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Watch Hill Lighthouse

Watch Hill lighthouse

Westerly, Rhode Island
Built in 1808


Location:

Eastern point of Fishers Island Sound. Located on Lighthouse Road, Watch Hill, Rhode Island, 02891

Latitude: 41° 18' 14" N
Longitude: 71° 51' 30" W

 

Historic Stories:

Watch Hill got its name during King George's War, in the 1740's when a watchtower was built on what was called Bear Hill to warn local residents against naval attacks. The watchtower continued to be used in the 1750s during the French and Indian Wars to track French pirates that were bothering local fishermen and merchant ships, making smoke signals during the day and bonfires at night when pirate ships were sighted. The makeshift tower was destroyed during a fierce storm in 1781.

As the number of recorded shipwrecks on the dangerous reefs around Watch Hill continued to increase, residents petitioned for a lighthouse. President Thomas Jefferson ordered the lighthouse to be built which was completed in 1808. It is Rhode Island’s second oldest lighthouse.

vintage image of Watch Hill lighthouse aerial view
Image Courtesy of US Coast Guard
Although the beacon had guided many mariners, the area was still the site of many shipwrecks and maritime disasters from the dangerous rocks and ledges that surround the area until modern times.

By the 1850's, the wooden structures of both the tower and keeper's building were rotting away, as constant erosion was also causing the tower to become dangerously close to falling into the sea.

A new granite lighthouse with a new rock based seawall was approved and built in 1856 as part of a building frenzy that started after the Lighthouse Board took charge of all navigational aids in the United States. Watch Hill Lighthouse tower and rock seawall

After the Civil War, three specialized lifesaving services were established along the shoreline and out in the water under the US Lighthouse Service. The Revenue Cutter Service, which was used for off shore rescues a distance from the mainland using cutter vessels, the Lighthouse Service, that protected and maintained the growing number of lighthouses, and could only help with rescues near the beacon, and the Life Saving Service, where shore based stations were built a few miles between lighthouses consisting of trained "surfmen", who could go out a distance from the shore.

 

Two of Rhode Island's Worst Maritime Disasters Occurred Near Watch Hill Lighthouse

The Collision of the Steamer Metis and the Schooner Nellie Cushing

In 1872, the huge steamer Metis carrying 160 people to Providence collided with the schooner Nettie Cushing about a mile from Watch Hill lighthouse. Although 67 persons perished, through the coordinated efforts of those various branches of the newly formed lifesaving services and personnel, and with additional rescue efforts made by local mariners who risked their lives, 85 people were rescued in what could have been a more tragic incident in the loss of lives. This interaction among the three services, which initially had not been used, played a major factor in the coordination of rescue services in future events.

In 1873, Keeper Jared Crandall was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his part in the rescue operations involving the Metis. Watch Hill lighthouse at low tide


Rescue of Survivors of the Steamship  Larchmont

In 1907, in a blinding February blizzard, the steamer Larchmont collided with a schooner Harry P. Knowlton about 4 miles southwest of Watch Hill Light. The Larchmont sank in less than half an hour. Most of the passengers in the panic had only their night clothes on and perished from exposure to the bone chilling temperatures and howling winds. Many of those who were able to escape in a few of the lifeboats that were used, or on makeshift rafts, froze to death before reaching the shore.

Most of the survivors followed the fierce winds which blew them over towards Block Island North Lighthouse, as they could see the light flashing in the distance. Keeper Elam Littlefield and his family were awakened around daybreak by a young teenager, Fred Hiergesell, banging on his door, who had managed enough strength climb out of one of the lifeboats. 

The keeper alerted the life saving station nearby and some local fisherman, and that morning was able to bring any survivors to the lighthouse for medical attention, as most were in severe condition due to exposure to the plummeting temperatures and gale force winds. It is believed about 143 passengers and crew died from the tragic incident. Only 19 people survived the disaster, most of those reaching Block Island. It would be Rhode Island's worst maritime disaster of the 20th century.

Block Island North Lighthouse along beach

Block Island North Lighthouse Along Beach

Note: For more intricate details about both of these historic events, select the links "Wreck of the Metis" Blog, or "Larchmont Disaster" Blog at the top of the page to view both stories in my Lighthouse Stories section.

 

On June 28, 1918, the freighter Onondaga ran aground on Watch Hill Reef in heavy fog, and sank in fifty feet of water. Two months later, the fishing steamer George Hudson also hit the reef and sank.

