Accessibility: 
Geographic coordinates: 41° 15' 48" N 72° 20' 34" W
Nearest town: Old Saybrook. Located at the end of a stone breakwater on the west side of the mouth of the Connecticut River.
Established: 1886. Present lighthouse built: 1886. Automated: 1959.
Height of tower: 49 feet. Height of focal plane: 58 feet.
Previous optic: Fourth-order Fresnel lens. Present optic: 300 mm.
Characteristic: Green flash every 6 seconds.
Fog signal: One blast every 30 seconds.
Two stone breakwaters were built at the mouth of the Connecticut River in the 1870s, and a channel was dredged between them. It was decided that a lighthouse was needed at the end of the west breakwater, so Congress appropriated $38,000 for that purpose. The cast-iron sparkplug-type lighthouse was completed in 1886.
Living quarters were inside the tower. The walk to shore across the breakwater was often dangerous, especially in winter, so the keepers generally traveled by boat. The first keeper, Frank Parmele, lasted only four years, and turnover was frequent.
In May 1896, the New York Times reported that Keeper John D. Skip-worth had sighted a “monstrous sea serpent sporting on the surface of the Sound.” Skipworth said the monster was 300 feet in length and that it spouted water from its head like a whale. He may have been trying to top the 1886 sea serpent sighting by Keeper Theed “Crazy” Judson down the coast at Stratford Point.
Sidney Gross was principal keeper at the time of the great hurricane of September 21, 1938. Gross and an assistant keeper were trapped in the lighthouse as the tide rose. Oil and gasoline tanks and a walkway to the breakwater were carried away, as were the station’s boat and the platform that encircled the tower.
By 6:00 p.m., the seas crashed through a second story window, flooding the tower. “I certainly did not expect to see another sunrise,” Gross wrote in his log. When daylight came and the seas subsided, the keepers surveyed the wreckage and realized how lucky they were. About 700 people died in the storm along the New England coast, including seven at light stations.
Fascinating Fact 
Actress Katherine Hepburn lived for many years in a house neighboring this lighthouse.
The lighthouse is in a private community, and the best views are from the water. Captain John’s Sport Fishing Fleet (860-443-7259, www.sunbeamfleet.com) in Waterford includes it in their periodic lighthouse cruises. Connecticut River Expeditions (860-662-0577, www.ctriverexpeditions.org), with cruises leaving from Essex, also provides a viewing opportunity on their South Sunset Cruise.
