New London Ledge Lighthouse is located on the Thames River at the mouth of the New London Harbor in Connecticut. It was built in 1909 and laid upon a solid foundation that sits in twenty-eight feet of water. Getting the lighthouse in position was an engineering feat in itself. A crib held together with nine tons of iron and steel was used as the base. Once in position, the crib was lowered to the river floor and filled with concrete, gravel, and rip-rap.
The building is designed using a distinctive brick structure with a French mansard roof. The locals apparently didn't want another "spark plug" style lighthouse, lobbying for a more attractive design. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The lighthouse is locally famous for the ghost legend of an early keeper, nicknamed "Ernie", who allegedly haunts the place. The Coast Guard crews on duty reported unexplained knockings at night, doors opening and closing repeatedly, the television turning on and off by itself, and the unexplained removal of sheets from beds. Of course, another plausible explanation might involve practical jokes instigated by a bored and isolated crew.
I took the photo at moonrise on the night of the Sturgeon Moon in early August. North American fishing tribes called this full moon the "sturgeon moon" because sturgeon appeared in large numbers during August. The lighthouse sits a mile off-shore, so I used a long lens with a teleconverter to compress the scene. I waited until the moon was directly behind the structure as a sailboat with white sails approached the lighthouse. The lantern casts a red reflection upon the water as the moon shines through the upper windows of the lighthouse.
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