Sabin
Point Light
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Courtesy of the
National Archives
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Location: Providence
River near Sabin Point
 1872 - 1968  Lat 41
45 44 N - Long 71 22 32 W
1968 - present 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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