Fayerweather Island, Black Rock Harbor
Bridgeport, Fairfield County, Connecticut
7 acres

Directions:

The lighthouse grounds are accessible by parking at the end of Barnum Boulevard at Seaside Park in Bridgeport. There is a mildly strenuous walk to the lighthouse. The tower itself is not open to the public.

History:

Fayerweather Island (with Black Rock Lighthouse)

Black Rock Harbor is a deep, protected harbor. It developed as a trade port and shipbuilding center in the 18th century. Black Rock was once part of Fairfield, but now is just a neighborhood of Bridgeport.

1807 -- the federal government purchased 9 1/2 acres on the island from David Fayerweather.

1808 -- station established.

1821 -- the 40-foot octagonal tower was destroyed in a hurricane, and a new tower was completed two years later.

1823 -- present lighthouse built of stone and wood. Height of tower: 47 feet. Original optic: Fifth order Fresnel (1854); Present optic: None.

1933: discontinued.

Trails:

9/10/2005. On our 38th wedding anniversary and with a beautiful day, my wife and I, along with Ceferino Santana, Sarah-David Rosenbaum and dog Sonar, parked at the far western end of Seaside Park.   Fayerweather Island is connected to the mainland via a massive rock jetty.  We walked on top of the jetty (being careful of our steps) to the island.  We got off the jetty per se on its westerns side and onto the island and walked on a sandy trail between the salt marsh on the right and the woods on the left. The only drawback to the walk were the salt marsh mosquitoes.  We each got several bites.

We walked all the way to the light house at the tip of the island.  There were several people fishing at the tip. 

We started to walk back on the eastern side of the island and then decided to enter the heart of the woods.  Picked up several new species, but then the mosquitoes started to descend on us and everybody made a dash for the jetty.  We walked back to the car and then left.  Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney and Sarah-David Rosenbaum

*  =  plants blooming on field trip, 9/10/2005

Trees:
Acer negundo (box elder)
Acer saccharinum (silver maple)
Aesculus hippocastanum (horse chestnut)
Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven)
Albizia julibrissin (silk tree)
Carya cordiformis (bitternut hickory)
Gleditsia triacanthos (honey locust)
Ilex aquifolium (English holly)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Pinus sp. (pine, 2 needled)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Populus alba (white poplar)
Populus deltoides (cottonwood)
Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus palustris (pin oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)

Shrubs:
Iva frutescens (marsh elder)
Rhamnus cathartica (common buckthorn)
Rhus copallina (winged sumac)
Rosa rugosa (wrinkled rose)     *waning

Vines:
Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (porcelainberry)
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Lathyrus maritimus (beach pea) 
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Polygonum scandens (climbing false bindweed)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)

Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)     *
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut)
Arctium sp. (burdock)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
Asparagus officinalis (asparagus)
Atriplex patula (orach)
Cakile edentula (sea rocket)     *
Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle)       *
Chenopodium album (pigweed)
Conyza canadensis (horseweed)
Datura stramonium (jimsonweed)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)     *
Erechtites hieraciifolia (pileweed) 
Euphorbia maculata (spotted spurge)
Gnaphalium obtusifolium (sweet everlasting)     *
Hesperis matronalis (dame's rocket)     *
Hypericum sp. (St. Johnswort)
Lactuca serriola (prickly lettuce)     *
Lepidium virginicum (poor man's pepper)
Lespedeza capitata (round-headed bush clover) 
Limonium carolinianum (sea lavender)     *
Medicago lupulina (black medick)     *
Mentha spicata (spearmint)
Mollugo verticillata (carpetweed)    
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose)     *
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel)    
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)    
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonum sp. (smartweed)     *
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Salicornia europaea (slender glasswort)
Salsola kali (common saltwort)
Saponaria officinalis (bouncing bet)     *
Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade)     *
Solidago sempervirens (salt marsh goldenrod)
Suaeda linearis (tall sea blite) 
Trifolium pratense (red clover)     *
Trifolium repens (white clover)    
Typha latifolia (broad-leaved cattail)
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)
Xanthium strumarium (clotbur)
Yucca filamentosa (Adam's needle)

Grasses:
Cenchrus sp. (sandbur)
Digitaria sp. (crab grass)
Echinochloa sp. (barnyard grass)
Elymus sp. (wild rye grass)
Panicum virgatum (switch grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reedgrass)
Setaria glauca (yellow foxtail grass)
Spartina alterniflora (salt marsh cordgrass)
Spartina patens (salt meadow cordgrass)

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