Plans To Open Lighthouse In Stratford To Public, Officials Say

STRATFORD, CT — Stratford residents may soon be able to experience the Stratford Point Lighthouse in a way they never have before. Officials announced Friday that the town has entered into a license agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard to use the lighthouse property and buildings and oversee the site’s maintenance and upkeep. The mayor hopes to see the location eventually become available to the public and for private events.

"To have it as open space and for public use would be really a great thing," said Mayor Laura Hoydick.

Under the agreement, the Coast Guard will retain ownership of the property, which will remain an active lighthouse, said Chief of Staff to the Mayor Michael Downes. The Coast Guard will also continue to maintain the light.

Stratford’s Department of Public Works is evaluating the site, according to Downes, who said work has begun on the cottage and grounds. The town intends to restore the keeper’s cottage, the oil house and the lighthouse, according to a town news release. Improvements to the lighthouse will be made in conjunction with the Coast Guard, Downes said, and will include a fresh coat of paint. The timeline and cost for the improvements are not yet known because necessary Coast Guard approval is still pending, Hoydick said.

Stratford Point was first used as a lighthouse site in 1822, when a wooden octagonal structure — the third light station to be erected on Long Island Sound — was built, the news release stated. The 40-foot cast-iron, brick-lined tower that still stands today was constructed about 60 years later, and the lighthouse was given its distinctive red band in 1899.

"It’s an iconic structure that is featured in almost everything Stratford," Downes said.

The Coast Guard previously held an annual open house for the public at the lighthouse, he said, but that’s the only regular access to the property the community has had in the past. More details will be released about the project in the next month, according to Downes.

"It’s this great iconic thing and location in the town that residents have only been able to go up to a fence and look at," Downes said.