Iron was for a time mined at the point, and industrial sites sprung up around it, leading to years of complaints about the visibility of the light.

A fourth order Fresnel lens installed in 1852 provided some improvement, as did a change from red to white aspect in 1870.

In 1986, John Coulter, President of Rukert Terminals, proposed to his wife Fiona at the top of the Lazaretto Lighthouse.

Based on records from this era, Shaw and his family survived the fire that destroyed the keepers' quarters at Lazaretto in 1836.

In 1841, the Hartford Times reports that Shaw was apparently written a letter by Thomas Ewing, Secretary of the Treasury, relieving him from his duties at this light.

An inspection reports that despite poor conditions at the lighthouse itself, Shaw was meticulous in his duties and kept a journal voluntarily.

Several years later, Davis and Henry C. Wingate, a watchman, received a commendation from the Secretary of the Lighthouse Service for their attempts to save a drowning man near Lazaretto in 1916.