Life Is Full of Sweet Spots

New London (CT) Ledge Light, built in the early 1900s as a distinctive red brick building with mansard roof and granite detailing, helps vessels to make their way through the outlying shoals and ledges surrounding the harbor entrance. When it was first lighted, the New London Day reported its characteristic three white flashes followed by a red flash every 30 seconds could be seen up to 18 miles away.

Probably the best-known part of the station’s lore is its infamous ghost, Ernie. Doors have been known to open and close mysteriously, decks have swabbed themselves, and the fog horn seems to turn on and off for no reason. Today, as the last lighthouse on Long Island Sound to have been automated, its beacon continues to shine, lighting the way for sailors and spirits alike.

“Someday perhaps the inner light will shine forth from us, and then we’ll need no other light.”  ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer, artist, and politician

Photos by Mary O’Connor, © 2009.