Poplar
Point Light
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© 2004 R. Holmes
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Location: Entrance
to Wickford Harbor
 1831 - present  Lat 41
34 15 N - Long 71 26 20 W
Established: 1831
Lighthouse Constructed:
1831
Discontinued: 1882
Original Illuminating
Apparatus: Eight Argand Lamps with reflectors
Current Illuminating
Apparatus: None
Height: 37 feet
Status: Private Residence
Light Characteristic:
Fixed White (1855)
 None (2005)
Range: None (2005)
On March 3, 1831, Congress appropriated $3,000 for a beacon at
or near the entrance to Wickford Harbor. A site on Poplar Point,
at the Southern entrance to the harbor was chosen and purchased
from Thomas Albro for $300.
Charles Allen of Kingston, Rhode Island built the lighthouse,
a stone keeper's dwelling with an octagonal wooden light tower
attached to the roof, in 1831. Samuel Thomas, Jr was appointed
Poplar Point's first keeper in November of that year. He was
paid $300 a year.
Poplar Point Lighthouse 's illuminating apparatus consisted of
eight Argand lamps with concave reflectors arranged around two
hoops. The Argand lamp looks like a kerosene lamp. The reflector
was 14 inches in diameter and weighed three pounds. In 1855,
they were replaced by a sixth order steamer lens and an Argand lamp.
The lighthouse was discontinued in 1882. It was replaced by the
Wickford Harbor Lighthouse.
On October 15, 1894, Poplar Point Lighthouse was sold, at public
auction, to Albert R. Sherman for $3,944.67. In later years,
it was added to, by subsequent owners, altering its original
appearance.
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