Watch Hill Lighthouse

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Watch Hill Lighthouse

(Watch Hill, Rhode Island)

Watch Hill got it’s name based on the area being used as a place for watchtowers. The area was used early on as a lookout by the Niantic Indians in the early seventeenth century. During the French and Indian Wars a watchtower was set up on what was then called Bear Hill to watch out for French Privateers who would prey upon the fishermen and merchant ships.

There is a very dangerous reef, with several passages and small openings, extending out to the south-west all the way to Fishers Island, NY. The main deep water channel into the Sound from the east passes just off the tip of Watch Hill Point. So in 1794 a letter was written to Jeremy Olney, Collector of Customs at Providence RI requesting a lighthouse, preferably at Watch Hill. Others, however, were petitioning for a light at Little Gull Island and this other location was given priority over the Watch Hill.

Rhode Island continued to press for a light and a presidential act of January 22, 1806 provided for a light at Watch Hill. The land was obtained by the Lighthouse Service for five-hundred dollars. Congress appropriated the funds to build the lighthouse which began in 1808 and was completed in 1809. The 35-foot round wood tower was covered with shingles and used 10 whale oil lamps for illumination. In addition to the wooden tower, a separate 5-room keepers house was built. The first keeper was a man named Jonathan Nash. He served for 27 years.

By the mid 1800's the wooden tower had several problems. The lamps were inadequate, had poor reflectors, the mechanisms for turning the light sometimes failed such that the light needed to be turned by hand, and the tower was threatened by erosion of the bluff’s edge. So a new lighthouse was built which was completed in 1856. To protect the new lighthouse from coastal erosion, a sea wall comprised, of large granite blocks, was placed around the entire perimeter of the point. This is the same lighthouse that stands today. The lighthouse included a 45-foot square granite tower that was lined with brick. The light was 61 feet above sea level. It initially contained a fourth-order Fresnel lens emitting a fixed white light. A two-story brick keeper’s house was also built and was attached to the lighthouse tower.

A life-saving station was added in 1879, supplemented by a newer building in 1907-08. Both were abandoned in the 1940s and were later destroyed in 1963.

The Watch Hill light was automated in 1986 and a modern optic (FRB-300 mm lens) was installed to replace the Fresnel lens. Currently, the light emits a 14 second white followed by two red flashes and remains light 24 hours. The white light can be seen at a distance of 16 nautical miles and the red light 14 nautical miles.

The lighthouse, along with the other buildings, has been leased to the Watch Hill Lightkeepers Association. They have established an endowment fund for the upkeep of the station. A small museum has been established in the oil house and is open for limited hours in the summer.

Directions: From Interstate 95 in Connecticut take exit 92 and follow Route 2 south to SR-78. Follow SR-78 across US 1 to East Street. Turn left on East Street and then right onto Watch Hill Road to the center of town. The road to the lighthouse is on the right hand side just past the town’s center.

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