AH-WR-1140

Light Vessel LV-51

Lightship · United States · Lost 1919 · Long Island Sound & the Connecticut Shore

A steel lightship on relief duty off Cornfield Point was rammed by an oil barge and sank within minutes, and her site is now Connecticut's only state underwater archaeological preserve.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Light Vessel LV-51 was a steel-hulled lightship built in 1892 to mark dangerous shoal waters, later assigned to relief duty at the Cornfield Point station off Old Saybrook, Connecticut. On April 24, 1919, she was struck by a Standard Oil Company barge under tow and sank within about eight minutes, though all seven crew were rescued. The wreck was rediscovered decades later through the efforts of Connecticut's Underwater Advisory Committee and surveyed by the University of Connecticut's National Underwater Research Center. It is now Connecticut's first and only designated underwater archaeological preserve.

Vessel

Built: 1892
Registry: LV-51
Builder: Not established
Yard: West Bay City, Michigan
Material: Steel
Length: 118 ft
Beam: 26 ft
Tonnage: 375
Propulsion: Steam screw, also rigged for sail
Owners: United States Lighthouse Service

Loss

Date: April 24, 1919
Cause: Collision
Location: Long Island Sound, off Cornfield Point, near Long Sand Shoal, about 2 miles south of Old Saybrook, Connecticut
Water: Long Island Sound
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 7
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 190 ft
Condition: Part of the steel hull remains on the bottom
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Connecticut Archaeological Preserve

Position

Coordinates: 41.20° N 72.37° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: Cornfield Point, Old Saybrook, Connecticut
Region: Long Island Sound & the Connecticut Shore

Converted from a published position of 41-12 N / 72-22 W.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (78/100)

United States Lighthouse Society / Connecticut DEP Long Island Sound License Plate Program
Vessel history, survey, and archaeological preserve designation.
Hunting New England Shipwrecks (wreckhunter.net)
Dimensions, tonnage, loss date, cause, casualties, location, and depth.
Old Saybrook Historical Society (via Hearst Connecticut Media)
History of Cornfield Point lightship stations and the 1919 collision.