BLOCK ISLAND (NORTH)

Type:
Year Established:
1829
Existing:
Yes
Source:
LL-1908
Block Island at night
Download:
File Type:
jpeg (image/jpeg)
Photo Date:
2015
Photo Credit:
Dave Zapatka
Photo Courtesy of:
U.S. Lighthouse Society
Collection / Donor:

LOCATION

Location:
SANDY POINT/N. END BLOCK ISLAND
Latitude:
41° 13.8'
Longitude:
71° 13.8'
City / Town:
NEW SHOREHAM
U.S. State:
Rhode Island
Location County:
WASHINGTON
Country:
United States

OWNER & ACCESS

Open to Public:
Yes
Light List Data:
  1. BLOCK ISLAND (NORTH)
Light list data courtesy Gary Riemenschneider

STRUCTURE

Year Discontinued:
1970-1989
Year Tower Established:
1867
Tower Construction Material:
GRANITE/WOOD
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
58 feet above water
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern:
46 feet
Tower Shape:
OCTAGONAL ON DWELLING ROOF
Tower Daymark:
Brown
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
Yes
Year Keeper's Quarters:
1867
Keeper's Quarters Style:
VICTORIAN/ITALIANATE
Keeper's Quarters Construction:
GRANITE
Other Structures:
2 STORAGE BUILDINGS

OPTICS

Active Aid to Navigation?:
Yes
Current Optic:
DCB-24
Original Optic Type:
FOURTH ORDER, FRESNEL
Year Original Lens Installed:
1867
Private Aid:
No
USCG Access to Optics:
No
Comments:

HISTORICAL INFORMATION:

  • 1829: The original lighthouse and its 1837 replacement consisted of twin towers; they were both washed away into the sea.
  • 1857: The 1857 tower, which was moved further inland, was destroyed by fire.
  • 1867: The original optic in the 1867 tower was a fourth-order Fresnel lens, which was placed on display at the Interpretive Center when it was deactivated and replaced by an automated offshore beacon.
  • 1907: In February 1907 the steamer Larchmont ran into the schooner Henry Knowlton just off the northwest coast of Block Island. Only 19 of the 150 passengers and crew aboard the Larchmont survived in the freezing waters of Block Island Sound. The Henry Knowlton also sank but the crew managed to row to safety near the Watch Hill Lighthouse several miles to the northwest.
  • 1996: In 1996 the original lens was returned to the light tower and North Light was re-commissioned as an active lighthouse, replacing the offshore beacon.

 

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