Lynde Point Light
Old Saybrook, Connecticut, is a separate town from Saybrook, which is now called Deep River. Old Saybrook was a prosperous town full of sea captains' homes, and was for many years the only major stop on the railroad between New London and New Haven. Today the town remains a yachting capital and a quaint, exclusive community.
To mark the entrance to the Connecticut River and the harbor of Old Saybrook, the government decided to erect a lighthouse in 1802. Land was purchased from William Lynde for $225 and the 35-foot wooden tower was built by New London carpenter Abishai Woodward in 1803.
The first Lynde Point Light was criticized by mariners for being too dim and too short. A group petitioned for the tower to be raised by 25 feet, but it was decided instead to rebuild the lighthouse. A new 65-foot granite tower was erected in 1838.
The lighthouse is similar to the masonry towers built earlier at New London and Faulkner's Island, but Lynde Point is considered to represent the finest work of the three. The original wooden spiral staircase appears to have been replaced during an 1868 renovation. The lighthouse's system of ten lamps and reflectors was replaced in 1852 by a fourth order Fresnel lens. A fifth order lens was installed in 1890. A fog bell was added in 1854.
An 1833 keeper's house remained in use until it was demolished in 1858 and replaced by a new Gothic Revival gambrel-roofed wood-frame house. This house was regrettably destroyed by the Coast Guard in 1966 and replaced by a modern duplex house, against the wishes of the Old Saybrook Historical Society.
With the addition of the Saybrook Breakwater Light in 1886, Lynde Point became commonly
known as the "Inner Light," while the Breakwater Light became known as the "Outer Light."
The light was electrified in 1955 and automated in 1978, but the 1890 Fresnel lens remains in place and Lynde Point Light continues to exhibit a fixed white light as an active aid to
navigation. The 1966 duplex house serves as Coast Guard housing.
Actress Katharine Hepburn lives in a house close to Lynde Point Light. The road to the lighthouse is closed to the public. Lynde Point Light can be seen from several places along the shore, but is probably best viewed from the water.
All text copyright ©2000 Jeremy D'Entremont/Coastlore Productions. All rights reserved. No part may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted, in any form without prior written permission from the publisher.
All images copyright ã 2000 by Richard Asarisi/Photoworkings.com. All rights reserved. No part may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted, in any form without prior written permission from the publisher.