Previous Region:
Greenwich to Norwalk

Connecticut Lighthouses:
Bridgeport to Stratford Region

Stratford Shoal (Middle Ground) light

Heading Eastward Through Fairfield,
Bridgeport, and Stratford


Connecticut’s rocky shoreline and its many treacherous ledges and islands in Fisher’s Island Sound and Long Island Sound, constantly kept mariners on the alert, claiming the lives of many during New England’s fierce storms. Lighthouses were built to help the increasing shipping traffic and local mariners during these storms, many on those dangerous islands and ledges.

Lighthouses were built in the Stratford region around Stratford Harbor due to the consistent foggy weather, and on the dangerous Stratford Shoal.

Bridgeport had become a major commercial fishing port so one was built on nearby Fayerweather Island to guide mariners into Black Rock Harbor, another built on the end of a protective breakwater in Bridgeport's inner harbor along with another light (recently destroyed Bridgeport Harbor Light), and on Penfield Reef, a much needed lighthouse was built on what is considered to be one of the most treacherous ledges in Long Island Sound.

 

Lighthouses
in the Bridgeport and Stratford Regions
You Can Drive or Hike To

Click any lighthouse image or link below to find out information about each lighthouse, including historical stories, directions, tours, photos, and nearby attractions.

Note: Of all of Connecticut's 20 lighthouses, fifteen lighthouses are best viewed closely by boat, or you need to take a boat or ferry to access the lighthouse, and only five lighthouses are easily accessible to visit for close views by car.

 

 

Connecticut Lighthouses
in the Bridgeport and Stratford Regions
Best Viewed by Boat

Click any lighthouse image or link below to find out information about each lighthouse, including historical stories, directions, tours, photos, and nearby attractions.

 

 

Places to Visit:
Connecticut's Bridgeport - Stratford Region

Fairfield Connecticut provides fine beaches, parks, cultural events, and quiet places to hike and walk around this scenic area.

Nearby you'll find the Birdcraft Museum & Sanctuary, the oldest private songbird sanctuary in America.

The historic city of Bridgeport offers plenty of diverse cultural events, the Barnum Museum, home of PT Barnum's circus impresario of the 1800's, and the Beardsley Zoo. For those who want a more historic venue, Boothe Memorial Park and Museum sits on a 32-acre site believed to be the oldest homestead in America.

The Dundon House, a building constructed in Victorian Era design, features an exhibit of Bridgeport’s maritime history, its 3 local lighthouses, and historical artifacts relating to the oyster industry in Connecticut. The collections include plenty of photos, models, and eighteenth century navigational instruments. 

Captain’s Cove Seaport is a complex of buildings that includes an amusement center, a 400-seat restaurant, lots of specialty shops resembling a typical seaport village, and it promotes music festivals and events.

Black Rock Harbor Lighthouse, in Bridgeport, is connected by a mile-long breakwater from inside Seaside Park.

hiking to black rock light

It provides scenic views of the area with the beach area and the park is well maintained.

Hiking to the end of the breakwater, you'll find Black Harbor (Fayerweather Island) Lighthouse tower, in the process of getting funding for restoration, and you can get a distant view of Penfiled Reef light. Nice views of the beacon can also be found from a boat.

sun breaks through clouds at Black Rock Harbor lighthouse tower, water view

Black Rock Harbor (Fayerweather Island) Lighthouse

Visitors who are looking for natural public wildlife resources will enjoy the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge.

A popular place for birding is Stratford Point Island, and in the early autumn, tens of thousands of migrating monarch butterflies appear on the island.

tree in front of gate at Startford Point lighthouse grounds Visitors can find interesting views and photos from outside the gate at Stratford Point Lighthouse.

The lighthouse is a private residence and grounds are closed to the public.

 

 

Boat Tours: Connecticut's Bridgeport Region

After the pandemic, some lighthouse tours that were originally offered in the Bridgeport region now remain unavailable. However, this will be updated should any lighthouse tours become available. 

Stratford Point Light, Black Rock Harbor (Fayerweather Island) Light, and even Tongue Point Light you can view close up from the shore. To view Penfield Reef Light and Stratford Shoal (Middleground) Light you may be able to see these lighthouses as part of fishing charters and excursions offered by some local mariners that may pass by one of these lighthouses, depending on direction of schools of fish.

 

Bridgeport - Port Jefferson Ferry
Passes by Tougue Point Lighthouse from the harbor.

30 Water Street Dock
Bridgeport, CT 06604
(631) 473-5138
(888) 44 – FERRY

Lighthouses: Tongue Point Light

 

Books to Explore

book of the rise and demise of the largest sailing ships

To order a signed paperback copy:

Available from bookstores in paperback, hardcover, and as an eBook for all devices.

my ebook on apple books

The Rise and Demise of the Largest Sailing Ships:
Stories of the Six and Seven-Masted Coal Schooners of New England

In the early 1900s, New England shipbuilders constructed the world’s largest sailing ships amid social and political reforms. These giants of sail were the ten original six-masted coal schooners and one colossal seven-masted vessel, built to carry massive quantities of coal and building supplies, and measured longer than a football field!

This book, balanced with plenty of color and vintage images, showcases the historical accounts that followed these mighty ships. These true stories include competitions, accidents, battling destructive storms, acts of heroism, and their final voyages.

 

 

 

My book, Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Southern New England: Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, provides lots of special human interest stories from each of the 92 lighthouses, along with plenty of additional indoor and outdoor coastal attractions and tours in each lighthouse region, with contact info to plan your trip.

In the book, with stories from each lighthouse, you'll find a few local special stories on haunted Connecticut lighthouses and acts or heroism.

Look inside!

book about lighthouses in southern New England

 

 

 

 

New England Lighthouses: Famous Shipwrecks, Rescues & Other Tales

This image-rich book contains over 50 stories of famous shipwrecks and rescues around New England lighthouses, and also tales of hauntings that occurred.

You'll find stories of various hauntings at Middleground Light and Penfield Reef Lighthouses.

You'll find this book and others I've written from the publisher Schiffer Books, or in many fine bookstores like Barnes and Noble.

 

 

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