Rhode Island Lighthouses

Small in size but long in coastline, Rhode Island has 21 lighthouses, 13 of them active, plus at least 6 former light stations where ruins or foundations are visible. Six of the smaller surviving towers are privately owned.

Although there is no state preservation society, interest in lighthouse preservation is strong. Impressive work has been done at the two Block Island towers, at Rose Island, at Watch Hill, at Sakonnet Point, and most recently at Plum Beach. Preservation work has also begun at the endangered Dutch Island Light.

Jeremy D'Entremont's book, The Lighthouses of Rhode Island (Beverly, Mass.: Commonwealth Editions, 2006) is an excellent resource for the study of Rhode Island lighthouses.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. USCG numbers are from Vol. I of the USCG Light List.

What's Hot:

Town and Coast Guard at odds over Beavertail Light

Bids taken to restore Block Island North Light

Newly restored Dutch Island Light reactivated

Restoration contract awarded for Dutch Island Light

Beavertail Light, Conanicut Island
photo from New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide
copyright Jeremy D'Entremont; used by permission

General Sources
New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide - Rhode Island: Excellent photos and good data on all the lighthouses. The primary links for each lighthouse are to this site.
Rhode Island Lighthouses: Photos and brief accounts by Kraig Anderson of LighthouseFriends.com.
Lighthouses in Rhode Island, United States: Aerial photos posted by Marinas.com.
Providence River Lighthouses

Nayatt Point: 1856. Inactive since 1868 (a decorative light is displayed). 25 ft (7.5 m) square cylindrical brick tower attached to a 2-story keeper's house (1828). A 4º Fresnel lens (1863) from a lightship is mounted in the lantern. House painted white; lantern roof is red. Anderson has a good page for the lighthouse, and Google has a satellite view. Long used as a private residence, the house has been considerably expanded over the years. It was on the market for $1.275 million in 1997 and sold in 2001. Located at Nyatt Point in Barrington; view from the end of Nyatt Road. Site and tower closed. Site manager: private. ARLHS USA-532.
Conimicut (Conimicut Shoal): 1883. Active; focal plane 55 ft (17 m); white flash every 2.5 s (red sector covers dangerous shoal). 58 ft round cast iron sparkplug towe, incorporating 3-story keeper's quarters, with lantern, two upper galleries and lower gallery, mounted on granite caisson; 250 mm lens. Lighthouse painted white with black trim, lantern black. Fog horn (two blasts every 30 s). Anderson has a good page for the lighthouse, and Google has a satellite view. Ownership of the lighthouse was transferred to the city of Warwick on September 30, 2004. In December 2005 the state Department of Transportation announced the award of $560,000 in federal transportation enhancement funds to restore the lighthouse. The city has formed the Conimicut Lighthouse Foundation to manage and operate the lighthouse. Located on a shoal in mid-river; good views from Conimicut Point Park in Warwick. Marinas.com has aerial photos. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: City of Warwick. ARLHS USA-188; Admiralty J0590; USCG 1-18305.
East Passage and Newport Harbor Lighthouses
Note: Conanicut Island divides Narragansett Bay into two channels, the East Passage and the West Passage.
