Fayerweather Island Lighthouse (1823)

In the eighteenth century, what is today the Black Rock neighborhood of Bridgeport developed as an active port. In 1808, Black Rock Harbor’s first lighthouse, made of wood, was built on the southern end of Fayerweather Island. This was destroyed in an 1821 hurricane and replaced, in 1823, by a stone tower, designed to withstand future rough weather. Fayerweather Island Light, also known as Black Rock Harbor Light, had a number of long-tenured lighthouse keepers. Stephen Moore began as keeper in 1817, but he was later injured and unable to tend the light. His daughter, Catherine Moore, who had begun assisting him as a girl, then took on the full duties of keeper, although her father retained the official position until he died, at age 100, in 1871. Kate Moore then officially became keeper, retiring in 1878. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1933 and became part of Bridgeport’s Seaside Park. The tower eventually fell prey to vandals and the adjacent keeper’s house, built in 1879 after Kate Moore retired, burned down in 1977. There was a preservation effort in 1983, but eventually the island was again neglected and the lighthouse vandalized. A new preservation group eventually formed and, in 1998, the structure was restored and now has with graffiti-resistant paint and vandal-proof steel panes for the windows. Black Rock Harbor Light was also relit, using solar panels. The island is today attached to land by a stone breakwater.