In 1962, the ship Leif Viking ran aground just a few hundred feet away and remained stranded for nine days before a tug towed it to New York City.

 

 

Places to Visit Nearby:

Westerly offers the Victorian elegance and history of Watch Hill with its beaches and golf courses nearby as one of Rhode Island’s top vacation spots. It is part of what is considered as Rhode Island's South County. It is a quaint resort area with the nation’s oldest carousel and stately mansions. One of its beaches, the Misquamicut Beach, spans seven miles from Watch Hill to Weekapaug, and is Rhode Island's longest stretch of beach with its pristine waters and white sand. Misquamicut Beach also features a state of the art pavilion, amusement parks, and plenty of restaurants. Families can also enjoy the Water Wizz Fun Park. Westerly is next to the Connecticut border and lies 15 minutes away from Foxwoods Casino and Mohegan Sun Casino.

Watch Hill lighthouse buildings and grounds Watch Hill lighthouse grounds are open to visitors and a small museum has been established in the oil house.

The museum, which features a fourth-order Fresnel lens once used in the tower, is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the summer.

You can fish offshore while enjoying the surf. fishing off the shore along watch hill light

There are plenty of restaurants and specialty shops to explore as you park along the shoreline before walking to the lighthouse.

 

Directions:

From the North or South

From the East:

Watch Hill Light

 

Contact Info:
Watch Hill Lighthouse Keepers Association
14 Lighthouse Road
Watch Hill, RI 02891

 

Ferries and Boat Tours

Boat cruises mentioned below offer many types of cruises. While some may offer specific lighthouse cruises, some will pass by specific lighthouses as part of charters, narrated wildlife and historic tours, ferrying passengers, fishing tours and other types of excursions. Enjoy!

Davis Park Ferry Co.
Ferry from Patchogue, Long Island, to Watch Hill, Rhode Island. 

Phone: (516) 475-1665

 

Hard Tail Charters

They offer scenic tours and harbor cruises from Watch Hill, Rhode Island, to Stonington and Mystic, Connecticut, and out to Fishers Island, New York.

Phone: (401) 234-1171

 

Snappa Charters
Offers specific lighthouse tours around Narragansett Bay and to Block Island in addition to other adventure tours like sport fishing, whale watching, and shark tagging.

Mailing Address: 2 Congdon Dr., Wakefield, RI 02816
Boat Location: 33 State Street, Narragansett, RI 02882
Boat/Cell (401) 487-9044
Email: snappacharters@cox.net

 

Block Island Express and Cross Sound Cruises
Leaving out of New London, CT, and Orient Point, NY. From these two locations, they provide a fast ferry to Block Island, and have three lighthouse cruises with Cross Sound Cruises. They include the Classic Lighthouse Cruise, the Lights and Sights Cruise, and the Long Island Lights Cruise. They also promote special bicycle tours around Block Island.
Phone: (860) 444-4624 or (401) 466-2212 (Block Island)
Phone: (860) 444-4620 (Lighthouse Cruises)

 

Books to Explore

book of the rise and demise of the largest sailing ships

To order a signed paperback copy:

Available also from bookstores in paperback, hardcover, and as an eBook for all devices.

my ebook on apple books

The Rise and Demise of the Largest Sailing Ships: Stories of the Six and Seven-Masted Coal Schooners of New England

In the early 1900s, New England shipbuilders constructed the world’s largest sailing ships amid social and political reforms. These giants of sail were built to carry massive quantities of coal and building supplies, and measured longer than a football field!

This book, balanced with plenty of color and vintage images, showcases the historical accounts that followed these mighty ships. These true stories include competitions, accidents, battling destructive storms, acts of heroism, and their final voyages.

 

 

My 300-page book, Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Southern New England: Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, provides special human interest stories from each of the 92 lighthouses, along with plenty of indoor and outdoor coastal attractions you can explore. You'll find more detailed accounts of the Metis shipwreck, and of the collision between the Harry P Knowlton and the Larchmont, that occured near the lighthouse.

Look inside!

book about lighthouses and local coastal atttractions in southern New England

 

 

 

 

New England Lighthouses: Famous Shipwrecks, Rescues & Other Tales

This image-rich book contains over 50 stories of famous shipwrecks and rescues around New England lighthouses, and also tales of hauntings.

You'll find more details and imagery in the stories of the rescues of the Metis and the collision between the Larchmont and the Harry P. Knowlton by Watch Hill Light.

You'll find this book and my lighthouse tourism books from the publisher Schiffer Books, or in many fine bookstores like Barnes and Noble.

 

 

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