Sheffield Island Light is a historic

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

located at the southern end of the

Norwalk Islands The Norwalk Islands are a chain of more than 25 islands amid partly submerged boulders, reefs and mudflats along a six-mile (10 km) stretch and mostly about a mile off the coast of Norwalk, Connecticut, and southwest Westport, Connecticut, ...

Norwalk, Connecticut Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The city, part of the New York metropolitan area, New York Metropolitan Area, is the List of municipalities of Connecticut by population, sixth-most populous city in Connecticut ...

. It marks the west side of the mouth of the

Norwalk River The Norwalk River is a river in southwestern Connecticut, United States, approximately long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 The word "Norwalk" comes from ...

on northern

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

History

The island, at the time known as "White Island", was purchased by Captain Robert Sheffield in 1804 for $6000. In 1826 Gershom Smith, Sheffield's son in law, sold 4 of the island's at the southwest point to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

government for the purpose of building a lighthouse. Smith would serve as the first keeper for the light which was completed in 1828. At the time the island was known as Smith Island. The first light originally ran on oil. In 1857 the light was upgraded to a fourth-order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens (optics), lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections. The simpler Dioptrics, d ...

. The original tower was replaced by a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

style

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

(

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

) dwelling, with a high light tower in the

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

, in 1868. The

from 1857 was moved into the new structure and with a focal plane above water it was visible for more than . The lighthouse is of the same design as lighthouses at Great Captain Island and Morgan Point in Connecticut; Old Field Point Light and Plum Island in New York; and Block Island North in Rhode Island.

Greens Ledge Light Greens Ledge Lighthouse (also known as Greens Ledge Light, or Rowayton Lighthouse) is a historic offshore lighthouse in the western Long Island Sound near Norwalk, Connecticut and Darien, Connecticut. It is one of 33 sparkplug lighthouses still ...

was built to the west of Sheffield in 1900 and was better located to warn ships of the rocks and shoals on the approach to Sheffield Island harbor and

Norwalk harbor Norwalk Harbor is a recreational and commercial harbor and seaport at the estuary of the Norwalk River where it flows into Long Island Sound in Norwalk, Connecticut, United States. The last portion of the Norwalk River from the head of navigatio ...

. Sheffield Island Light was then deactivated in 1902. Sheffield Island Lighthouse was put up for sale in 1914 and purchased by Thorsten O. Stabell. In 1986 the 118-year-old structure was purchased by the Norwalk Seaport Association for renovation and restoration. In 1989 the lighthouse was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. In 1993 an electric generator was added to the structure. In the fall of that year, a great storm flooded the basement of the building and artifacts were lost or destroyed. In 2002 the Seaport association started ferry service to the island, which is still running. In October 2011 the lighthouse was re-lit by a solar powered system installed to replace the gasoline generator system. The beacon is focused only on the Norwalk side and is not intended for use as navigation.

References

*Crompton, Samuel Willard. "The Lighthouse Book." Barnes and Noble Books, New York, 1999. .

Notes

External links

Norwalk Seaport Association
which runs the lighthouse {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1868 Buildings and structures in Norwalk, Connecticut Lighthouses in Fairfield County, Connecticut Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Museums in Fairfield County, Connecticut Maritime museums in Connecticut Tourist attractions in Norwalk, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Fairfield County, Connecticut 1828 establishments in the United States

History

See also

References

Notes

External links