History of Great Captain Island Lighthouse, Greenwich, Connecticut
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Great Captain Island is at the western end of Long Island Sound, north of the main channel into New York's East River.
The 17-acre island is about 28 miles from
Manhattan and a little over a mile south of Greenwich, Connecticut.
In 1829, Samuel Lyons sold 3.5 acres on the southeast part of Great Captain Island to the federal government for the building of a lighthouse. There had been a slight mixup; the land was purchased before the site selection was final. Stamford Point had been considered as a site for the lighthouse, but three months later the Great Captain Island site was finalized. There was also a dispute over ownership of the island, with both Connecticut and New York claiming jurisdiction. It was over 50 years before a decision was made in favor of Connecticut.
Right: 1935 photo by R. C. Smith, courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard.
The first lighthouse, built for about $3,000, was finished in 1829 along with a five-room keeper's house. A system of 10 lamps and reflectors sent light in every direction.
An 1838 inspection reported that the 30-foot stone tower had been poorly constructed; the walls were already badly cracked. It was reported in 1850:
[The dwelling] is leaky about the windows, and I suppose always was. Lighting apparatus is miserable, being table lamps... The whole of the establishment is in rather a neglected and filthy state. Lighting apparatus ought to be new, and there ought to be a new keeper, or the present one made to keep things in better order.
A fourth-order Fresnel lens was installed in 1858, showing a fixed white light. By 1867, the tower was in such disrepair that a new one was needed. The extant lighthouse was built in 1868, and the 1858 Fresnel lens was moved to the new structure. The style is very similar to lighthouses built in the same period at Block Island, Sheffield Island and a few other locations. It's a handsome granite dwelling with a cast-iron tower attached to the front end of its roof.
In 1890, a fog whistle was added. The signal was upgraded to a powerful siren in 1905. The sound was a shock to Greenwich residents. A local paper asked, "What has Greenwich done that the government inflicts such severe punishment on this community?" A reporter compared the siren to "an army of panthers" and "the wail of a lost soul" among other things. The signal was modulated so that it was somewhat more acceptable to the local population.
A 1904 article described a visit of the lighthouse tender Larkspur to Great Captain Island. Arthur Hewitt wrote:
I went ashore and chatted with the keeper. He showed me over his quarters and explained his light; everything was remarkably spick and span. His eyes, however, bore the look of a constant sufferer -- eyes dulled by anguish and continued heartache. Wondering at this, I inquired how he liked the life; he replied, 'It was all right while she was here, but now 'tain't any good any more.' ...When I inquired why, now that his life's partner was dead and gone, he did not ask for a transfer where scenes would at least be new and therefore brighter, he muttered something about not wishing to 'bother' the inspector; he might as well keep the light, some one had to do it. And now at times as I lie abed in my own little home some ten miles further up the coast, and hear the steam siren of Great Captain Island belching out over the fog-laden waters its three-second blast at half-minute intervals, I cannot help but ponder its lonely keeper.
In 1829, Samuel Lyons sold 3.5 acres on the southeast part of Great Captain Island to the federal government for the building of a lighthouse. There had been a slight mixup; the land was purchased before the site selection was final. Stamford Point had been considered as a site for the lighthouse, but three months later the Great Captain Island site was finalized. There was also a dispute over ownership of the island, with both Connecticut and New York claiming jurisdiction. It was over 50 years before a decision was made in favor of Connecticut.
Right: 1935 photo by R. C. Smith, courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard.
The first lighthouse, built for about $3,000, was finished in 1829 along with a five-room keeper's house. A system of 10 lamps and reflectors sent light in every direction.
An 1838 inspection reported that the 30-foot stone tower had been poorly constructed; the walls were already badly cracked. It was reported in 1850:
[The dwelling] is leaky about the windows, and I suppose always was. Lighting apparatus is miserable, being table lamps... The whole of the establishment is in rather a neglected and filthy state. Lighting apparatus ought to be new, and there ought to be a new keeper, or the present one made to keep things in better order.
A fourth-order Fresnel lens was installed in 1858, showing a fixed white light. By 1867, the tower was in such disrepair that a new one was needed. The extant lighthouse was built in 1868, and the 1858 Fresnel lens was moved to the new structure. The style is very similar to lighthouses built in the same period at Block Island, Sheffield Island and a few other locations. It's a handsome granite dwelling with a cast-iron tower attached to the front end of its roof.
