Managing Organization:
American Lighthouse Foundation (Dutch Island Lighthouse Society Chapter)
Website: http://www.dutchislandlighthouse.org
Email:
Contact Address Information:
PO Box 435
Saunderstown
Rhode Island, 02874, United States
Notes:
The West India Company established a trading post on Dutch Island in 1625. A small fort was established on the island during the Civil War. The island is now owned by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management; the lighthouse was licensed in April 2000 to the American Lighthouse Foundation. The Dutch Island Lighthouse Society was formed as a chapter of the foundation and is working to restore the tower.
Tower Height: 42
Height of Focal Plane: 56
Description of Tower: White, square brick tower with black cast iron lantern.
Listed on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List of endangered lighthouses.
This light is not operational
Other Buildings?
Remains of concrete storage building and cistern.
Date Established: January 1, 1827
Date Present Tower Built: 1857
Date Deactivated: 1979
Date Automated: 1947
Optics: 1857: Fourth order Fresnel lens.
Fog Signal: 1891: Fog bell and striking machinery (on side of lighthouse tower).
Current Use: Under restoration.
Open To Public? Grounds only.
Directions:
Dutch Island Light can be viewed from the Fort Getty Recreation Area in Jamestown. Eastbound on RI 138: Cross over the Jamestown Bridge and continue to an exit just west of the Newport Bridge, marked with a "Jamestown" sign. If westbound, cross over the Newport Bridge to the Jamestown exit. Then follow Wolcott Avenue south; turn right at Hamilton Avenue, then left at Southwest Avenue to the entrance to the Fort Getty Recreation Area. There are day fees and camping fees in the park. You may be allowed a free short stay if you state that your purpose is to photograph the lighthouse. Follow the loop road around the park until it reaches the high ground by the bay with a view of Dutch Island. A good view is also possible from the lighthouse cruises offered periodically by Bay Queen Cruises in Warren, Rhode Island. The cruise provides good views of a number of Narragansett Bay and Mount Hope Bay lighthouses. Call Bay Queen cruises at (401) 245-1350 for details.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Keepers: William Dennis (1827-1843), Robert H. Weeden (1843-1844), William P. Babcock (1844-1846), Robert Dennis (1846-1853), Benjamin Congdon (1853-1859), M. M. Trundy (1859-1865), W. W. Wales (1865-1873 ), Andrew King (1873-1875), George Fife (1875-1883), Mrs. M. Fife (assistant 1878-1883), H. W. Crawford (1883-1885), Lewis T. King (1885 -1901), Albert Henry Porter (1901-1916), John J. Cook (1916-1929), John Paul (1929-1931), John D. Davies (1931-1935), William C. Anderson (1935-1937), Ernest H. Stacey (1937-1947)
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