Sabin
Point Light
 |
Courtesy of the National Archives |
Location:
Providence River
near Sabin Point
 1872 - 1968  Lat 41 45
44 N - Long 71 22 32 W
1968 - 1989 Lat 41 45
42 N - Long 71 22 30 W
Established:
1872
Lighthouse Constructed: 1872
Lighthouse Removed: 1968
Discontinued: 1989
Original Illuminating Apparatus:
Six-Order Fresnel Lens
Current Illuminating Apparatus:
None
Height: Lighthouse:
Light 36 feet from the ground (1906)
 Dolphin: 20 feet above
water (1987)
Status:
No Longer Exists
Light Characteristic: Lighthouse: Fixed Red (1968)
 Dolphin: Isophase Red every six seconds (1987)
None (2005)
Range: Lighthouse:
7½ miles (1968)
 Dolphin: 6 miles (1987)
None (2005)
In 1872, Sabin Point Lighthouse was built on the East Side of the Providence River
just off Sabin Point. The government spent $42,000 to build the two-story granite
lighthouse. For a time it was the most expensive single family home in Rhode Island.
It was first lighted on November 4, 1872.
In 1916, Charlie Whitford,
Sabin Point's third keeper, moved to the light with his wife Anne and their three
daughters Eleanor, Myrtle, and Lillian. He had served in the Navy before he went
into the lighthouse service. He had served at Orient Point Lighthouse for several
years, before coming to Sabin Point.
On September 21, 1938, while Charlie
was away from the light, the 1938 Hurricane hit Rhode Island. It forced huge waves
up the Providence River. They washed through the lighthouse, destroying all the
furniture on the first floor.
Anne almost drowned during the hurricane,
while trying to secure equipment on the outside of the lighthouse. She was swept
off and washed back onto the light three times.
On April 1, 1943, after
27 years of service at Sabin Point, Charlie retired from the Lighthouse Service.
The Coast Guard took over operation of the light. Charlie could have gone into
the Coast Guard and stayed at the light, but chose not to.
On July 3,
1968, East Providence firefighters set fire to Sabin Point Lighthouse. It was
burned by order of the Rhode Island Division of Harbors and Rivers to widen and
deepen the Providence River. The Lighthouse
was replaced by a light on a group of pilings called a dolphin. The new Sabin
Point Light was later renamed Sabin Point Light 32A. It was discontinued in 1989
and was renamed Sabin Point Daybeacon SP.
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