Lighthouse Point at Morris Cove

Morris Cove, on the eastern side of New Haven Harbor, is home to the historical Five Mile Point Lighthouse and Lighthouse Park.

Donna Bigda writes, "Marking the entrance to the New Haven Harbor is the Five Mile Point Lighthouse given its name for its distance from downtown New Haven. The original lighthouse built in 1805 was a 30-foot octagonal shingled wooden tower with its light generated by eight lamps and thirteen inch reflectors. From the beginning the light from the beacon was considered too dim and too low and was not protection for seamen who relied on the beacon to protect them from disaster and keep them away from the rocky shores.

In 1845 it was recommended that a new tower be built on the nearby Southwest Ledge. Because of the cost involved and the location too far north on the shore a new lighthouse was built in 1847 on the same spot as the first. A two story brick dwelling was built next to the lighthouse that served as the keeper's home connected by a wooden passage. The brick structure still stands today but the wooden passageway has long since disappeared.

On January 1, 1877 the first official night for the lighthouse at Southwest ledge was the last for the Five Mile Point Lighthouse. The city of New Haven purchased the land and the building of Five Mile Point in the late 1920's and in 1949 Lighthouse Point Park was opened to the public.
Five Mile Point Lighthouse has withstood the test of time through many storms including a hurricane in 1938. Renovations to the interior and the exterior of the tower were completed in 1986, In 1990 Five Mile Point Lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places."