Saybrook Breakwater Light
The harbor of Old Saybrook, at the mouth of the Connecticut River, was limited in its development by the presence of a large sand bar at the harbor entrance. Buoys were placed to mark the bar, but the shifting sand made navigation difficult.
In the 1870s two parallel stone jetties were built and a deep channel was dredged between them. In 1882 $20,000 was appropriated by Congress for the construction of a lighthouse on the west jetty. Saybrook Breakwater Light, also known as the Outer Light, was first lighted on June 15, 1886. It is located 1 1/2 miles from Lynde Point Light.
The 49-foot cast-iron tower on a cylindrical foundation is very similar to Connecticut's Peck Ledge and Greens Ledge Lights. It has a basement, four main floors, a watch room and a lantern room. It was fitted with a fifth order Fresnel lens exhibiting a fixed white light with a red sector. A new fourth order lens was installed in 1890.
The lighthouse was equipped with a gigantic 1,000-pound fog bell in 1889. The sound was so objected to by local residents that it was replaced by a 250-pound bell; this bell was also subsequently removed and replaced by a fog horn. Atmospheric conditions made it difficult to hear the fog signals very far at sea. Finally in 1936 two powerful diaphragm horns were
installed.
Saybrook Breakwater Light was a tough assignment for a keeper. Strong winds and currents frequently made the trip to shore treacherous. More stones were eventually added to the breakwater making it possible to walk to the lighthouse, but waves washed over the rocks and in the winter the breakwater was often covered with ice.
On the afternoon of September 21, 1938, Keeper Sidney Gross noted in the station's log that a light southeast breeze had sprung up from a perfect calm. He had no way of knowing that this was the first warning of the worst hurricane in recorded New England history.
As the skies darkened and the winds increased, Keeper Gross and Assistant Keeper Bennett turned on the fog signal and attempted to secure the station. By 4:00 PM the bridge from the lighthouse to the breakwater was swept away, as were the platform around the lighthouse and a 12-foot rowboat. At 4:30 a 1,500-gallon tank of kerosene was carried away by the waves, along with a 600-gallon tank. The two keepers boarded up the window to the engine room, but the waves smashed right through, flooding the room. 
Keeper Gross disconnected the electric light and put the old incandescent oil vapor lamp into use. The vibrations were so great that the lamp's mantle collapsed, so Gross switched to an older oil wick lamp. Keeper Gross stayed in the lantern room all night keeping the light going, even as he feared that the lighthouse wouldn't stand through the night. In the morning Gross surveyed the damage and entered in the log: "Everything swept away by hurricane except the tower."
Saybrook Breakwater Light was automated in 1959; its Fresnel lens was replaced by a modern optic. In the summer of 1996 the Coast Guard painted the lighthouse and removed a 500-gallon fuel tank and a generator at a cost of $64,000.
Saybrook Breakwater Light continues to flash a green light as an active aid to navigation. It also has an honored place on a special Connecticut license plate as a symbol of the effort to preserve Long Island Sound. The lighthouse is visible from several places along the shore. It is at the end of a private road and is difficult to reach on foot.
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.
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