The 1871 keeper's house survived to 1976, when it was destroyed by fire; the Coast Guard repaired and automated the lighthouse two years later.

Access to Falkner Island and the light is restricted during the nesting season of the roseate terns from May to August yearly.

[8] The 46 ft (14 m) octagonal tower was made of brownstone lined with brick, and it originally had a spiral wooden staircase that led outside to the lantern room.

Construction quality was poor, allowing snow to enter the house during the winter through gaps in the walls and roof.

[4] In 1871, it was rebuilt by the United States Coast Guard as a three-story house, which remained until it was destroyed by fire on March 15, 1976.

[12] During the War of 1812, the British forces landed on the island and told the keeper's wife, Thankful Stone, that they had nothing to fear as long as they kept the light burning.

[9] In 1865, Joseph Henry of the Smithsonian Institution, the Chairman of the Lighthouse Board, set up bells and whistles and tested the distances they could be heard.

Completed in 1999, the restorations included painting the interior and exterior, replacing the door and a new entry deck made of Pau Lope wood.

[5] The funds were approved in 1998 with the help of Connecticut Senators, Joseph Lieberman and Christopher Dodd and New Haven's Congressional Representative Rosa DeLauro.

[11] Falkner Island Light is the second oldest extant lighthouse in Connecticut and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 29, 1990.

[9] The Town of Guilford proclaimed that September 7, 2002, would be "Faulkner's Island Light Day" to honor the 200th birthday of the lighthouse.

[16] Falkner Island Light is home to one of the world's largest breeding colonies of the endangered roseate tern; the nesting season is May through August.