Essex Lighthouses

Essex, Connecticut is one of the oldest cities in the United States and has a long history of lighthouses. In 1640, the town of Essex was established, and the original lighthouse was built on the shore of the Connecticut River. By 1919, the tower had deteriorated to the point where it was no longer functional, and a skeleton tower had been built in its place. Before 1931, the skeleton tower was replaced by an automatic gas light. The original lights were kept by Gilbert B. Hayden and his brother, Bernie Hayden. Today, the skeletal tower serves as an active daymark and flashes green every four seconds.

lighthouses essex

The town of Felixstowe has two lighthouses, the High and the Low. The High Lighthouse, built in 1824, was the oldest of the two, and is the oldest of the two. The Lower Lighthouse, built over the Town Gate, was the most recent, but was still operational for some time. The octagonal superstructure is still a popular spot for photography, as well as a museum.

The Dovercourt Range Lights, commissioned by Trinity House in 1862, are the most famous lighthouse in Essex. The towering structures are 45m high and aligned on approach. The Dovercourt Range Lights replaced the two late-eighteenth century structures at Harwich, but were less reliable because of shifting sand bars. In 1864, a second, smaller lighthouse was added at Broadness to replace the earlier one.