How much to you really know about lighthouses that line our local coastlines of Mystic Connecticut . . . Avery Point Light, Latimer Reef, Morgan Point? How about the Stonington Harbor and New London Harbor Lights? Many locals, I'm sure, are much more knowledgeable than I was before I started to research lighthouses for this assignment. I've grown up hearing these names all my life - they have come to take on an almost legionary and romantic quality - but I never took the time to learn much about their history. I'll like to share with you my findings on these historic structures, the stories of the "keepers" who maintained the lights - and my newfound fascination with these wonderful time capsules of local history.
Groton Long Point, Connecticut's closest light, Morgan Point, was featured on the cover of Shore Living a few years back. It was beautifully decorated for Christmas - and as I read the article and realized that this lighthouse was in Noank, I was embarrassed to realize that I didn't recognize it! The fact that it is difficult to see from the shore mollified me a bit - but this experience may have been the start of my quest to learn about these local structures.
A bit of history: Morgan Point lighthouse was built in 1831 to help mariners enter the Mystic River and the harbor of Noank from Fishers Island Sound. (Did you know that "Noank" came from the Mohegan Indian word for "point"?) Noank was a busy port in the 19th century, and the land was purchased from Rosewell Avery Morgan, a descendant of an original settler of the area. A new lighthouse was constructed in 1868, and maintained until 1919 when it was replaced by an automatic light to the east of the lights on Crooks Ledge. At that time, Morgan Point was sold to a private party; today it is the home of the Jason Pilalas family, who restored the exterior of the lighthouse to its original appearance, and converted the interior to a private residence.
As I began to research lighthouses, one of the first new terms I learned was: the fresnel lens (pronounced: Fruh-nell). This specially designed lens, classified in order of its strength, increases the power of a light and focuses it in one direction. Technology has come a long way from the earliest lighthouses - which were simple bonfires build on hillsides to guide ships. (Research indicates that the first lights served the old world city of Alexandria in 285 BC; the first American light came to life in 1716 at Boston Harbor.) Morgan Point was updated from a tower holding ten lamps and reflectors to a sixth order Fresnel lens in 1855. (Note: the fresnel lens was refined to 11 orders, each a different size and varying degree of light capture and intensification. The smallest of these, the 6th, 7th, and 8th orders, were used for river and harbor navigation.)
As to the light's "keepers" -I assumed that all lighthouse keepers were men - but Eliza Daboll, widow of the original keeper, raised six children at Morgan Point and maintained the light for almost 20 years. Captain Silas Spicer, whose family name is well known to locals, held the job after Eliza . . . and the line of succession of Morgan Light house keepers goes on to include another widow, followed by her brother, a Civil War veteran who served 48 years a the light house. Rumors of his ghost frequenting the lighthouse still abound.
Records indicate several daring rescues at sea by the Morgan Lighthouse keepers, as well as a story about half frozen survivors of a wreck who rowed to the point. However, in 1919, this colorful bit of local history came to an end when an automatic light replaced the work of these loyal Morgan Point Light keepers, who provided 88 years of faithful service to the wayward seafarer.
Three Lights in New London Harbor
Just around the coast from Groton Long Point, Connecticut are three historic lighthouses in New London Harbor: Harbor Light, Ledge Light and Avery Point Light. One was the very first lighthouse to be constructed in Connecticut - another the last! In order to understand their place in our community heritage, we need to put them in the context of the history of colonial New England.
Because of its protected harbor at the mouth of the Thames River, New London became an important city, and by the mid 19th century, was ranked as one of America's leading whaling seaports, behind New Bedford and Nantucket. An early beacon of some kind was erected around 1750 at the harbor's entrance, but it soon became apparent that a more permanent lighthouse was needed. In 1760 the New London Harbor Light was erected; it was the first in Long Island Sound, and only the fourth lighthouse in North America.
