Block Island North Light

Block Island North Light

2012
Location Sandy Point, New Shoreham, Rhode Island
Coordinates 41°13′39″N 71°34′34″W / 41.22750°N 71.57611°W / 41.22750; -71.57611Coordinates: 41°13′39″N 71°34′34″W / 41.22750°N 71.57611°W / 41.22750; -71.57611
Year first constructed 1867
Year first lit 1867
Automated 1955
Deactivated 1973-1989, 2008-2010
Construction Granite/wood
Tower shape Octagonal tower
Markings / pattern Brown
Height 55 feet (17 m)
Focal height 61 feet (19 m)
Original lens Fourth order Fresnel
Range 11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi)
Characteristic Flashing white light every 5 seconds
Fog signal none
Admiralty number J0642
ARLHS number USA-061
USCG number

1-19481

Block Island North Light

undated USCG photograph
MPS Lighthouses of Rhode Island TR (AD)
NRHP Reference # 74000008 [1]
Added to NRHP May 23, 1974

Block Island North Light (Lighthouse), built in 1867, is a historic lighthouse on Block Island, Rhode Island (New Shoreham).

History

The first light on the site was built in 1829. The current structure at Sandy Point is the fourth lighthouse built on the site and was made of granite and iron in 1867. The light was deactivated in 1973 and United States Fish and Wildlife Service acquired the lighthouse. The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[1]

After years of neglect, the lighthouse, along with two acres of land, was sold to New Shoreham in 1984 for 1USD. Following much renovation by the North Light Commission, it was relighted in 1989, and a museum opened on the first floor in 1993. Then, in 2008 the light underwent restoration at Georgetown Ironworks in Massachusetts and was returned in 2009. Finally, on 23 October 2010, a relighting ceremony took place.[2]

Structure

The building is made of brown granite. The tower is octagonal in shape, 55 feet (17 m) in height, and provides a focal plane height of 61 feet (19 m). It contains a fourth-order Fresnel lens, which flashes white light every five seconds, and has a range of 11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi). The lighthouse does not have a foghorn.[3]

A wind generator and solar panels provide much of the power for the building.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Jeremy D'Entremont. "History of Block Island North Lighthouse, Rhode Island". www.newenglandlighthouses.net. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Rhode Island". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Block Island North Light.


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