Hog Island Shoal: 1901. Active; focal plane 54 ft (16.5 m); white light, 3 s off, 3 s on. 60 ft (18 m) round cast iron sparkplug tower, incorporating 2-story keeper's quarters, with lantern, two upper galleries and lower gallery, mounted on a granite caisson; 250 mm lens. Lighthouse painted white with black trim, lantern black. Fog horn (two blasts every 30 s). Anderson also has a fine page for this lighthouse, and Google has a satellite view. The Coast Guard renovated and repaired the tower in 1995. In 2004, the lighthouse became available for transfer under NHLPA, but no presrvation groups came forward to apply for it. In October 2006, the light was sold at auction for $165,000 to Jon and Juli Chytka of South Dakota. Located on a shoal at the entrance to Bristol Harbor. Marinas.com has aerial photos. Accessible only by boat; good views from the Prudence Island ferry. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: private. ARLHS USA-373; Admiralty J0570; USCG 1-18145.
[Musselbed Shoals (3)]: 1939 (station established 1873). Active; focal plane 26 ft (8 m); red flash every 6 s (also displays red, white and green directional lights). 20 ft (6 m) square cylindrical skeletal tower on a concrete pad resting on the ruins of a granite pier; the tower also carries red triangular daymarks. Jeremy D'Entremont has a photo, and Google has a satellite view (note the red gong buoy at upper left). The modern light replaces an 1879 lighthouse that stood on the same pier until destroyed by the hurricane of 1938. Located off Bristol Ferry marking the entrance to Mt. Hope Bay from Narragansett Bay. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: U.S. Coast Guard. ARLHS USA-959; Admiralty J0572; USCG 1-18150.
[Gould Island]: 1889. Inactive since 1932. 30 ft (9 m) brick tower demolished in 1960. The keeper's house has also been demolished, but the oil house survives. Gould Island is about 800 m (1/2 mi) long and about 2 miles (3 km) north of the Newport Bridge. The light station is at the north end of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: U.S. Navy. ARLHS USA-958.
[Gull Rocks (1)]: 1887. Inactive since 1928. The A-frame keeper's house (two lights were mounted at the peak ends of the roof) was demolished in 1970. The lighthouse was replaced by a square skeletal tower, which was deactivated and demolished in 1970. The original oil house survives. The Coast Guard has a historic photo of this unusual light station. Located on a tiny island almost directly under the Newport Bridge (RI 138) between Jamestown and Newport; Google has a fuzzy satellite view. Accessible only by boat. Site status uncertain. Owner/site manager: unknown. ARLHS USA-362.
** Rose Island: 1870 (Albert Dow, designer). Reactivated (inactive 1971-1993, now maintained by the Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation); focal plane 48 ft (14.5 m); white flash every 6 s. 35 ft (10.5 m) octagonal cylindrical wood tower with lantern and gallery, mounted on a 2-story Empire-style wood keeper's house. Brick oil house (1912) and brick fog signal building (1912). Building painted white; lantern black. Anderson has a good page for the lighthouse, Marinas.com has aerial photos. Sibling of Colchester Reef Light, VT. Since 1992, the lighthouse has been carefully restored to its 1912 appearance. The first floor of the building is a museum; the second floor has two guest rooms available year-round for one-week stays by volunteer caretakers. In 2005, a federal grant of $330,000 was awarded for repairs and improvements at the light station. Located in the center of Narragansett Bay between Newport and Jamesown, just south of the Newport Bridge. Google has a fuzzy satellite view. Accessible during the summer by the Newport-Jamestown ferry (toll). Site restricted in bird nesting season (April 1 to August 15), otherwise open; lighthouse open to visitors July 1 through Labor Day (admission fee); guided tours available in other months. Owner: City of Newport. Site manager: Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation. ARLHS USA-703; Admiralty J0543; USCG 1-17857.

