Castle Hill Light

Castle Hill Lighthouse is located on Narragansett Bay in Newport, Rhode Island at the end of the historic Ocean Drive. It is an active navigation aid for vessels entering the East Passage, between Conanicut Island and Aquidneck Island. The lighthouse was completed in 1890 on property formerly belonging to the naturalist, oceanographer, and zoologist Alexander Agassiz of Harvard University. Agassiz sold the land to the United States Government for the lighthouse for $1. His mansion on the property, commissioned in 1874, is now an inn.

Castle Hill Light
LocationOff Ocean Ave. on Castle Hill at W end of Newport Neck, Newport, Rhode Island
Coordinates41°27′43.8″N 71°21′46.5″W
Year first constructed1890
Year first lit1890
Automated1957
FoundationGranite blocks
ConstructionGranite blocks
Tower shapeConical tower
Markings / patternGranite lower, upper half white, black lantern
Tower height34 feet (10 m)
Focal height40 feet (12 m)
Original lensFifth order Fresnel lens
Current lens12 inches (300 mm)
Range12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi)
CharacteristicIsophase Red, 6 sec
Fog signalHorn, 1 every 10 sec.
Admiralty numberJ0530
ARLHS numberUSA-144
USCG number1-17795[1][2][3]
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Castle Hill Light
ArchitectH.H. Richardson
Architectural styleRomanesque
Part ofOcean Drive Historic District (ID76000048)
MPSLighthouses of Rhode Island TR
NRHP reference No.88000277 [4]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMarch 30, 1988
Designated NHLDCPMay 11, 1976

History

Henry Hobson Richardson drew a sketch for a lighthouse at this location which may or may not have been the basis for the actual design. The structure does not include the residence which was featured in Richardson's sketch. The keeper's house was built, and still stands, near Castle Hill Cove, a few hundred feet away.[3]

Although the lighthouse is not open to the public, the shoreline and cliff face where the lighthouse sits are accessible by several footpaths from the Castle Hill Inn and the Castle Hill Cove Marina. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 as Castle Hill Lighthouse.

List of keepers
  1. Frank W. Parmele (1890 – 1911)
  2. George L. Hoxsie (1911 – at least 1944)
  3. Manuel Soares Macedo (at least 1945).

See also

References
  1. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Rhode Island". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
  2. Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2013. p. 165.
  3. Rowlett, Russ (2013-03-20). "Lighthouses of Rhode Island". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  4. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.