Fayerweather Island Light |
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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.
Click for more on Fayerweather HISTORY
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.
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