Explore the region's lighthouses with the one who know them best. Every summer, NLMS presents new iterations of the Yankee Magazine award-winning 'Best Lighthouse Tour'. Visit the website nlmaritimesociety.org to discover the latest trips!
New London’s “Gem on the waterfront,” the Custom House Maritime Museum, was designed in 1833 by Robert Mills, this country’s first federal architect and designer of the national Washington Monument. A maritime museum since 1983, it houses a rich local maritime history collection, with exhibitions on local lighthouses, the Amistad story (some of which happened in New London), sailors' knots and New London's harbor. The buildings also still maintains a customs office, a workplace which is, in fact, the oldest continuously-operating customs office in the country.
The Maritime Society owns the three major lighthouse leading in to the historic port of New London: Race Rock, Ledge, and New London Harbor Lights.
New London Harbor Lighthouse, the oldest and tallest on Long Island Sound, is located onshore, approximately three miles from the downtown, and offers breathtaking views over Long Island Sound. According to the United States Coast Guard, at night more lighthouses can be seen from the lantern of this lighthouse than from any other place on earth. Harbor Light can be visited year-round by applintment. Race and Ledge Lighthouses are visitable by boat every summer. Watch the website nlmaritimesociety.org to learn more.
