Rhode Island Lighthouse History

© 2004 R. Holmes

Location: Newport Harbor
1870 - present Lat 41 29 42 N - Long 71 20 36 W

Established: 1870

Lighthouse Constructed: 1870

Deactivated: 1971 - 1993

Original Illuminating Apparatus: Sixth Order Fresnel Lens

Current Illuminating Apparatus: PLAT-120-69W-STD-PE-DH Navigation Light

Height: 35 feet

Status: Private Aid to Navigation

Light Characteristic: Fix Red (1906)
Flashing White Every Six Seconds (2005)

Range: 7½ miles (1906)
6 miles (2005)

Rose Island Lighthouse was built in 1869. The two-story wood keeper's dwelling and attached light tower was built on the southern top of the island, on the ruins of a bastion of Fort Hamilton. The light was first lighted on January 20, 1870.

During the Revolutionary War, Rose Island was used use by both the British's and the Americans to defend Newport. The island was later used by the Navy to build and store torpedoes and mines. The Navy abandoned the island in the mid-1950's.

On August 7, 1958, the lighthouse was nearly lost when two tankers, the Gulfoil and the S.E. Graham, collided in dense fog near Fort Adams. The ships exploded into flames. The Graham, her engines dead, was pushed into Newport Harbor by the tide. The burning tanker drifted to within 200 feet of the Rose Island Lighthouse. It was so close that the lighthouse's walls became hot. The keepers, Theodore Bank and Robert Flynn, had to leave the lighthouse. The tide and wind moved the Graham away from Rose Island and saved the light. Between the two ships eighteen men were killed.

In 1969 the Newport Bridge was finished. It also finished Rose Island light. The Coast Guard closed the lighthouse in 1971. The University of Rhode Island used it as a marine research facility for a short time. With no one to watch over it, the lighthouse was vandalized and left to decay. It was declared surplus by the government in 1984. The city of Newport acquired the lighthouse and the land around it.

The Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation was formed in 1984 to in restore and maintain the lighthouse. After years of hard work the light was relighted in 1993 as a private aid to navigation. To raise money to maintain the lighthouse the foundation started a guest keeper program. Visitors pay to stay at the lighthouse overnight or become a keeper for a week. Rates vary depending on the length of your stay.

On June 25, 1999 the Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation acquired the rest of the island. The whole island will now be protected.