Bridgeport, CT
47 feet tall
Built: 1823

Connecticut’s Black Rock Harbor developed as a trade port and shipbuilding center in the 18th century. In 1808, the first Fayerweather Island Lighthouse was built on the south end of the island at the entrance to the harbor.

Jeremy's Lighthouse Guide #9

The wooden tower was destroyed in an 1821 hurricane, and a new lighthouse was completed two years later. The 47-foot stone tower has survived over 180 years.

The most remarkable personality in the light’s long history was Catherine Moore. The daughter of the light's third keeper, Stephen Tomlinson Moore, Kate learned to trim the wicks and care for the light when she was 12 years old. She later described the difficulties of maintaining the early oil lamps:

"During windy nights it was impossible to keep them burning at all, and I had to stay there all night, but on other nights I slept at home… my lighted lantern hanging at my headboard and my face turned so that I could see shining on the wall the light from the tower and know if anything happened to it."

Her father had become disabled after an accident and Kate took over full duties at the lighthouse as a young woman. Kate Moore was credited with 21 lives saved during her 62 years at Fayerweather Island. She lived to the age of 105. When asked if she missed her island home, she replied, "Never. The sea is a treacherous friend."

The Black Rock Seaport Foundation, affiliated with the Black Rock Community Council, oversaw a 1998 restoration of the now inactive lighthouse. Fayerweather Island is accessible by walking the breakwater from the end of Barnum Boulevard at Seaside Park in Bridgeport.

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Copyright 2004 by Jeremy D'Entremont, New England Lighthouses

Photos are the property of the author and may not be used without permission.

Photos above from Jeremy D'Entremont.