Faulkner's Island Lighthouse
Guilford, Connecticut: Built in 1802
Location:
On Faulkner's Island, about four miles offshore from Guilford Harbor.
| Latitude: 41° 12' 43" N |
| Longitude: 72° 39' 13" W |
Historic Stories:
Connecticut's second oldest lighthouse, Faulkner’s Island Lighthouse, also referred to as Faulkner Island Lighthouse, was built in 1802, due to the many shipwrecks that occurred around the island. Even with the lighthouse established, although the light saved many, there were still many shipwrecks occurring over the years.
Keeper Eli Kimberley and his wife tended the lighthouse for 33 years and had 12 children. Tourists came in the summer to visit the keeper’s home where he built a small bowling alley with a well-stocked bar. After a drunken brawl involving about 20 men occurred on July 4, in 1829, laws were soon passed prohibiting the sale of liquor at American light stations.
Connecticut's Most Colorful and Experienced Lighthouse Keeper: Oliver Brooks
| Even with the presence of the lighthouse, between 1851 and 1882, there were over 100 shipwrecks recorded by Keeper Oliver Brooks near the lighthouse, through no fault of his own. |  Courtesy US Coast Guard |
He is credited with assisting in 71 of these events, whether the vessels were destroyed or partially wrecked.
Brooks was keeper from 1851 to 1882, and practiced his taxidermy skills on the isolated island on birds that suffered fatal crashes into the lantern windows. Eventually, the keeper’s house filled with stuffed birds and became a kind of local natural history museum.
Early Image with Keeper's House |
The family enjoyed playing musical instruments and would treat visitors to concerts at the lighthouse. |
Sometimes their large Newfoundland “singing” dog, Old Tige, joined the family.
He was an expert at handling small boats in all kinds of weather and was known for his extraordinary skills, especially in helping with rescue efforts. The boat he used from Faulkner’s Island was an 18-foot skiff with a sail and long oars.
One of the most famous rescues of the region occurred during his tenure at the lighthouse and challenged his skills as an expert boatman, when he saved all survivors of the Moses F Webb that had wrecked during a fierce gale storm. He used his small boat with its long oars to transport the survivors to nearby Bruce Island first, as the wreck was closer to that island, and then brought them safely back to the lighthouse. There, he and his family nursed the survivors back to health. He became a local and national hero, as all the newspapers carried his story. He received a Gold Lifesaving Medal from the New York Life Saving Society. The medal has an engraving on the back of the Moses F Webb being rescued by Brooks in his tiny craft.
Brooks was also credited with the rescue of five people from the paddlewheel steamer E. A. Woodward, grounded on the rocks near the lighthouse during a winter storm in November of 1858, where he also received a gold medal.
For more explicit details about these rescues made by Keeper Brooks, or about this talented keeper himself, select either the "Oliver Brooks Rescues" link or "Most Colorful Keeper" link at the top of the page to be directed to my section of lighthouse stories.
Faulkner's Island was used as a test site for various types of fog horns and sirens.
Today the lighthouse is protected and saved by the Faulkner’s Light Brigade organization. They were able to restore much of the lighthouse in 1999, with restoration efforts continuing. The island itself is also a protected bird sanctuary.
Places to Visit:
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In the fall, there is an annual open house for the public to explore certain areas of the island and Faulkner's Island lighthouse. |
It is promoted and transportation provided by the Faulkner’s Light Brigade. The island is now a bird sanctuary, and one of eight islands as part of the Stewart B. McKinney Wildlife Refuge.
| Guilford is a small picturesque community that boasts the largest town green in New England and contains five differing museums for visitors to explore. |  |
One of them, the Henry Whitfield State Museum, allows visitors a glimpse into the stone architecture that may have been used in the 17th century.
If you feel like hiking, the WestWoods and Timberlands Trails system offers over 39 miles of trails that include cave structures, waterfalls, salt and fresh water marshes, an inland tidal lake, and carved rock sculptures and rock formations.
Annual Tour to Faulkner's Island
and the Lighthouse:
In the early fall, there is an annual open house for the public to explore the grounds and Faulkner's Island Lighthouse. The Faulkner's Light Brigade provides the boat to access this island and tours to explore the lighthouse and surrounding area.
Faulkner's Light Brigade
Email: info@faulknerslight.org
47 Driveway
Guilford, CT 06437
| Of course, tours to the lighthouse tower are also given. | 
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Books to Explore
Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Southern New England: This book provides special human interest stories from each of the 92 lighthouses on the southern coastline, along with plenty of indoor and outdoor coastal attractions you can explore, and tours. These include stories of Oliver Brooks, Connecticut's most colorful and famous keeper, among many other stories. Look inside! |
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Available from bookstores in paperback, hardcover, and as an eBook for all devices.
Enjoy a 10% discount on the hardcover version. Printed and distributed globally by IngramSpark. |
The Rise and Demise of the Largest Sailing Ships: In the early 1900s, amid positive social and political changes, New England shipbuilders constructed the world’s largest sailing ships. They were the ten original six-masted coal schooners and one colossal seven-masted vessel, built to carry massive quantities of coal and building supplies. This book, with plenty of black and white and color images, provides historical accounts of each of these mighty sailing marvels. Stories involve competitions, battling destructive storms, acts of heroism, accidents and collisions, the Great War, and their final voyages. |
This image-rich book contains over 50 stories of famous shipwrecks and rescues around New England lighthouses, and also tales of hauntings that occurred. You'll find more extensive details and imagery about the life and legacy of Keeper Oliver Brooks, and about his most famous rescues at Faulkner's Island Light. |
You'll find this book and others I've written from the publisher Schiffer Books, or in many fine bookstores like Barnes and Noble.