Newport Harbor Light

Newport Harbor Light

Newport Harbor Light, on Goat Island with the Newport Bridge in the background
Location N. end of Goat Island, Newport Harbor, Newport, Rhode Island
Coordinates 41°29′35.92″N 71°19′37.34″W / 41.4933111°N 71.3270389°W / 41.4933111; -71.3270389Coordinates: 41°29′35.92″N 71°19′37.34″W / 41.4933111°N 71.3270389°W / 41.4933111; -71.3270389
Year first constructed 1823
Year first lit 1842 (current tower)
Automated 1963
Foundation Granite breakwater
Construction Granite blocks
Tower shape Octagonal conical
Height 35 feet (11 m)
Focal height 33 feet (10 m)
Original lens Fourth order Fresnel lens
Current lens 9.8 inches (250 mm)
Range 11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi)
Characteristic Fixed Green
Fog signal none
Admiralty number J0540
ARLHS number USA-458
USCG number

1-17850 [1] [2] [3]

Newport Harbor Lighthouse
Area less than one acre
Built 1865
MPS Lighthouses of Rhode Island TR
NRHP Reference # 88000276[4]
Added to NRHP March 30, 1988

The Newport Harbor Light (also known as the Goat Island Light or Green Light), built in 1842, is located on north end of Goat Island, which is part of the city of Newport, Rhode Island, United States, in Narragansett Bay.

History

The first light on Goat Island was constructed in 1823-1824, but was later transported to Prudence Island in 1851 where the structure still remains as the Prudence Island Light. The current light was constructed in 1842 a few yards off the coast of Goat Island and was connected to Goat Island by a narrow dike (the area was filled in the 1960s for the hotel) because the previous light failed in adequately warning ships of a reef just a few yards off Goat Island. The original lighting apparatus was, however, transferred to the newer lighthouse in 1842.

In 1864 an attached lighthouse keeper's house was built. In 1921, a submarine hit the breakwater, damaging the foundation of the keeper's house. An electric light was placed in the tower the following year. The damaged keeper's dwelling was later torn down. After a private developer purchased Goat Island in the 1960s, the land between the northern end of Goat Island and the light was filled in to build a hotel. On March 30, 1988, the light was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2000 the Coast Guard leased the light to the American Lighthouse Foundation; it is managed by the Friends of Newport Harbor Lighthouse.

ca. 1905 postcard of the Newport Harbor Light with the 1864 keeper's house still attached 
Prudence Island Light, ca. 1824, was the original Newport Harbor Lighthouse until it was transported to Prudence Island in 1851 

See also

References

  1. ↑ Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 162.
  2. ↑ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Rhode Island". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
  3. ↑ Rowlett, Russ (2009-12-08). "Lighthouses of Rhode Island". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  4. ↑ National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
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