History of Avery Point Light

The history of Avery Point Lighthouse is somewhat scarce, and we are actively researching to establish the history more definitively. Here is what we know:

The light is located at 41 degrees, 19 minutes N latitude, 72 degrees, 4 minutes W longitude on the Avery Point Campus of the University of Connecticut in Groton, CT. The Avery Point property was originally owned by Morton Freeman Plant, who died on November 4, 1918. In the late 1930s, the estate was up for sale and the state of Connecticut became the owner of the land. In 1942, the USCG bought it for a training facility called the Groton Training Station. As part of the land quit deed, it was stipulated that an aid to navigation must be built on this site within the first 5 years, or the land would revert to the state. Additionally, it has been cited that the light was built as a memorial to Coast Guardsmen and/or Lighthouse keepers. The Groton Station opened in 1942, and the lighthouse was completely constructed by March, 1943--making it the last lighthouse built in Connecticut. However, due to wartime concerns, it was decided that the light would remain unlit until hostilities ceased appropriately.

The light was eventually lit on May 2, 1944. There was never a keeper at the light, and none was ever intended to be. This is possibly because there was lots of free labor at the USCG training facility. The structure appears in the US List of Lights from 1945-1967 as having a fixed white beam, and whose light pattern was a cluster of 8 lights where the number of lights visible varied with the angle of approach or distance. The lights were changed from the lighthouse in March, 1960, where a flashing green pattern was used. The lights were extinguished from Avery Point on June 25, 1967. All of the above facts appear in the US List of Lights or the Notice to Mariners.

We are still lacking many details about the history of the Avery Point Lighthouse and the Groton Training Station. If you know of any information not contained here, can confirm any information above that we have not stated as a fact but is, or have any documents about the structure, please contact APLS .