Help Shape the Future of the Old Lighthouse Museum

The future of the Old Lighthouse, one of Connecticut’s most iconic structures and the nation’s first museum-lighthouse, will be the subject of a rescheduled forum sponsored by the Stonington Historical Society. The program is open to all, public input is being sought.

An informational meeting about the future of the Old Lighthouse Museum has been rescheduled from Oct. 1 to Wednesday, October 23 at 6:30 pm at Stonington Borough Hall at 26 Church Street. Borough Hall is now handicapped accessible.

Architects Matthew Oudens and Conrad Ello will be on hand present various options to restore the 1840 structure and to make the museum universally accessible. Oudens Ello Architecture of Boston has been working with the Historical Society for more than a year to come up with alternatives for bringing the museum into the 21st century without compromising its charm or historical integrity. The project was the recent recipient of a $20,000 technical assistance grant from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation.

The Old Lighthouse on Water Street was acquired by the Historical Society in 1925, and it has not undergone a major restoration since that time. Now the oldest lighthouse museum in the nation, it is currently undergoing historic preservation assessment.  

The Stonington Historical Society, Inc., founded in 1895, seeks to preserve, interpret and celebrate the history of Stonington. In addition to presenting programs and exhibits, the Society maintains three sites open to the public: the Old Lighthouse Museum; the Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer House, a National Historic Landmark and the home of the discoverer of Antarctica; and the Richard W. Woolworth Library, a research archive of local history. For more information on these sites and the Society's programs, exhibits, and collections, visit the Society's web site, http://www/stoningtonhistory.org, or call the Society at 860-535-8445.