The Point Judith Light is located on the west side of the entrance to

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sma ...

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 well as the north side of the eastern entrance to

Block Island Sound Block Island Sound is a strait in the open Atlantic Ocean, approximately wide, separating Block Island from the coast of mainland Rhode Island. On the west, it extends to Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island, as well as Plum Isl ...

. The confluence of two waterways make this area busy with water traffic and the waters around

Point Judith Point Judith is a village and a small Cape (geography), cape, on the coast of Narragansett, Rhode Island, on the western side of Narragansett Bay where it opens out onto Rhode Island Sound. It is the location for the year-round ferry service that ...

are very cold and dangerous. Historically, even with active lighthouses, there have been many shipwrecks off these coasts. Three light structures have been built on this site. The original tower, built in 1810, was destroyed by a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

in 1815. It was replaced in 1816, by another 35-foot stone tower with a revolving light and ten lamps. The present

octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...

al granite tower was built in 1856. The upper half of the tower is painted brown and the lower half white to make the light structure a more effective daymark for maritime traffic. In 1871, ship captains asked that Point Judith's fog signal be changed from a horn to whistle. This change distinguished the Point Judith light from the

Beavertail Lighthouse 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 Beaverta ...

, which used a siren to announce fog. A whistle could also be heard more distinctly over the sounds of the surf in the area. Point Judith Light was automated in 1954, and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1988.

References

External links

NPS - Historic light stations - Point Judith Light
Lighthouses in Washington County, Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Narragansett, Rhode Island Narragansett Bay Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Rhode Island Lighthouses completed in 1810 Lighthouses completed in 1816 Lighthouses completed in 1856 Octagonal buildings in the United States 1816 establishments in Rhode Island 1856 establishments in Rhode Island {{US-lighthouse-stub

See also

References

External links