Pomham Rocks Light (also known as "Pomham Lighthouse") is a historic
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 ...
in the
Providence River
The Providence River is a tidal river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 8 miles (13 km). There are no dams along the river's length, although the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier is located south of downtown to protect th ...
about off the shoreline of the Riverside neighborhood of the city of
East Providence, Rhode Island
East Providence is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 47,139 at the 2020 census, making it the fifth-largest city in the state.
Geography
East Providence is located between the Providence and Seekonk ...
. It is the northernmost lighthouse in
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 ...
.
History
The light was established in 1871. The light was one of a group of
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
lighthouses built to the same plan after an award-winning design by Vermont architect Albert Dow.
Nearly identical lights were constructed at
Sabin Point
Sabin Point ( bg, нос Сабин, nos Sabin, ) is the ice-covered, rock-tipped northeast entrance point of Golyam Sechko Cove projecting 250 m from the northwest coast of Nelson Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The area was v ...
,
Rose Island, Esopus Meadows Light and
Colchester Reef.
The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1974, and its antique fourth-order
fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships."
The design allows the c ...
donated to the
Custom House Maritime Museum Custom House Maritime Museum may refer to:
* United States Customhouse (Newburyport, Massachusetts)
The former United States Customhouse (now the Custom House Maritime Museum) is a historic building at 25 Water Street in Newburyport, Massachusett ...
in Massachusetts.
The lighthouse was sold to a private family in 1974. In 1980 it was acquired by
ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
, which operates a fuel terminal nearby.
In 2010, ExxonMobil donated the building and island to the American Lighthouse Foundation, the parent organization of the Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse.
Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse
The Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse was formed in 2004.
In 2006, the group restored the exterior and installed a new LED navigational light.
When the group acquired ownership of the lighthouse from ExxonMobil in 2010, the floor was completely rotted and the tower was leaning 7 degrees off center.
The stairs were crooked, and the tower would sway in the wind.
The Friends raised over $1.5 million to restore the building.
The group installed a new floor, restored electricity to the island, and acquired a dedicated boat, among other repairs.
In 2021, the original 2.5-foot tall fourth-order fresnel lens was restored and returned to the lighthouse, in time to mark the light's 150th anniversary.
The lens is displayed inside the lighthouse building for visitors.
List of keepers
# C.H. Salisbury (1871 – 1893)
# Mary A. Salisbury (1893)
# Nathaniel Dodge (1893 – 1898)
# Thomas S. Fishburne (1898 – 1908)
# Adolf H. Aronson (1908 – 1937)
# William James Howard (1937 – 1951)
# Howard B. Beebe (1951 – 1956)
# ''Unknown'' (1956-1971)
# Dennis Tardiff (1971 – 1974)
See also
*
References
Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island
Lighthouses completed in 1871
Tourist attractions in Providence County, Rhode Island
Buildings and structures in East Providence, Rhode Island
National Register of Historic Places in Providence County, Rhode Island
Transportation buildings and structures in Providence County, Rhode Island
1871 establishments in Rhode Island
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