Ida Lewis Rock (Lime Rock): 1854. Inactive since 1927 (a decorative light is now displayed in season). 13 ft (4 m) lantern mounted on one corner of a 2-story granite and brick keeper's house. The original 6º Fresnel lens is on display at the Museum of Newport History. Building painted white, lantern black. Anderson also has a good page for the lighthouse. This tiny lighthouse is famous for its legendary keeper Ida Lewis (1857-1911). The light was moved to a skeletal tower in 1927 and discontinued in 1963; the skeletal tower was demolished. The lighthouse building, including modern additions, is now part of a yacht club, and the island has been connected to the mainland by a causeway. Located off Wellington Avenue between Chastellux and Halidon Avenues in Newport; Google has a fuzzy satellite view. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: Ida Lewis Yacht Club. ARLHS USA-398.
* Castle Hill: 1890. Active; focal plane 40 ft (12 m); red light, 3 s on, 3 s off. 34 ft (10 m) round granite tower with lantern and gallery, 300 mm lens. Fog horn (1 s blast every 10 s). Upper half of tower painted white, lower half unpainted; lantern painted black. Several web sites report erroneously that the keeper's house was demolished in the 1930s. In fact, the 2-story brick keeper's house stands near Castle Hill Cove, a few hundred feet from the lighthouse; Jeremy D'Entremont has a photo of the house (a little more than halfway down the page). Anderson also has a fine page for the station. A traditional location for weddings, this lighthouse is accessible by a short walk from the nearby Castle Hill Cove Marina (where parking is available), or (if you're a guest) from the adjacent Castle Hill Inn. The Inn also has a web page for the lighthouse. Located at Castle Hill Point at the southwestern end of Newport; Marinas.com has aerial photos, and Google has a satellite view. Site open, tower closed. Owner/site manager: U.S. Coast Guard. ARLHS USA-144; Admiralty J0530; USCG 1-17795.
West Passage Lighthouses
Note: Conanicut Island divides Narragansett Bay into two channels, the East Passage and the West Passage.
Warwick (2): 1932 (station established 1826). Active; focal plane 66 ft (20 m); green light occulting every 4 s, day and night. 51 ft (15.5 m) round steel tower with lantern and gallery; 250 mm light (1985). Fog horn (2 s blast every 15 s). The 1-1/2 story wood Victorian keeper's house (1889) is used as Coast Guard housing. Buildings painted white, lantern black; roofs red. Anderson has good photos, Bob Indrums has a photo, and Google has a satellite view. After the 1938 hurricane, the lighthouse was relocated 50 ft (15 m) inland to escape beach erosion. Located at the end of Warwick Neck Road in Warwick. Site and tower closed; there's a limited view from the gate at the end of Warwick Neck Road. Best views are from the water. Owner/site manager: U.S. Coast Guard. ARLHS USA-871; Admiralty J0608; USCG 1-19345.
Conanicut Island: 1886. Inactive since 1933. 42 ft (13 m) square cylindrical wood tower with gallery, attached to a 2-story wood keeper's house. Lantern removed. Building painted red with white trim. The barn (1897), oil house (1901), and fog signal building (1907) also survive. Anderson has a good page for the lighthouse, and Google has a satellite view. This station has been a private residence since 1933. Located at the end of Summit Avenue, at the northern tip of the island. Site and tower closed; there are good views only from the water. Owner/site manager: private. ARLHS USA-185.
[Wickford Harbor]: 1882. Inactive since 1930. The original lighthouse was a square wood tower attached to a 1-1/2 story keeper's house, mounted on a round pier. The lighthouse was demolished shortly after it was deactivated in 1930. An active light (focal plane 20 ft (6 m); green flash every 6 s) on a 15 ft (4.5 m) square cylindrical steel skeletal tower stands on the original stone foundation. Jeremy D'Entremont has a photo. Located off Poplar Point at the entrance to the harbor; the slight modern tower is not visible in a Google satellite view. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: U.S. Coast Guard. ARLHS USA-891; Admiralty J0610; USCG 1-19135.
Poplar Point: 1831. Inactive since 1882. 45 ft (14 m) octagonal wood tower with lantern and gallery, attached to a 1-1/2 story wood keeper's house. House painted gray, light tower white, lantern roof black. Anderson's page has several photos, and Google has a satellite view. The light was moved to the new Wickford Harbor Light in 1882. A private residence since 1894, the house has been much enlarged. However, the well-preserved light tower is the oldest surviving wooden lighthouse in the U.S. Located at the entrance to Wickford Harbor in North Kingstown. There's a good view from Sauga Point on the other side of the harbor entrance. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: private. ARLHS USA-647.
Dutch Island: 1857. Reactivated (inactive 1979-2007); focal plane 56 ft (17 m); white light, 2 s on, 4 s off. 42 ft (13 m) square cylindrical brick tower. The keeper's house, formerly attached to the tower, was demolished in early 1960s. Anderson has a good closeup photo. Gravely endangered by neglect, vandalism, and decay, the lighthouse was placed on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List. In 2000 the American Lighthouse Foundation leased the lighthouse from the Coast Guard and helped start the Dutch Island Lighthouse Society to work for restoration of the lighthouse. In 2001, the 250 mm lens used in the lighthouse prior to 1947 was returned by a nearby resident who had held it for safekeeping for 20 years. In 2005, a $120,000 federal grant was obtained, and plans for a complete restoration were announced in June 2006. In July 2007, a contract was awarded to Abcore Construction to carry out the restoration, and on November 17 the light was reactivated. Bob Indrums has a September 2007 photo taken while the work was in progress, and the DILS website has a photo of the fully restored lighthouse. Lighthouse Digest has an article on the last keeper at the lighthouse. Located on the southern tip of Dutch Island, a wildlife management area in the middle of Narragansett Bay between Jamestown and Saunderstown; Google has a fuzzy satellite view. Visible from Fort Getty Recreation Area in Jamestown. Accessible only by boat; since 2000 the island has been closed to the public due to dangers from collapsed cisterns and bunkers. Site and tower closed. Owner: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Site manager: Dutch Island Lighthouse Society. ARLHS USA-250.

