Tag: maritime

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New Print Releases The American Northeast

Abiding Guardian of Newport Harbor

Abiding Guardian of Newport Harbor (Newport Harbor Lighthouse, Newport, Rhode Island)
“Abiding Guardian of Newport Harbor”
Newport Harbor Lighthouse (aka Goat Island Light), On Goat Island in Newport Harbor, Newport, Rhode Island
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

The rough-cut granite trunk of the Newport Harbor Light, its white paint besieged by the elements, climbs steeply above the waters of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay. Dawn casts warm, revealing light upon the weathered slab foundation and worn, white-picket fence: it seems that every facet of this old beacon carries the scars of a long, hard-earned life on the New England coast.

Of the exquisite array of lighthouses along Rhode Island’s shores, the relatively plain and diminutive Newport Harbor Light is often overlooked. But this humble beacon, now over 170 years old, has faithfully kept watch over seven generations of mariners and Rhode Islanders alike. If these enduring walls of granite could talk, they would surely tell boundless tales of places long-changed and people long-forgotten.

One of the most unusual stories surrounding the Newport Harbor Lighthouse –perhaps any lighthouse, for that matter– came about in 1921. On November 9 of that year, in an incident that sounds almost unbelievable, a 150-foot-long submarine accidentally rammed into the breakwater upon which the lighthouse and keeper’s cabin stood. The keeper’s cabin was a loss, being demolished shortly afterwards, but the lighthouse thankfully survived and continues guiding vessels to this very day.

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New Print Releases The American Northeast

Guardian of the East Passage

Guardian of the East Passage (Castle Hill Lighthouse beside Narragansett Bay, Newport, Rhode Island)
“Guardian of the East Passage”
Castle Hill Lighthouse beside Narragansett Bay, Newport, Rhode Island
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Bearing certain resemblance to the turret of some medieval fortress, one could be forgiven for mistakenly assuming that Newport’s Castle Hill Lighthouse lent its name to the hill rising inland from its rocky, oceanfront perch. As it happens, though, the modest knoll beside Narragansett Bay was called Castle Hill at least as early as the 1860s, decades before the first of the lighthouse’s granite blocks were laid (perhaps it was the hill’s name that inspired the lighthouses design?).

A Crimson Beacon (Castle Hill Lighthouse beside Narragansett Bay, Newport, Rhode Island)
“A Crimson Beacon”
Castle Hill Lighthouse beside Narragansett Bay, Newport, Rhode Island
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

In fact, it seemed for many years as if the idea of building a lighthouse at Castle Hill was doomed to fail. An 1875 attempt by Congress to buy land for the beacon fell through when wealthy cottagers nearby declined to sell. More than a decade passed before officials finally acquired the land from a new cottage owner, but progress stalled when he refused to allow builders to enter the site through his property. “I stand an excellent show of having my place ruined and nobody to foot the bill,” he complained, suggesting they avoid ruining his lawn by bringing their materials to the site on boats.

Pharos Ascending (Castle Hill Lighthouse beside Narragansett Bay, Newport, Rhode Island)
“Pharos Ascending”
Castle Hill Lighthouse beside Narragansett Bay, Newport, Rhode Island
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Negotiations continued for over a year before access over land was granted and construction could finally begin. The Castle Hill Light was kindled for the first time on May 1, 1890 and the ruby glow of its lamp still guides vessels to this very day.

Tempestuous (Narragansett Bay beside Castle Hill, Newport, Rhode Island)
“Tempestuous”
Narragansett Bay along Castle Hill, Newport, Rhode Island
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Jewel of Morris Cove

Jewel of Morris Cove (Five Mile Point Lighthouse at Lighthouse Point Park on New Haven Harbor, New Haven, Connecticut)
“Jewel of Morris Cove”
Five Mile Point Lighthouse at Lighthouse Point Park,
New Haven Harbor, New Haven, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Amidst sandy beaches and gently swaying reeds, the iconic Five Mile Point Lighthouse rises from the shores of New Haven Harbor.

