Lighthouse Explorer Database ... Great Captain ...

12/29/04 12:25 AM

1-800-758-1444

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Name: Great Captain Island Light

Also known as: Great Captain's Island Light

Nearest Town or City:
Greenwich, Connecticut, United States

Location: Great Captain Island, western Long Island Sound, north of main channel into East River.

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Photo: Jeremy D'Entremont
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Managing Organization:
Greenwich Parks and Recreation Department

Telephone: 203-622-7814

Contact Address Information:
Greenwich Town Hall
101 Field Point Road
Greenwich
Connecticut, 06830, United States

Notes:
In 1998 the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce started a campaign to restore and relight Great Captain Island Light. The fundraising effort has raised $250,000 for restoration, and the Town of Greenwich will pay the rest of the cost. It's hoped that work will begin in 2004. There is a resident caretaker.

Tower Height: 51

Height of Focal Plane: 74

Description of Tower: Cast iron octagonal tower on granite keeper's quarters.

This light is not operational

Other Buildings?
1868 2.5 story granite keeper's quarters (integral to tower), oil house, storage building.

Earlier Towers?
1830: 30-foot stone tower.

Date Established: 1830

Date Present Tower Built: 1868

Date Deactivated: 1970

Optics: c. 1838: 10 lamps and 14.5 inch reflectors; 1858: Fourth order Fresnel lens.

Fog Signal: 1890: steam whistle; 1907: First class compressed air siren.

Current Use: Part of town park.

Open To Public? Grounds only (Greenwich residents only).

Directions:
The lighthouse cannot be seen from the mainland. There is a ferry to the island for Greenwich residents only. Call (203) 622-7818 for information on the ferry. The lighthouse may be visible from some of the cruises of the schooner SoundWaters out of Stamford; call (203) 323-1978 for information.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Keepers: John W. Smith (1830-1834); James Merritt (1834-?); James Bride (1839-1848); Benjamin Merritt (1848-1849); George W. Anderson (1849-?); Charles McIntosh (?); Alexander (?) Worden (1856-1858); Gilbert Horton (1858-1861); James Merritt (1861-1863); James Travis (?) (1863-1864); George Lusk (?) (1864); James McCulloch (1864-1871); Eliakim F. Worden (1871-1890); George Porter (assistant, 1889); Eliakim F. Worden (Jr.?) (assistant, 1891); Frank Wadley (assistant, 1891); John Latour (assistant, 1891); John Shaw (assistant, 1891-1893); William Tooker (assistant, 1891-1892); Eugene Mulligan (1890-c. 1907); Julius Young (assistant, 1895); Otto Rudolph (assistant, 1903, 1907); Morell E. Hulse (assistant, 1905); Herbert S. Knowles (assistant, 1905); Louis F. Schlitt (assistant, c. 1907); Harry H. Fisher (assistant, 1907); John Nelson (c. 1916); Adam L. Kohlman (c. late 1920s to c.1944), James Honeycutt (Coast Guard, c. 1967-1969), Andrew Lampman (Coast Guard, c. 1968), Robert C. Jenkins (Coast Guard, c. 1968), Frank B. Abel (Coast Guard Officer in Charge 1969)