Bullock
Point Light
 |
Courtesy of
Coast Guard Historian's Office
|
Location: Providence
River near Bullock Point
 1872 - present Lat 41 44
12 N - Long 71 21 54 W
Established: 1872
Lighthouse Constructed:
1872
Removed: 1939
Original Illuminating
Apparatus: Six-Order Fresnel Lens
Current Illuminating
Apparatus: 250-mm lens
Height: Lighthouse: Light 35 feet from base (1906)
 Skeleton tower: 20 feet (2005)
Status: Active aid to navigation / skeleton tower
Light Characteristic:
Lighthouse: Fixed Red (1906)
 Skeleton tower: Flashing Red every 6 seconds (1988)
 Occulting White every 4 seconds (2005)
Range: Lighthouse: 7½ miles (1906)
 Skeleton tower:
6 miles (2005)
In 1860, the Lighthouse Board built a day mark on the shoal
off Bullock Point to help ships avoid it as they traveled up
the Providence River. As ship traffic increased on the river,
the owners and captains of ships using it petitioned to have
a light placed on the day mark. In 1872, in response to the
petitions, the Lighthouse Board placed a portable beacon on
it.
In 1874, Congress appropriated $15,000 to build a permanent
keeper's dwelling and light tower on Bullock Point. While the
new light was being built, the portable beacon was removed and
was replaced with a temporary light on a stake. The keeper's
dwelling and light tower were completed and lighted in 1876.
On September 21, 1938, one of the most powerful hurricanes in
history hit Rhode Island. During it, the light's last keeper,
Andrew
Zuius
would live up to the best traditions of the Lighthouse Service.
Hurricane driven wind and waves battered Bullock Point for hours.
Suddenly a huge wave tore away part of one wall. Water poured
into the lighthouse. Andrew tried to put a mattress in the hole,
but it was no use. Another wave hit and took out the wall on
the other side of the lighthouse. Water kept pouring into the
lighthouse. Zuius had to go to the light's second floor, so
he wouldn't be washed out of the light. Just minutes after he
climbed the stairs to the second floor, a huge wave tore them
away. Andrew kept the light burning through the night. The next
morning someone came out and got him. Even thought the light
was wrecked, he continued to tend it, while he lived on shore
with his family. Andrew was transferred to Palmer Island Lighthouse
in 1939, when Bullock Point Lighthouse was closed. He retired
from the lighthouse service in 1944.
The remains of the lighthouse
were removed in 1939. It was replaced with a light on a skeleton
tower.
|