List of lighthouses in Rhode Island

This is a list of all lighthouses in the U.S. state of Rhode Island as identified by the United States Coast Guard. There are fifteen active lights in the state as well as two skeleton towers erected to replace earlier staffed lighthouses.

The first lighthouse in the state was erected in 1749^[1] and the last in 1962 (ignoring automated towers erected later); the oldest surviving structure is the much-modified Poplar Point Light, although the tower now standing at Prudence Island Light was first erected at Goat Island in 1824. The tallest extant tower is that at Beavertail Light, though the focal plane of the Block Island Southeast Light is much higher on account of the bluffs upon which it sits.

If not otherwise noted, focal height and coordinates are taken from the United States Coast Guard Light List,^[2] while location and dates of activation, automation, and deactivation are taken from the United States Coast Guard historical information site for lighthouses.^[3] Locations of demolished lights have been estimated using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) navigational charts.

Name	Image	Location	Coordinates	Year first lit	Automated	Year deactivated	Current Lens	Focal Height
Beavertail Lighthouse		Jamestown (Conanicut Island)	41.4493°N 71.3993°W / 41.4493; -71.3993 (Beavertail Lighthouse)	1749 (Former) 1856 (Current)	1989	Active	VRB-25	068 68 ft (21 m)
Block Island North Light		New Shoreham (Block Island)	41.2275°N 71.5761°W / 41.2275; -71.5761 (Block Island North Light)	1829 (Former) 1867 (Current)	1955	Active (Inactive: 1973–1989, 2008–2010)	Fourth-order Fresnel	061 61 ft (19 m)
Block Island Southeast Light		New Shoreham (Block Island)	41.1597°N 71.5472°W / 41.1597; -71.5472 (Block Island Southeast Light)	1875	1990	Active (Inactive: 1990–1994)	First-order Fresnel	258 258 ft (79 m)
Brenton Reef Light		Narragansett	41.4264°N 71.3894°W / 41.4264; -71.3894 (Brenton Reef Light)[4]	1962	1962	1989 (Now a lighted buoy)	None	087 87 ft (27 m)[4]
Bristol Ferry Light		Bristol	41.6431°N 71.2603°W / 41.6431; -71.2603 (Bristol Ferry Light)[5]	1855	Never	1927 (Now a private house)	None	035 35 ft (11 m)[5]
Bullock's Point Light		Providence River	41.7377°N 71.3642°W / 41.7377; -71.3642 (Bullock's Point Light)	1876 (Former) 1939 (Current)	1939 (skeleton tower)	Active (Original tower destroyed)	250mm	050 50 ft (15 m)
Castle Hill Light		Newport	41.4619°N 71.3633°W / 41.4619; -71.3633 (Castle Hill Light)	1890	1957	Active	300mm	040 40 ft (12 m)
Conanicut Island Light		Jamestown (Conanicut Island)	41.5733°N 71.3725°W / 41.5733; -71.3725 (Conanicut Island Light)	1886	Never	1933	None	047 47 ft (14 m)[6]
Conimicut Shoal Light		Warwick	41.7169°N 71.3458°W / 41.7169; -71.3458 (Conimicut Shoal Light)	1868 (Former) 1883 (Current)	1966	Active	Unknown	029 29 ft (8.8 m)
Dutch Island Light		Jamestown	41.4956°N 71.4044°W / 41.4956; -71.4044 (Dutch Island Light)	1826 (Former) 1857 (Current)	1947	Active (Inactive: 1979-2007)	250mm	056 56 ft (17 m)[7]
Fuller Rock Light		Providence River	41.7898°N 71.3796°W / 41.7898; -71.3796 (Fuller Rock Light)	1872[8]	1918[8]	1923[8] (Destroyed) 1923 (Replaced with a skeleton tower renamed Channel Light 42)	250mm	028 28 ft (8.5 m)[8]
Gould Island Light		Jamestown (Gould Island)[9]	41.534°N 71.343°W / 41.534; -71.343 (Gould Island Light)[9]	1889[9]	1947 (on skeleton tower 1947–1968)	1947[9]	None	052 52 ft (16 m)[9]
Gull Rocks Light		Newport	41.5024°N 71.3331°W / 41.5024; -71.3331 (Gull Rocks Light)	1887 (Former) 1928 (Current)	1960	1969 (Demolished)	None	033 33 ft (10 m)
Hog Island Shoal Light		Portsmouth (Hog Island	41.6322°N 71.2736°W / 41.6322; -71.2736 (Hog Island Shoal Light)	1901	1964	Active	VLB-44[10]	054 54 ft (16 m)
Ida Lewis Rock Light		Newport (Lime Rock)	41.4778°N 71.3264°W / 41.4778; -71.3264 (Ida Lewis Light)	1854	1927	1963	None	Unknown
Musselbed Shoals Light		Narragansett Bay (Open water)	41.6363°N 71.2599°W / 41.6363; -71.2599 (Musselbed Shoals Light)	1873[11]	1939 (skeleton tower)	Active (Original tower destroyed)	035 35 ft (11 m)[11]
Nayatt Point Light		Barrington	41.7250°N 71.3397°W / 41.7250; -71.3397 (Nayatt Point Light)	1828 (Former) 1856 (Current)	Unknown	1868	None	Unknown
Newport Harbor Light (Goat Island Light)		Newport (Goat Island)	41.4933°N 71.3270°W / 41.4933; -71.3270 (Newport Harbor Light)	1823 (Former) 1865 (Current)	1923	Active	250mm	033 33 ft (10 m)
Plum Beach Light		North Kingstown	41.5300°N 71.4056°W / 41.5300; -71.4056 (Plum Beach Light)	1897	2003 (Relit)	Active (Inactive: 1941–2003)	Unknown	Unknown
Point Judith Light		Narragansett	41.3608°N 71.4819°W / 41.3608; -71.4819 (Point Judith Light)	1810 (Former) 1857 (Current)	1954	Active	Fourth-order Fresnel	051 51 ft (16 m)
Pomham Rocks Light		East Providence	41.7775°N 71.3696°W / 41.7775; -71.3696 (Pomham Rocks Light)	1871	2006 (Relit)	Active (on skeleton tower 1974–2006)	Marine LED Beacon VLB-44	067 67 ft (20 m)
Poplar Point Light		North Kingstown	41.5708°N 71.4397°W / 41.5708; -71.4397 (Poplar Point Light)	1831	Never	1882 (Now a private house)	None	Unknown
Prudence Island Light		Portsmouth (Prudence Island)	41.6056°N 71.3031°W / 41.6056; -71.3031 (Prudence Island Light)	1852	1961	Active	250mm	028 28 ft (8.5 m)
Rose Island Light		Newport (Rose island	41.4956°N 71.3431°W / 41.4956; -71.3431 (Rose Island Light)	1870	1992 (Relit)	Active (Inactive: 1971–1992)	Sixth-order Fresnel[12]	048 48 ft (15 m)
Sabin Point Light		Providence River	41.7619°N 71.3742°W / 41.7619; -71.3742 (Sabin Point Light)	1872	1956	1968 (Razed)	None	036 36 ft (11 m)
Sakonnet Light		Little Compton (Sakonnet River)	41.4531°N 71.2031°W / 41.4531; -71.2031 (Sakonnet Light)	1884[13]	1997 (Relit)	Active (Inactive: 1955–1997)	Unknown	058 58 ft (18 m)
Sassafras Point Light		Providence River	41.800°N 71.392°W / 41.800; -71.392 (Sassafras Point Light)[14]	1872[15]	Never	1912[15] (Demolished)	None	025 25 ft (7.6 m)[15]
Warwick Light		Warwick	41.6669°N 71.3786°W / 41.6669; -71.3786 (Warwick Light)	1827 (Former) 1932 (Current)	1985	Active	250mm	066 66 ft (20 m)
Watch Hill Light		Westerly (Watch Hill)	41.3039°N 71.8584°W / 41.3039; -71.8584 (Watch Hill Light)	1808 (Former) 1857 (Current)	1986	Active	VRB-25	061 61 ft (19 m)
Whale Rock Light		Narragansett (Whale Rock)	41.4436°N 71.4236°W / 41.4436; -71.4236 (Whale Rock Light)	1882	1939	1938 (Destroyed) 1939[16] (Replaced with skeleton tower)	None	073 73 ft (22 m)[17]
Wickford Harbor Light		North Kingstown Wickford	41.5734°N 71.4362°W / 41.5734; -71.4362 (Wickford Harbor Light)	1882 (Former) 1930 (Current)	1930 (skeleton tower)	Active (skeleton tower)	250mm	042 42 ft (13 m)