In 1890, a fog whistle was added. The signal was upgraded to a powerful siren in 1905. The sound was a shock to Greenwich residents. A local paper asked, "What has Greenwich done that the government inflicts such severe punishment on this community?" A reporter compared the siren to "an army of panthers" and "the wail of a lost soul" among other things. The signal was modulated so that it was somewhat more acceptable to the local population.
A 1904 article described a visit of the lighthouse tender Larkspur to Great Captain Island. Arthur Hewitt wrote:
I went ashore and chatted with the keeper. He showed me over his quarters and explained his light; everything was remarkably spick and span. His eyes, however, bore the look of a constant sufferer -- eyes dulled by anguish and continued heartache. Wondering at this, I inquired how he liked the life; he replied, 'It was all right while she was here, but now 'tain't any good any more.' ...When I inquired why, now that his life's partner was dead and gone, he did not ask for a transfer where scenes would at least be new and therefore brighter, he muttered something about not wishing to 'bother' the inspector; he might as well keep the light, some one had to do it. And now at times as I lie abed in my own little home some ten miles further up the coast, and hear the steam siren of Great Captain Island belching out over the fog-laden waters its three-second blast at half-minute intervals, I cannot help but ponder its lonely keeper.
With much recreational boating in the area, the keepers were sometimes involved in rescues.
A sailboat ran onto the rocks on the northeast side of the island one day in 1914, and all four people on board were helped safely to shore by the assistant keeper, Emil Usinger.
In October 1929 Keeper Adam L. Kohlman was recognized in the Lighthouse Service Bulletin for his rescue of two small boys from drowning near the light station on September 2.
Kohlman was the stepgrandfather of Lois Valentine of Pennsylvania, who fondly remembers visits to the island in the 1930s and 1940s:
When school closed for the summer, they would come in and pick me up in the boat and I would stay all summer. There were always lots of visitors during the summer. My grandmother was glad for the company, but it proved to be a lot of work cooking large dinners to feed the gang. There was no telephone or electricity and all supplies and doctor visits were by the little boat. My grandparents had a large garden, which was very well tended, plus they raised chickens. The brass was polished and the paint always looked new, and the light was often inspected by the Lighthouse Service. My grandmother would often wake when a fog rolled in and turn on the foghorn without even waking my grandfather.
Left: Keeper Adam Kohlman cleaning the lens, circa 1930s. Courtesy of Lois Valentine.
In October 1929 Keeper Adam L. Kohlman was recognized in the Lighthouse Service Bulletin for his rescue of two small boys from drowning near the light station on September 2.
Kohlman was the stepgrandfather of Lois Valentine of Pennsylvania, who fondly remembers visits to the island in the 1930s and 1940s:
When school closed for the summer, they would come in and pick me up in the boat and I would stay all summer. There were always lots of visitors during the summer. My grandmother was glad for the company, but it proved to be a lot of work cooking large dinners to feed the gang. There was no telephone or electricity and all supplies and doctor visits were by the little boat. My grandparents had a large garden, which was very well tended, plus they raised chickens. The brass was polished and the paint always looked new, and the light was often inspected by the Lighthouse Service. My grandmother would often wake when a fog rolled in and turn on the foghorn without even waking my grandfather.
Left: Keeper Adam Kohlman cleaning the lens, circa 1930s. Courtesy of Lois Valentine.
Kohlman joined the Coast Guard after they took over the operation of lighthouses in 1939, and his wife had to live ashore.
A few years later the Kohlmans were transferred to Throg’s Neck in New York. Lois Valentine went to the island in 1993, her first visit since she was 13. She was amazed how much of the island near the lighthouse had eroded away and that the boardwalks were gone.
Right: Keeper Adam Kohlman's wife, Susan (far right) and other family members at the lighthouse, circa 1932. Courtesy of Lois Valentine.
A 1949 article by Meyer Berger in the New York Times described life at Great Captain Island during the Coast Guard era. Four men were assigned to the station, and they barely left except for a six-day leave each month or an occasional grocery run. Winter was rough, but the summer months allowed the men to swim and fish.
Right: Keeper Adam Kohlman's wife, Susan (far right) and other family members at the lighthouse, circa 1932. Courtesy of Lois Valentine.
A 1949 article by Meyer Berger in the New York Times described life at Great Captain Island during the Coast Guard era. Four men were assigned to the station, and they barely left except for a six-day leave each month or an occasional grocery run. Winter was rough, but the summer months allowed the men to swim and fish.
