Exploring Rhode Island's Iconic Lighthouses
Lighthouses have been guiding mariners for more than 2,500 years. And while Rhode Island doesn’t have any beacons quite that old, the Ocean State boasts 21 working lighthouses and the ruins of a few more, and can lay claim to arguably the most famous lighthouse keeper in history.
The latter would be Newport resident Ida Lewis, who helped take on the keeper duties at the Lime Rock Lighthouse at age 15 when her father, originally appointed to the job, suffered a stroke. Lewis rescued at least 18 people from the waters of Newport Harbor over her long career (no small number of them drunken soldiers from Fort Adams trying to shortcut across the frozen harbor to the downtown taverns in winter), earning her legions of admirers and the sobriquet “Bravest Woman in America” in the national press.
“She was catapulted to a level of fame that even by today’s standards would be amazing,” says Lenore Skomal, author of The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, a novel about Lewis’ life that is currently being made into a movie.
Lewis’ lifesaving skills were honed by swimming the 200 yards between her lighthouse home and the mainland. Today, the Ida Lewis Lighthouse (the only one in America named after a person) is connected by a bridge to the Newport shore but remains largely inaccessible to the public, since it is now part of the private Ida Lewis Yacht Club. The building and its modest light — still a private aid to navigation — can best be viewed from the Stone Pier at King Park, while the lighthouse’s original Fresnel lens is on display at the Museum of Newport History.
The Ida Lewis Lighthouse is one of the stops on Save The Bay’s comprehensive lighthouse tour, an all-day excursion that includes the 17 lighthouses of Narragansett Bay. (Rhode Island Bay Cruises offers a more modest 90-minute tour, which visits 10 lighthouses.) While a few are located offshore on specks of land, many of the state’s most prominent lighthouses (including Beavertail in Jamestown) can be visited by land; some feature museums, as well.
“We are blessed with some amazing lighthouses,” says Eric Pfirrmann, Save The Bay’s lead captain and tour narrator. Jeremy D’Entremont, president and historian of the American Lighthouse Foundation and curator of the newenglandlighthouses.net website, notes that in addition to Ida Lewis, Rhode Island is also home to the third-oldest lighthouse site in America: Beavertail, which was first erected in 1749 and rebuilt as a 68-foot tower in 1856.
“Those two facts make Rhode Island super-important in U.S. lighthouse history,” he says.
Rhode Island’s lighthouses include:
(Some sites may be closed due to health precautions; check before venturing out.)
Beavertail Light: Rhode Island’s most accessible lighthouse is at the southern tip of Conanicut (Jamestown) Island in Beavertail State Park. Legendary keeper George Manders was famous for his tall tales, including a claim of spotting a white whale from his lofty perch. The lighthouse has a museum and visitors can climb the 64-foot tower.
Block Island North Light: Built in 1867, this 55-foot granite tower guarded Block Island’s shores for more than a century of service before it was deactivated in 1973. The granite building fell into disrepair and was sold to the Town of New Shoreham in 1984, then relit in 1993. The keeper’s quarters now house a seasonal museum.
Block Island Southeast Light: [Most Beautiful] D’Entremont calls picturesque Southeast Light “one of the most architecturally magnificent lighthouses” in the U.S. Located on the Mohegan Bluffs, it’s about a half-hour walk from the ferry terminal and includes a museum. Concern about erosion led the Coast Guard to move the entire 2,000-ton lighthouse about 300 feet back from the cliffs in 1993.
Bristol Ferry Light: This modest lighthouse, built in 1855, sits in the shadow of the Mount Hope Bridge and is now a private home.
Castle Hill Light: One of Rhode Island’s most-photographed lighthouses despite its small (34-foot) stature, this structure guards the East Passage near the Castle Hill Inn. The lighthouse survived the 1938 hurricane despite the fact that the storm surge briefly turned Castle Hill into an island.
Conanicut Light: This 1886 light-house is easily overlooked because it no longer has a light on its tower building and has been converted into a private home.
Conimicut Light: This still-active 1883 lighthouse can best be viewed by boat or from the sandbar at Warwick’s Conimicut Point Park. A five-room keeper’s home once stood next to the “sparkplug-style” lighthouse, but was smashed into splinters by drifting sea ice in 1875.
Dutch Island Light: [Hardest to reach] This 42-foot rectangular lighthouse, built in 1857, is off-limits to visitors, but can be seen by boat or from Fort Getty in Jamestown. The father of the first lighthouse keeper, Robert Dennis, fought in the American Revolution and attended the Boston Tea Party.
Hog Island Shoal Light: A popular fishing spot, this privately owned 60-foot “sparkplug” lighthouse was built in 1901.
Ida Lewis Lighthouse: [Shortest] The former Lime Rock Light was named in Ida Lewis’ honor in 1921; the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Ida Lewis is also based in Newport. Like Rhode Island itself, the state’s most famous lighthouse packs a lot into a little package: it rises just 13 feet.
Nayatt Point Light: Originally built by a contractor who submitted the lowest bid to the government (unsurprisingly, the tower began crumbling almost immediately), this 1856 lighthouse is now one of Barrington’s most magnificent homes; the best view of it is from the water.
Newport Harbor Light: Also known as Goat Island Light, this 1842 lighthouse is on the grounds of Gurney’s Newport Resort; the property is open to the public, but the granite tower is not. The current lighthouse replaces one built in 1823 but later mothballed, then moved to Prudence Island, where it still stands.
Plum Beach Light: Restored by volunteers in the early 2000s, this red-and-white lighthouse dates to 1899 and can easily be seen from the westbound lanes of the Jamestown Bridge.
Point Judith Light: This active 51-foot lighthouse was built in 1857; it is on the grounds of a Coast Guard station, making direct access difficult — but it’s easily seen from nearby beaches. The last German U-Boat sunk during World War II went down about 2 miles off Point Judith Light.
Ponham Rocks Light: The last remaining lighthouse on the Providence River, this structure was built in Second Empire style in 1871. You can see it from the East Bay Bike Path, and on tours offered by the Friends of Ponham Rocks Lighthouse.
Poplar Point Light: Built in 1831, this former lighthouse is at the mouth of Wickford Harbor and is now a private home; it has the oldest wooden lighthouse tower still standing in the U.S.
Prudence Island Light: [Oldest] Rhode Island’s oldest lighthouse that’s still standing was originally built in Newport Harbor in 1823 and was moved to Prudence Island in 1851. The 1938 hurricane claimed the lives of the lighthouse keeper’s wife and son, but the building survived the storm. Visit via the Prudence Island ferry from Bristol.
Rose Island Light: This beautiful wooden lighthouse was built in 1870 and sits just outside Newport Harbor; seasonal ferries stop at the island and visitors can also stay overnight in the lighthouse. Fort Hamilton, built in 1798 and also located on the island, was once used to quarantine cholera patients.
Sakonnet Point Light: [Tallest] This 66-foot lighthouse was built in 1884 off the coast of Little Compton on Little Cormorant Rock, and can be seen from the beach at Sakonnet Point or by boat.
Warwick Light: [Newest] Rhode Island’s “youngest” lighthouse was built in 1932. Best viewed from the water or the end of Warwick Neck Avenue, it is used as housing for the Coast Guard.
Watch Hill Light: A beacon has stood at Watch Hill Point since 1745; the current 45-foot lighthouse dates to 1856 and has a museum in the oil house that’s open to the public seasonally. Lighthouse keeper Capt. Jared Starr Crandall was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his heroic efforts to save passengers on the steamer Metis, which crashed off Watch Hill in 1872.
