This is a list of all

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

s in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

as identified by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

. There are fifteen active lights in the state as well as two skeleton towers erected to replace earlier staffed lighthouses. The first lighthouse in the state was erected in 1749 and the last in 1962 (ignoring automated towers erected later); the oldest surviving structure is the much-modified

Poplar Point Light Poplar Point Light (Lighthouse), built in 1831, is an historic lighthouse in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. It stands at the end of Poplar Point, marking the southern point of Wickford Harbor. The lighthouse was built in 1831 with a stone keeper' ...

, although the tower now standing at Prudence Island Light was first erected at Goat Island in 1824. The tallest extant tower is that at

Beavertail Light Beavertail Lighthouse was built in 1856 and is the premier lighthouse in Rhode Island, marking the entrance to Narragansett Bay. The lighthouse lies on the southernmost point of Conanicut Island in the town of Jamestown, Rhode Island in Beavertai ...

, though the focal plane of the

Block Island Southeast Light Block Island Southeast Light is a lighthouse located on Mohegan Bluffs at the southeastern corner of Block Island, Rhode Island. It was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1997 as one of the most architecturally sophisticated lighthou ...

is much higher on account of the bluffs upon which it sits. If not otherwise noted, focal height and coordinates are taken from the United States Coast Guard ''

Light List A list of lights is a publication describing lighthouses and other aids to maritime navigation. Most such lists are published by national hydrographic offices. Some nations, including the United Kingdom and the United States, publish lists that ...

'', while location and dates of activation, automation, and deactivation are taken from the

historical information site for lighthouses. Locations of demolished lights have been estimated using

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

(NOAA) navigational charts.

References

{{Lighthouses in the United States

Lighthouses A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark ...

See also

References