Frank B. Abel was Coast Guard Officer in Charge of the station in 1969.
U.S. Coast Guard photo
He later recalled:
As a Second Class Boatswain Mate, I was in charge of the light station, its mission, and the maintenance. I had a Third Class Engineman and one non-rate for crew. We stood two weeks on and one week off. Log runs were made from Eaton's Neck. It was a wonderful tour of duty. I was the last officer in charge that ran the light.
Abel later was Officer in Charge at Montauk Point Light Station on Long Island, New York in 1975-76.
In 1970, Great Captain Island Light was extinguished and replaced by an automatic light on a skeleton tower.
A pond on the island serves as a nesting area for egrets and herons
With no caretaker
on the island the lighthouse was immediately damaged by vandals.
By 1966, the town of Greenwich had acquired most of Great Captain Island. In 1973, the town also acquired the lighthouse and the surrounding 2.6 acres for $42,500. A married couple moved in as resident caretakers, putting an end to the vandalism.
For nearly two decades beginning in 1985, the caretaker was Otto Lauersdorf. Lauersdorf weathered hurricanes, medical emergencies, and vandals in his years on the island. His wife and children lived most of the time on shore, but they spent much time in the summer on the island. Lauersdorf spent his time tending a garden, building model airplanes and reading. "If you have to depend on others, this is not the job for you," he said.
The Greenwich Chamber of Commerce started a campaign in the late 1990s to relight the lighthouse. The Indian Harbor Yacht Club worked with the Chamber to raise funds for renovation. With the building falling into increasingly poor condition, no caretaker lived there for several years.
Restoration was delayed numerous times, but the details were worked out and much restoration was completed in 2009. A nonprofit fundraising effort called Return the Light paid $250,000 of the $1.3 million lighthouse renovation.
Sadly, one of the original fundraising team members, Bennett Fisher, died in the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. As part of the restoration, a 9/11 memorial has been established at the lighthouse.
In November 2009, a light was installed in the lantern of the lighthouse. The flashing green light is not an official aid to navigation, but it helped bring the lighthouse back to life. "From a historical standpoint, I applaud it," Henry Marx of Landfall Navigation told the Greenwich Time newspaper.
There is a ferry to Great Captain Island in the summer.
By 1966, the town of Greenwich had acquired most of Great Captain Island. In 1973, the town also acquired the lighthouse and the surrounding 2.6 acres for $42,500. A married couple moved in as resident caretakers, putting an end to the vandalism.
For nearly two decades beginning in 1985, the caretaker was Otto Lauersdorf. Lauersdorf weathered hurricanes, medical emergencies, and vandals in his years on the island. His wife and children lived most of the time on shore, but they spent much time in the summer on the island. Lauersdorf spent his time tending a garden, building model airplanes and reading. "If you have to depend on others, this is not the job for you," he said.
The Greenwich Chamber of Commerce started a campaign in the late 1990s to relight the lighthouse. The Indian Harbor Yacht Club worked with the Chamber to raise funds for renovation. With the building falling into increasingly poor condition, no caretaker lived there for several years.
Restoration was delayed numerous times, but the details were worked out and much restoration was completed in 2009. A nonprofit fundraising effort called Return the Light paid $250,000 of the $1.3 million lighthouse renovation.
Sadly, one of the original fundraising team members, Bennett Fisher, died in the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. As part of the restoration, a 9/11 memorial has been established at the lighthouse.
In November 2009, a light was installed in the lantern of the lighthouse. The flashing green light is not an official aid to navigation, but it helped bring the lighthouse back to life. "From a historical standpoint, I applaud it," Henry Marx of Landfall Navigation told the Greenwich Time newspaper.
There is a ferry to Great Captain Island in the summer.
Keepers: (This list is a work in progress. If you have any information on the keepers of this lighthouse, I'd love to hear from you. You can email me at nelights@gmail.com. Anyone copying this list onto another web site does so at their own risk, as the list is always subject to updates and corrections.)
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); Emil Usinger (assistant, c. 1914); John Nelson (c. 1916); Adam L. Kohlman (c. late 1920s to c.1944); Laureat LeClerc (c. 1930s); 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)
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); Emil Usinger (assistant, c. 1914); John Nelson (c. 1916); Adam L. Kohlman (c. late 1920s to c.1944); Laureat LeClerc (c. 1930s); 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)