Nearly lost to neglect and vandalism, this inspiring example of classic American maritime architecture once again welcomes visitors and keepers who come over the water to experience a uniquely independent way of life.
Built on a still-surviving bastion of an 18th century fort, the Rose Island Lighthouse was lit in 1870 as a link in a chain of aids to navigation along the New England coast. For a century, civilian keepers and then the US Coast Guard kept the light burning. By 1971 the building was abandoned and the beacon extinguished after the newly-built and more prominent Newport Bridge was placed on navigational charts.
Vandalism and exposure to the elements were to take a harsh toll before the lighthouse was declared surplus in 1984. At that time, sympathetic citizens rallied to organize the non-profit Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation to restore and operate the lighthouse and its surrounding grounds as an historic and environmental education site to benefit the general public. On August 7, 1993, after years of determined, back-breaking labor, the beacon was ceremonially relit. Fully automated, the light is once again an official aid to navigation and a proud symbol of the Foundation’s success in the first stage of its vision for the entire island.
Today visitors young and old re-enter a by-gone way of life in old-fashioned keeper’s quarters lovingly restored to their original turn-of-the-century ambiance, reflecting the lives spent in tending the light and raising families in dedicated self-sufficiency. In this "living museum," visitors may tour during the day, exploring the station from the windmill to the cellar cistern and learning about the working lives and amusements of light-house families through their own possessions and photographs. Overnight visitors actually participate in the adventure of lighthouse keeping, sleeping in the same rooms occupied by keeper families for over a hundred years. Guests relive a lifestyle which lacks the modern conveniences of electrical appliances and running water, but is rich in romance and history. Like keepers of old, today’s overnight visitors play a necessary hands-on role in daily monitoring and the simple chores which keep the station functioning.
ADDITIONAL HISTORICAL REFERENCES
History of The Rose Island Lighthouse, by Charlotte Eschenheimer Johnson, Executive Director