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.
Showing posts with label Watch Hill Light. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Watch Hill Light. Show all posts
Saturday, June 10, 2017
Watch Hill Light, Rhode Island-- Part 1: Second One Built in 1807
From Wikipedia.
There has been a beacon at Watch Hill, Rhode Island, dating to 1745. Rhode Island's colonial government erected a watchtower and beacon there during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War.
The original structure was destroyed in a 1781 storm. Plans were immediately made to build a new lighthouse to mark the eastern entrance to Fishers island Sound and to warn mariners of dangerous reefs southwest of Watch Hill.
President Thomas Jefferson signed an act to build a lighthouse there in 1806 and construction of the 35 foot tall structure was completed in 1807.
So, there was a lighthouse there when Oliver Hazard Perry had his ship, the USS Revenge run into the reef and sink in 1811.
--Brock-Perry
There has been a beacon at Watch Hill, Rhode Island, dating to 1745. Rhode Island's colonial government erected a watchtower and beacon there during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War.
The original structure was destroyed in a 1781 storm. Plans were immediately made to build a new lighthouse to mark the eastern entrance to Fishers island Sound and to warn mariners of dangerous reefs southwest of Watch Hill.
President Thomas Jefferson signed an act to build a lighthouse there in 1806 and construction of the 35 foot tall structure was completed in 1807.
So, there was a lighthouse there when Oliver Hazard Perry had his ship, the USS Revenge run into the reef and sink in 1811.
--Brock-Perry
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