The entrance to Stamford Harbor in Connecticut, on Long Island Sound, is obstructed by treacherous ledges. One of them is known as Chatham Ledge. The construction of a lighthouse to mark the dangerous location was completed in 1882. The finished tower, 3,600 feet from shore, was a fairly typical cast-iron “sparkplug” style lighthouse of the era. Stamford Harbor Lighthouse was discontinued as an aid to navigation in 1953, and it was sold into private ownership. Eventually, in 1984, it was bought by Eryk Spector, the chairman of the board of the First Women’s Bank in New York City.
Mr. Spektor died in December 1998. The lighthouse was sold by his son in August 2023 to the Stamford Harbor Lighthouse Project, a nonprofit organization founded by Dr. Gary Kalan and Mr. Brendan McGee. Dr. Kalan is interviewed in this episode.
Judianne Point, an award-winning volunteer for Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse in Rhode Island, is the co-host of this episode. Judianne and host Jeremy D’Entremont chat about recent happenings at Pomham Rocks, including storm damage and a mysterious “something” that appeared on the lighthouse’s security camera.
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Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of more than 20 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is the president and historian for the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and he has lectured and narrated cruises throughout the Northeast and in other regions. He is also the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org