Dawn on Five Mile Point (Five Mile Point Lighthouse at Lighthouse Point Park, New Haven Harbor, New Haven, Connecticut)
“Dawn on Five Mile Point”
Five Mile Point Lighthouse at Lighthouse Point Park,
New Haven Harbor, New Haven, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Five Mile Point Lighthouse, built from countless tons of locally quarried brownstone, was completed in 1845 to replace the original wooden lighthouse established on Morris Cove in 1805. But long before even that early lighthouse was built, the shores of this cove hosted a desperate battle which is remembered to this very day.

Darkness on New Haven Harbor (Pier at Lighthouse Point Park, New Haven Harbor, New Haven, Connecticut)
“Darkness on New Haven Harbor”
Pier at Lighthouse Point Park,
New Haven Harbor, New Haven, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

In 1779, as the American Revolution raged, British troops landed on this beach to launch an invasion of New Haven. Patriot forces fought back and the British are said to have buried their fallen troops quite close to where the lighthouse would eventually be constructed decades later. Although the redcoats managed to push forward and burn several houses and farms, they suffered such heavy casualties that the decision was made to abandon their advance on the city.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Our Last Light

Our Last Light (Avery Point Lighthouse, Avery Point, Groton, Connecticut)
“Our Last Light”
Avery Point Lighthouse at Avery Point, Groton, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

Perched on a seaside bluff where the Thames River empties into Long Island Sound, Avery Point Lighthouse is painted by warm, sunrise light against the deep blues of a cloudless canvas.

For much of New England’s history, lighthouses were always in short supply. They were expensive to build and required ceaseless maintenance. Yet, with each beacon that was finally completed, it seemed that seafarers could think of two more places where new lighthouses were still desperately required to guide vessels through treacherous waters.

For Connecticut, though, that all began to change in the 1900s. There was only a need for so many lighthouses along the shoreline, and for the first time in the state’s long history, it was safe to say that they had all been constructed. The Avery Point Lighthouse, erected during World War II in 1943, would prove to be the last beacon built along Connecticut’s 100-mile coastline.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Judson’s Post at the Stratford Point Light

Judson's Post (Stratford Point Lighthouse on Long Island Sound, Stratford, Connecticut)
“Judson’s Post”
Stratford Point Lighthouse on Long Island Sound, Stratford, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

In my new piece, “Judson’s Post”, I bring you to the shores of Long Island Sound where calm waters lap at boulders in the shallows. Facing inland, we see the Stratford Point Lighthouse standing tall upon the distant hill behind a seawall of piled rip-rap and a white picket fence. Although the current Stratford Point Light was guiding sailors near the mouth of the Housatonic River since the late 1800s, the history of Stratford Point as the site of a maritime beacon stretches back much further.

Stone and metal lighthouses generally came about beginning in the early 1800s, replacing a generation of earlier wooden lighthouses that had been built during the later 1700s. But colonists and merchants had been navigating the New England coast since the early 1600s and, in an era before lighthouses, they too needed some means of avoiding coastline hazards or locating harbors from afar.

Boulder Shores of Stratford (Stratford Point Lighthouse on Long Island Sound, Stratford, Connecticut)
“Boulder Shores of Stratford”
Stratford Point Lighthouse on Long Island Sound, Stratford, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

During the earliest colonial years, a great bonfire was lit on Stratford Point during foggy nights whenever a ship was expected to arrive. At some point, an iron hearth was attached to the top of a tall post, elevating the fire above ground level for increased visibility. It wasn’t until 1822 that a true, 28-foot wooden lighthouse was built on Stratford Point. And if that sounds like a long time ago, recall that the settlement of Stratford was already almost two centuries old at that point. The current cast-iron tower replaced the decaying wooden lighthouse in 1880 and has stood on Stratford Point ever since.

Home at the Lighthouse (Stratford Point Lighthouse on Long Island Sound, Stratford, Connecticut)
“Home at the Lighthouse”
Stratford Point Lighthouse on Long Island Sound, Stratford, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

I titled “Judson’s Post” (photo at top) in honor of Theodore Judson, who was in his early 30s when he assumed the duty of lighthouse keeper at Stratford Point in 1880. He was just shy of age 70 when he finally retired in 1919, having manned the lighthouse for almost four decades. A truly impressive run by anyone’s standards!

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