Connecticut light houses: Sperry light house

There are many lighthouses in the New Haven, Connecticut area, especially around the New Haven Harbor. One of these lighthouses is referred to by a few names. It has been called the Outer Breakwall Light, referring to its location near the outer breakwall of the New Haven Harbor. It’s also been called the New Haven Light, for obvious reasons. But perhaps it is best known as the Sperry Light. This name is in honor of Congressman Nehemiah Sperry, who was responsible for much of the development of the New Haven Harbor area.

The Sperry Light was built in 1899 to help guide mariners past the outermost of three breakwalls in New Haven Harbor. Design problems and the challenges of the bottom of the New Haven Harbor itself meant that there were numerous repairs and redesigns of the light. Builders finally got the lighthouse stationary enough to mount the light atop the structure, and the light was first lit in January 1900. Strangely enough, as many lighthouses were being refitted with brighter, stronger lights and fog sirens, the Sperry Light’s fog siren actually had to be replaced by a weaker one—it was so strong that the vibrations of the horn were shaking the lighthouse foundation! Though the Lighthouse was shut down in the 1930s, it still remains on the harbor, an amazing site for tourists.