Stratford Shoal (Middleground) Lighthouse

Location: On a shoal between Port Jefferson, NY and Bridgeport, CT.

Description: 60 feet; white flash every five seconds; Victorian structure with attached tower built upon concrete-filled caisson.

History of light:

• 1837: A 100-ton wooden lightship is stationed at Stratford Shoal.

• 1867: The lightship receives the designation LV15.

• 1873: Congress appropriates funds for a lighthouse at Stratford Shoal.

• 1874: The New York legislature cedes jurisdiction of "less than one acre" at Stratford Shoal to the federal government for the construction of a lighthouse.

• 1875, February: LV15 is driven off station by ice and comes aground near Orient Point.

• 1876: The lighthouse is constructed, and the lightship taken off station.

• 1970, August: The lighthouse is automated.

Current use: Active aid to navigation.

The surrounding area: This light is in the middle of the Long Island Sound.

Public access? No.

Other information: Also known as the Middleground Light, this light can be seen from the Port Jefferson-Bridgeport ferry. This light's National Register listing mistakenly indicates it is a Connecticut lighthouse. This sort of error is not uncommon for offshore lights near state boarders.

Stratford Shoal Lighthouse
(U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Long Island Maritime Museum)

Stratford Shoal Light on Sept 20, 2005
(photo courtesy of Kevin Gunther W1FWB)

Stratford Shoal Light on May 7, 2006
(photo courtesy of Neil Schwanitz)