Beavertail

Year Established:
1749
Existing:
Yes
Source:
LL-1908
Download:
File Type:
jpeg (image/jpeg)
Photo Date:
2011
Photo Credit:
Candace Clifford
Photo Courtesy of:
U.S. Lighthouse Society
Collection / Donor:

LOCATION

Location:
CONANICUT ISLAND/NARAGANSETT BAY ENTRANCE
Latitude:
41° 27'
Longitude:
71° 24'
City / Town:
JAMESTOWN
U.S. State:
Rhode Island
Location County:
NEWPORT
Country:
United States

OWNER & ACCESS

Open to Public:
Yes
Light List Data:
  1. Beavertail
Light list data courtesy Gary Riemenschneider

STRUCTURE

Year Tower Established:
1856
Tower Construction Material:
GRANITE
Tower Foundation:
TIMBER/ROCK CRIB
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
64 feet above water
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern:
46 feet
Tower Shape:
SQUARE
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
Yes
Year Keeper's Quarters:
1856
Keeper's Quarters Style:
(ATTACHED)
Keeper's Quarters Construction:
BRICK/STUCCO
Other Structures:
ASSISTANT KEEPERS (1898), OIL HOUSE, GARAGE, STORAGE BUILDING, RADIOBEACON

OPTICS

Active Aid to Navigation?:
Yes
Current Optic:
DCB-24
Original Optic Type:
THIRD ORDER, FRESNEL
Year Original Lens Installed:
1856
Private Aid:
No
USCG Access to Optics:
No

Comments:

HISTORICAL INFORMATION:

  • 1749: This was the third lighthouse to be built in the United States.
  • 1779: Conanicut Island had already gained fame from its association with the privateer, Captain William Kidd, during the late 1600s when Captain Kidd used the island as a hideout. During the Revolutionary War, the British burned the lighthouse when they left the area in 1779; the rubblestone tower survived the burning, but it was not fully repaired and back in operation until 1790. During the mid-1800s, the station had a true one-horse power fog signal; whenever the fog set in, the keeper walked his horse on a treadmill which operated a pump to provide pressure to the horn.
  • 1856: It is the third lighthouse on the site. The original optic in the 1856 square granite tower was a third-order Fresnel lens; it was replaced with a fourth-order Fresnel lens in 1899. The fourth-order lens was retired in 1991. It is currently equipped with a modern plastic lens (DCB 24).
  • 1938: The station was heavily damaged during the hurricane of 1938, but the tower survived.
  • The station was used for numerous fog signal experiments; signals tested included bells, horns, whistles, and trumpets, which were mounted on the foundation of the 18th century tower.

Entered by:
t.wheeler
Entered Date:
Jul 21, 2017