I was feeling ambitious one day, and launched my paddle board from Bluff Point State Park in Groton, Connecticut and made the 2 hour paddle out to the sound where the New London Ledge Lighthouse resides. I was able to dodge boat traffic and maintain enough stability to hold onto my camera and get these images.
The New London Ledge Lighthouse
I didn't know much about the history of the lighthouse during my visit, but I decided to dive into some online research once I made it back home. It turns out that the New London Ledge Lighthouse has been operational since 1909 and up until 1987 (when it was retrofitted to be fully automated) there were lighthouse keepers that maintained it 24 hours a day, 365 days out of the year.
A sailboat approaches the mysterious light house
Supposedly, one of those lighthouse keepers was named Ernie. The local legend claims that in the 1920's or 30's Ernie got a letter from his wife stating that she was leaving him for the Captain of the Block Island Ferry. The keeper became so distraught from the news that he jumped from the top of the lighthouse and killed himself. There is no actual mention of an Ernie or a suicide in the records, but there have been many unusual encounters that have been experienced by the other lighthouse keepers. Books strangely falling off shelves, boats coming untied, doors opening and closing, and the TV turning on and off by itself are some of the events that were reported by the men that worked there.
An up-close view of the century old lighthouse
No one knows if Ernie was real or not, but the legend of the New London Ledge Lighthouse keeps living on.
Thanks for reading :)
Photos seem to be telling a story...glad that you included that story in your blog :-D