In the late 1880s, the Wickford Rail and Steamboat Company petitioned the Lighthouse Board to build a lighthouse that would guide their palatial ferry that ran between Wickford and Newport in Narragansett Bay.

On July 7, 1884, a Congressional appropriation of $18,000 was approved to fund this majestic light, guardian of the dangerous northern tip of Conanicut Island. Completed in 1886, it was first lighted on April 1 of that year. The lighthouse has a 47’ square tower with an attached six room keeper’s quarters. In addition to the original Gothic Revival style wooden structure, a barn was built in 1897 and the brick oil house in 1901. In 1907 a brick fog signal building was constructed. There were only two keepers of the light in the forty-seven year history: Horace W. Arnold (1886-1914) whose annual salary never exceeded $500, followed by Elmer W. Newton whose tenure was 1918-1933.

In 1933 the lantern and fifth order Fresnel lens, which had a focal plane of 47’ above sea level, were removed. The replacement was a 40’ steel skeleton tower equipped with a 375mm lens lantern.

This tower light operated until the mid-1980s. In 1934 the lighthouse, without its lantern room , was sold at auction for $2,785. Today, Conanicut Light, noted for its quaint gingerbread trim, is a private residence and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.