During the War of 1812, British troops stopped at Faulkner's. They did no harm to the tower or Keeper Solomon Stone and his family, realizing the importance of the lighthouse to their own safety.

President James Monroe appointed Guilford native Eli Kimberly keeper in 1818 at a salary of $350 per year. Kimberly moved to the island with his pregnant wife Polly and their two children. The family remained on Faulkner's Island for 33 years, raising 12 children. The Kimberlys kept livestock and raised vegetables on the island, and the children were taught by a tutor who boarded with the family. Visitors were common during the Kimberlys' years on the island, often as many as 100 people on a summer day.

Faulkner Island Light's original lantern was replaced in 1840. The old lighting system, consisting of twelve whale-oil lamps with parabolic reflectors, was replaced by a a system of nine lamps and reflectors. A fourth order Fresnel lens was installed in 1856. It's believed that the present lantern was installed about 1870. The original keeper's house had fallen into disrepair and was rebuilt in 1858.

Faulkner's Island Light Station in the late 19th century.

Robert Dennis Collection of Stereoscopic Views, Photography Collection, Miriam & Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints & Photographs, the New York Public Library.

U.S. Coast Guard

Oliver N. Brooks served as keeper from 1851 to 1882. Over one hundred vessels were wrecked in the vicinity during his tenure, through no fault of the light or its keeper.

In November 1858 Keeper Brooks rescued five people from the grounded schooner Moses F. Webb. He received a gold medal from the New York Life Saving Society for his heroism, and his salary was soon raised to $500 per year.

Keeper Brooks was known as a man of many interests. He played the violin, studied ornithology and taxidermy, and conducted experiments with sound and light. He often practiced his taxidermy skills on unfortunate birds that had collided with the lighthouse lantern and died, and the keeper's house became kind of a natural history museum.

In March 1976 a fire broke out in the keeper's quarters while two Coast Guardsmen were on duty. Fire fighters couldn't arrive in time, and when the smoke cleared the 1871 keeper's house was gone and the tower was scorched. "By the time we got there the island was an inferno," said one firefighter. "we didn't stand a chance, but we did what we could."

Two years later the light was repaired and automated, with the fourth order lens being replaced by a modern optic. Vandals did further damage after the fire, so the windows were bricked up and a new steel door installed. In 1988 the light was converted to solar power.

Like many New England lighthouses, Faulkner's Island Light has been waging a war with nature. Erosion ate away at the bluff on which the lighthouse stands at a rate of at least six inches per year, until the tower stood about 35 feet from the brink.

The aftermath of the 1976 fire (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

With help from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Congress in September 1996 appropriated part of the erosion control funds. The balance of the $4.5 million was appropriated in 1998. The U.S. Army Corps plan for preservation is designed to withstand a 50-year storm.

In September 2000 an armada of heavy construction equipment arrived on the island under the direction of Zenone, Inc., of Franklin, Massachusetts. A massive stone wall nearly 20 feet high and 50 feet wide was installed along the east embankment, with an outer layer consisting of stones weighing as much as three tons each.

The upper face of the embankment was cut back to a slope of about 30-40 degrees, and hardy vegetation was planted to help buffer wind and rain. Next to the lighthouse for 300 feet, additional stability was created by the placement of six-inch high "geo cells," a system of plastic fabric with holes, covered with earth and planted with vegetation. In all, 600 linear feet of the east embankment were stabilized under Phase 1 of the erosion control project.

Inside the tower

Phase 2 of the project will include the construction of another 600-foot revetment "wrapping" the south end of the island. Between phases there will be an evaluation of the impact on the tern colony.

More than 150 species of birds use Faulkner's Island, which is part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, as a migratory rest stop. The island has one of the northeast's largest breeding colonies of roseate terns, an endangered species. Access to the island is restricted during nesting season (May to August

Faulkner's Island Light, still an active aid to navigation, can be seen distantly from shore but is best viewed by boat. There is an annual open house held each September, but visitors must provide their own boat transportation.).

American oystercatcher

Common tern

Common tern chick and egg

 Roseate tern

 

Barn swallows

Sara Williams, wildlife biologist for the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, volunteer Brian Drew, and Fred Farnsworth, president of the Faulkner's Light Brigade, in the lantern room of the lighthouse on June 22, 2005.