  • James G. Scott 1880 – 1885
  • Ezra S. Mott 1885 – 1888
  • Elisha E. Davis 1888 – 1893
  • Richard E. Ray 1894 – 1900
  • Herman Burke 1900 – 1901
  • Gilbert L. Rulon 1901 – 1910
  • Alfred Nelsen 1910 – 1913
  • Emil M. Usinger 1915
  • Victor Larson 1917
  • Colby H. Crandall 1919
  • Henry R. McCarthy 1921 – 1922
  • Lewis J. Allen 1930 – 1940
  • Harry C. Buede 1955 – 1962[14]
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See also

References
  1. Stratford Shoal (Middle Ground) The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 24 June 2016
  2. Connecticut Historic Light Station Information & Photography United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 24 June 2016
  3. Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 190.
  4. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Connecticut". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-19.
  5. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  6. "Chart: North Shore of Long Island Sound: Stratford to Sherwood Point, 1/20,000". 12369. NOAA. 2005. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. "Stratford Shoal Lighthouse, Connecticut at Lighthousefriends.com". www.lighthousefriends.com. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  8. USGS topo quad for cited location available by clicking on the Coordinates in the title bar and going to GPS Visualizer - USGS Topo
  9. "Stratford Shoal Lighthouse History". www.lighthouse.cc. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  10. Adams, Virginia H.; Kierstead, Matthew A. (June 1997). "Stratford Shoal Lighthouse HAER No. CT-173" (PDF). lcweb2.loc.gov. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  11. "USCG: Lightships". www.uscg.mil. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  12. "Inventory of Historic Light Stations--Connecticut Lighthouses--Stratford Shoal Light". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  13. Dorothy B. Templeton (October 22, 1985). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Stratford Shoal Lighthouse". National Park Service. and Accompanying eight photos, exterior and interior, from 1989
  14. Lighthouse friends
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