New London Harbor Light is a lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

 in Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

,
United States, on the west side of the New London harbor

New London, Connecticut

New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....

 entrance, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

. It is the nation's fifth oldest light station and the seventh oldest U.S. lighthouse; it is both the oldest and the tallest lighthouse in Connecticut.

History

The original New London Harbor Lighthouse was built on the west side of the entrance to New London Harbor in 1760. It was removed when the current stone tower was built in 1801. In 1855 a fourth-order Fresnel lens

Fresnel lens

A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...

 replaced the original 11 lamps with 13 inches (330.2 mm) reflectors.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in New London County, Connecticut