Old Saybrook Light Next Up For Disposal
By Sue Clark on Jul 15, 2007 in Lighthouses For Sale 
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The lighthouse that graces Connecticut’s special license plate has been excessed by the Coast Guard. According to a story in the New Haven Register today, the Old Saybrook Lighthouse, a sparkplug style light that survived the 1938 hurricane, will be offered to municipal entities and non-profit organizations as soon as some issues are cleared up, including access. The lighthouse is only accessible through a private road, with no parking signs. Only property owners are allowed to enter. The other way, of course, is by boat. The lighthouse is at the end of a dangerous breakwater, about a mile out.
According to Saundra Robbins, of the General Services Administration, who states in the story:
She’d like to offer the Outer Light this year, but “you run into so many issues that it just doesn’t fly sometimes.” Those can include access, property rights and safety. And there are issues most people wouldn’t think of: Who owns the real estate under a lighthouse that’s a mile out to sea on a breakwater?
See this earlier post about legal issues hampering lighthouse transfers.
Old Saybrook’s former Lighthouse Keeper, Sidney Gross, was in charge during the Hurricane of 1938. He kept the lights burning, even as the winds smashed out the lower windows, flooding the lighthouse. After the storm, all the other buildings except the tower were washed away. The light has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1990, and is an active aid to navigation. The Coast Guard will maintain access to the light. More info on Old Saybrook can be found at the NPS website.
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More About Saybrook Lighthouse
- Old Saybrook Light Next Up For Disposal
- Saybrook Light Access a Problem for Town
- Ooops Sorry…Wrong Lighthouse
- Saybrook Selectman: Keep the Lighthouse
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