Foundation Natural / emplaced Tower shape Octagonal tower Opened 17 January 1852 Current lens length 25 cm Added to NRHP 30 March 1988 | Construction Granite blocks Markings / pattern White Range 11,112 m Focal height 8.53 m Year first constructed 1852 | |
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Location Portsmouth, Rhode Island Year first lit 1823 on Goat Island
moved here in 1851 Similar Prudence Island, Hog Island Shoal Light, Warwick Light, Bristol Ferry Light, Dutch Island Light | ||
The Prudence Island Lighthouse, more commonly known locally as the Sandy Point Lighthouse, is located on Prudence Island, Rhode Island and is the oldest lighthouse tower in the state. Sandy Point is nicknamed Chibacoweda, meaning "little place separated by a passage", because the location is a little more than one mile offshore.
History
The lighthouse was constructed in 1823 and originally sat on a dike off Goat Island farther south in the Bay, where the Newport Harbor Light stands today. In 1851, it was transported to Prudence Island where it remains. It is one of the few lighthouses in the United States to retain its original bird-cage lantern. The light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The lighthouse keeper's house was swept away in the 1938 New England hurricane, and five people were washed out to sea and drowned, including the lighthouse keeper's wife. The keeper was also washed into the sea, but he was thrown back ashore and survived.