Ledge Lighthouse

JohnHart · Mist Joined: 18 Mar 2008 Posts: 35

Ledge Lighthouse

Location: New London Harbor, Connecticut

History: In 1890, the residents of New London decided they needed a lighthouse at the entrance to the New London Harbor. They wanted the light house to be elegant enough to fit in with the surrounding architecture. They selected a two hundred foot shoal at the eastern end of the Long Island Sound.

The Hamilton R. Douglas Company of New London began construction on the lighthouse in 1906 and continued until it was completed in 1909. The lighthouse was originally called the Southwest Ledge Light, but the name was changed because a lighthouse at New Haven Harbor had the same name.

The warning light could be seen for up to 18 miles and was characterized by three white flashes followed by a red flash every thirty seconds; a fog signal was added in 1911.

The lighthouse was originally manned by Coast Guard crews of three men; they would spend three weeks in the lighthouse followed by six days on shore. The Coast Guard crews worked the lighthouse from 1939 to 1987 when the light house was automated.

Haunting: The Ledge Lighthouse is haunted by a mischievous ghost named Ernie. Ernie is the ghost of a lighthouse keeper from the 1920s or 30s; he jumped from the roof of the lighthouse after discovering that his wife had run off with the captain of the Block Island ferry.

Ernie's ghost is more annoying than harmful; he opens and closes doors, turn the television on and off, and sound the fog horn. He has also been known to untie skiffs that are docked at the lighthouse.
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John Hart
Vintage Computer Collector