Picture Connecticut: A Vintage Seafaring Symbol

STONINGTON, CT — The latest featured image in the Picture Connecticut series takes us about as far as we can go along the southeast corridor of the state.

For more than a century-and-a-half, the Stonington lighthouse has stood at the entrance to the town's harbor, representing Connecticut's only port "facing on the Atlantic," the Stonington Historical Society tells us.

The building was known for stonework, ornamental cornices around the tower and granite lintels above doorways and windows, according to the society. When the lighthouse was built in 1840, its nearly flat roof leaked so badly that two years later local craftsmen were called in to install the gabled roof it still features, according to town lore.

The lighthouse, in its heyday, guided ships across the often-treacherous waters of Fishers Island Sound.

See more on the lighthouse and its role as a museum here.

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Picture Connecticut is a weekly Patch series featuring images of the state, past and present.

Previous featured images:

• Lafayette Tour Monument, Vernon
• The Pinchot Sycamore, Simsbury