New London Harbor Light Stamp Makes Its Official Debut

Residents crowded into a tent behind the Custom House Maritime Museum on Saturday as the New London Harbor Light stamp made its official debut.

The event included remarks from the United States Postal Service and local officials as well as a number of associated attractions. Tom Callinan introduced a song about the beacon, while Stonington philatelist sold a special commemorative cover allowing people to purchase and cancel the postage on the same day.

Rick Uluski, vice president of operations in the USPS Northeast Area, said the event marks a first for the USPS, as it is the first time the postal service has made five stamp debuts in one day. He said these are Forever stamps and so may be used at any time regardless of the price of postage.

“The New London Harbor Light stamp captures the structure’s sense of majesty as well as the features that invite us to take a closer look,” he said.

Susan Tamulevich, executive director of the Custom House Maritime Museum, said Sailfest was a fitting time to introduce the stamp as part of New London’s maritime heritage. She said the event came not long after the launch of the New London Maritime Society’s “Be Part of Something Big” campaign to restore the lighthouse as well as the society’s acquisition of Race Rock Light.

“We seem to be on a good streak, and this has been a high point in what has been a wonderful summer,” she said.

Mayor Daryl Finizio said the society’s recent efforts, as well as the idea to start a local maritime heritage park, are “tangible examples of the renaissance that is taking place in our city.”

“You can always be assured that you will have an active and engaged partner in the city of New London,” he told Tamulevich.

Admiral Sandra Stosz, superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy, said the lighthouse remains relevant to the newest generation of cadets attending the service academy. She said their training includes sails in Long Island Sound, where the New London Harbor Light is a prominent icon.

“I remember coming in on a long voyage around the Race and Fishers Island and Block Island Sound, and always being grateful to see that light,” she said.

State Senator Andrea Stillman praised the work of the New London Maritime Society. She said she was interested to learn about the lighthouse, including its financing by a lottery established by the colonial legislature and its distinction as the first lighthouse on the East Coast to use a flashing light.

“We know that people don’t use the mail the way they used to, but every now and then send out an extra piece of mail and put one of these beautiful stamps on it,” she said.

The 89-foot New London Harbor Light, built in 1801, is the oldest and tallest lighthouse in Connecticut. The first lighthouse, built at the site in 1761, was the fourth lighthouse built in the United States; it was replaced after it developed a large crack and mariners complained that the beacon on the 64-foot tower was difficult to distinguish from other lights on the shore.

Howard Koslow has painted the lighthouse series for the USPS, with the last one debuting in 2009 and featuring sites on the Gulf Coast. In addition to the New London Harbor Light, the stamps featured in the New England series portray the Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth, Me.; Maine; the Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse in New Castle, N.H.; the Point Judith Lighthouse in Narragansett, R.I.; and the Boston Light in Boston Harbor, Mass.

Tamulevich said interest in the New London Harbor Light has been growing. One promotion allowing residents to name their own price to tour the lighthouse was well-attended.

“There is a real love and desire to visit these lighthouses,” she said. “It is our mission to preserve them and make them accessible.”

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