 Out of a need for a lighthouse to mark the Old Saybrook harbor, the government paid $225 for William Lynde's land at its entrance to erect a light.Abisha Woodward was contracted to build a wooden tower for $2,200 and it was completed in 1803.Due to erosion threatening the foundation of the lighthouse, a seawall was constructed in 1829, and it was reinforced and widened in 1831.