In 1827 a rotary light was installed. The lighthouse operated until 1855 when it closed due to severe erosion. It was moved further inland away from the edge of the bluff and a new 45-foot lighthouse was built.
The steamer Metis crashed aground off Watch Hill in 1872, killing 130 people. Lighthouse keeper Captain Jared Starr Crandall received a Congressional Gold Medal for his actions in rescuing survivors. After his death, his wife, Sally Ann (Gavitt) Crandall, became the first female lighthouse keep in the country.
A U.S. Life-Saving Service station was built next to the lighthouse and operated until the 1940s. It was destroyed in 1963.
In 1907, the steamer Larchmont collided with a schooner 4 miles from the lighthouse, killing 200. The hurricane of 1938 caused severe damage to the structure. The light was automated in 1986 and leased to the Watch Hill Light Keepers Association.
--Brock-Perry
2012 marks the 200th anniversary of America's "Forgotten War," the War of 1812 that took place over three years, 1812 to 1815.
Battle of New Orleans.
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