Block Island North Light : History, Structure Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Block Island North Light

Lighthouse in Rhode Island, United States

Lighthouse

41°13′39″N 71°34′34″W / 41.22750°N 71.57611°W / 41.22750; -71.57611TowerConstructed1867ConstructionGranite/woodAutomated1955Height55 feet (17 m)ShapeOctagonal towerMarkingsBrownHeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place

Fog signalnoneLightFirst lit1867Deactivated1973-1989, 2008-2010Focal height61 feet (19 m)LensFourth order FresnelRange11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi)Characteristic

Flashing white light every 5 seconds

Block Island North Light

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

undated USCG photograph

MPSLighthouses of Rhode Island TR (AD)NRHP reference No.74000008 ^[1]Added to NRHPMay 23, 1974

Block Island North Light (Lighthouse), built in 1867, is a historic lighthouse on Block Island, Rhode Island (New Shoreham).

History

The first light on the site was built in 1829. The current structure at Sandy Point is the fourth lighthouse built on the site and was made of granite and iron in 1867. The light was deactivated in 1973 and United States Fish and Wildlife Service acquired the lighthouse. The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.^[1]

After years of neglect, the lighthouse, along with two acres of land, was sold to New Shoreham in 1984 for $1 USD. Following much renovation by the North Light Commission, it was relighted in 1989, and a museum opened on the first floor in 1993. Then, in 2008 the light underwent restoration at Georgetown Ironworks in Massachusetts and was returned in 2009. Finally, on 23 October 2010, a relighting ceremony took place.^[2]

Structure

The building is made of brown granite. The tower is octagonal in shape, 55 feet (17 m) in height, and provides a focal plane height of 61 feet (19 m). It contains a fourth-order Fresnel lens, which flashes white light every five seconds, and has a range of 11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi). The lighthouse does not have a foghorn.^[3]

A wind generator and solar panels provide much of the power for the building.

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
^ Jeremy D'Entremont. "History of Block Island North Lighthouse, Rhode Island". www.newenglandlighthouses.net. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
^ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Rhode Island". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.