See also

• List of lighthouses in the United States
• List of tallest lighthouses in the United States

References

1. R. Holmes. "Beavertail Light". Rhode Island Lighthouse History.
2. Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2010.
3. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Rhode Island". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
4. "Brenton Reef Offshore Light station". R. Holmes.
5. "Bristol Ferry Light". Jeremy D'Entremont.
6. D'Entremont, Jeremy. "Conanicut Lighthouse". New England Lighthouses. Archived from the original on 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
7. D'Entremont, Jeremy. "Dutch Island Lighthouse". New England Lighthouses. Archived from the original on 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
8. "Fuller Rock Lighthouse History". New England Lighthouses. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
9. "Gould Island Light". Jeremy D'Entremont.
10. "Hog Island Shoal Lighthouse - Rhode Island". rhodeislandlighthousehistory.info. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
11. "Musselbed Shoals Lighthouse: History". Jeremy D'Entremont. Retrieved 2010-08-26.
12. R. Holmes. "Rose Island Lighthouse". rhodeislandlighthousehistory.info. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
13. "Sakonnet, RI". LighthouseFriends.
14. Church, Earl (1920). Triangulation in Rhode Island. Government Printing Office. p. 40. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
15. Jeremy D'Entremont. "Sassafras Point Lighthouse". New England Lighthouses. Archived from the original on 2014-01-01. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
16. R., Holmes. "Whale Rock Lighthouse". Rhode Island Lighthouse History Retrieved 9/30/2019.
17. D'Entremont, Jeremy. "Whale Rock Lighthouse". New England Lighthouses. Archived from the original on 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2014-08-26.