The Rose Island Lighthouse was built atop a circular bastion on the remains of Fort Hamilton. Located at the southern tip of the island, the fortification dates back to the British occupation of Newport during the Revolutionary War. After the Revolution a brilliant French engineer and war hero, Louis Tousard, fortified the stonework.

Construction of the brick and wood lighthouse began in 1869 to guide mariners into Narragansett Bay. Designed with a mansard roof, patterned slate shingles and ornate window and door trimmings, the sentinel was an architectural masterpiece. On January 20, 1870 the light was illuminated for the first time. Magnified by a Sixth Order Fresnel Lens, the light had a fifty-foot focal plane, the fixed red beacon was visible for six nautical miles. Fifteen years later a fog bell was installed.

Officials failed to heed Rose Island’s second keeper, Gustavus Clarke’s warnings to place sea walls around the island. A devastating gale in 1898 reduced the island from 23 acres to its current 17 acres. Today, sea walls protect the island from erosion.

In 1969, with the completion of the Newport Bridge, the light was rendered obsolete. Two years later, the beacon was deactivated. Over the next few years vandalism and neglect nearly destroyed the structure. After the lighthouse was deeded to the City of Newport in 1985, concerned citizens formed the Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation. An outpouring of private and public support has followed. With information and photographs provided by living descendents of keepers, the Foundation has been able to restore the property to its 1920’s splendor. In 1993 the sentinel was re-lighted as a private aid to navigation.

Today the historic light station has been restored as a museum, environmental center and “living classroom.” For more information on the Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation visit www.RoseIslandLighthouse.org or call 401-847-4242.