Soundside Lighthouses
Sakonnet: 1884. Reactivated (inactive 1955-1997); focal plane 70 ft (21 m); flash every 6 s, white to the east and red to the west. 66 ft (20 m) round cast iron sparkplug tower (brick lined) with lantern, double galleries above and lower gallery, incorporating 3-story keeper's quarters, mounted on a concrete caisson. Lighthouse painted white except for a red band around the base of the lantern. Anderson has an excellent recent photo, Bob Indrums has a great 2006 photo, and Marinas.com has aerial photos. The original 4º Fresnel lens is on display at the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland, Maine. The lighthouse was saved from destruction and restored by private efforts and local fundraising. In 2005, a grant of more than $800,000 to restore the tower was approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The lighthouse stands on the westernmost of a group of rocky islets and ledged, 800 yards (730 m) southwest of Sakonnet Point in Little Compton (end of RI 77). Google has a satellite view. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: Friends of Sakonnet Point Lighthouse, Inc. ARLHS USA-718; Admiralty J0523; USCG 1-17577.
**** Beavertail (3): 1856 (station established 1749). Active; focal plane 68 ft (21 m); white flash every 6 s, day and night. 45 ft (14 m) square cylindrical granite tower with lantern and double gallery, attached to a 2-story stucco-clad brick keeper's house (1856); DCB-24 aerobeacon (1991). The tower is unpainted granite; lantern and watchroom painted black; keeper's house white with red roofs. Fog horn (3 s blast every 30 s). The assistant keeper's house (1898) houses a museum; the 4º Fresnel lens used 1907-1991 is on display. Jeremy D'Entremont's photo is at he top of this page, and Anderson has a good page for the station. This is the nation's fourth oldest light station (after Boston MA, Tybee Island GA, and Brant Point MA). The foundations of the 1749 lighthouse remain visible. The Beavertail Lighthouse Museum Association works for preservation of the light station. BLMA is coordinating a plan for ownership by the State of Rhode Island and Town of Jamestown with the BLMA as the site manager in anticipation of the property being declared excess under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. BLMA operates the museum in the assistant keepers's house and a custodian presently resides in the principal keeper's house. The fog signal building houses an aquarium operated by the state Department of Environmental Management. In 2006, BLMA announced plans for expansion of the museum into all six structures on the light station when the station becomes available for transfer. In early 2008, the Champlin Foundation granted $227,000 for restoration of the light tower. Also in early 2008, the Coast Guard rejected a request from the town to lease the keeper's house to a caretaker. Located on Beavertail Point on the southern tip of Conanicut Island in Jamestown; Marinas.com has aerial photos, and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Site open daily; museum open daily late June through Labor Day, weekends in late spring and early fall; tower closed. Owner: U.S. Coast Guard. Site manager: Beavertail Lighthouse Museum Association and Beavertail State Park. ARLHS USA-048; Admiralty J0624; USCG 1-17780.
[Whale Rock]: 1882. Inactive since 1938, when the lighthouse, a cast iron sparkplug tower, was destroyed by the great hurricane of that year. Part of the cast iron and concrete caisson remains. In 2004 the wreckage of the lighthouse was discovered by undersea archaeologist David Robinson. Located on a dangerous ledge about one mile west of Beavertail Point; Google has a satellite view. The ruins are visible from Beavertail Light and from the end of Cormorant Road on the mainland to the west. ARLHS USA-883.
Block Island Lighthouses
Note: Block Island is a fragment of the same glacial ridge that forms the south fork of Long Island, New York. It is about 19 km (12 mi) south of the mainland and a similar distance east northeast of Montauk Point, New York. The island is accessible by ferry from Point Judith year round and in the summer also from New London, Connecticut, from Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, and from Montauk, New York.
*** Block Island North (4): 1868 (station established 1829). Reactivated (inactive 1973-1989) but temporarily inactive at present during restoration; focal plane 58 ft (17.5 m); white flash every 5 s. 55 ft (17 m) octagonal cylindrical granite tower with lantern and gallery, attached "schoolhouse" style to the front of a 2-story granite keeper's house; 190 mm lens. Light tower and lantern painted red; the rest of the building is unpainted granite. Anderson's page has several photos. Other lighthouses of this "Long Island schoolhouse" design were built at Morgan Point, Sheffield Island, and Great Captain Island, Connecticut, and at Plum Island and Old Field Point, New York. There is a museum in the first floor of the building; the original 4º Fresnel lens is on display. The lighthouse was renovated in 1985-89 by North Light Commission, efforts culminating in the return of the light on August 5, 1989. However, by 2000 it was clear that a thorough restoration of the entire building was needed. Fundraising began, and in June 2002 the town received a $400,000 federal grant. Since the proposed work required temporary removal of the light tower, the light was moved to a temporary skeletal tower in late 2003. In the spring of 2006 the Fresnel lens was restored for later reinstallation in the tower. In early 2008, Campbell Construction submitted the lowest bid for a $500,000 restoration of the lighthouse. Located at the north point of the island within the limits of the Block Island National Wildlife Refuge. Marinas.com has aerial photos, and Google has a satellite view. Accessible by an easy 0.5 mile (0.8 km) trail from the end of Corn Neck Road. Site and museum open daily mid June through early September and on weekends until mid October, tower closed. Owner: Town of New Shoreham. Site manager: Block Island North Light Commission. ARLHS USA-061; Admiralty J0642; USCG 1-19480.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Block Island Breakwater Inner and Outer (1876-?), Block Island
Brenton Reef (1962-1989), off the entrance to Narragansett Bay. ARLHS USA-082.
Fuller Rock (1872-1923), Providence River. ARLHS USA-957.
Great Salt Pond Breakwater Inner and Outer (1898-?), Block Island. ARLHS USA-1274 (Inner) and 1275 (Outer).
Sabin Point (1872-1968), Providence River. ARLHS USA-715.
Sassafras Point (1872-1912), Providence River. ARLHS USA-962.

Return to the Lighthouse Directory index