Courtesy of National Archives

Location: North End of Conanicut Island
1886 - present --Lat 41 34 25 N - Long 72 22 21 W

Established: 1886

Lighthouse Constructed: 1886

Discontinued: 1930

Original Illuminating Apparatus: Fifth-Order Fresnel Lens

Current Illuminating Apparatus: None

Height: Lighthouse: 47 feet
Skeleton tower: 50 feet

Status: Private Residence

Light Characteristic: Lighthouse: Fixed Red (1906)
Skeleton tower: Fixed Red (1950)
None (2005)

Range: Lighthouse: 8½ miles (1906)
Skeleton tower: 13 miles (1950)
None (2005)

The Wickford Rail and Steamboat Company ran a ferry between Wickford and Newport in the late 1800's. In 1882 it petitioned the Lighthouse Board to build a lighthouse on the northern tip of Conanicut Island. On July 7, 1884 Congress appropriated $18,000 to build the lighthouse. The Board chose a site, but construction was delayed because one of its owners was in Europe.

The Conanicut Lighthouse, a square wooden tower attached to a keeper's dwelling, was completed in 1886. It was first lighted on April 1.

Conanicut Lighthouse was discontinued in 1933. Its lantern and Fresnel lens were removed. A forty foot skeleton tower replaced the light. It was equipped with a 375-mm lens lantern as the primary light and a 300-mm lens lantern as the backup light. It remained in service until the 1980's.

The lighthouse was sold at auction in 1934 for $2,874. It has changed little since then.