Gull Rocks Lighthouse

Year Built

1887

Cost

$10,000

Type

A-frame house with skeleton tower

Height

33 feet

Location

Narragansett Bay near Newport

Automated Year

1960

First Lit

1928

Lens Type

Two lens lanterns

Fog Signal

Bell struck by machinery every 5 seconds

Year Deactivated

1969

Color

Wedge-shaped wooden building, shingled, natural color.

Last Keeper - Date

Alfred J. Roy (at least 1949)

Description

The tower was removed, leaving the tiny oil house as the sole remaining trace of the station.

Brief History

•  1888, A fog-bell and striking machine were set up, and a railing was placed around the platform on which the bell is set.
•  1900, The power of the lights was increased by substituting lens lanterns for the former post lanterns.
•  Gull Rocks Lighthouse was converted from acetylene gas to electricity on July 18, 1956. The electricity came from an underwater cable from the nearby navy base.
•  In 1961 the Coast Guard hired The Newport Demolition Company to destroy Gull Rock lighthouse because it wasn't needed anymore and it was burned on July 12.
•  On January 8, 1970 a Coast Guard helicopter removed the light and flew it to the Bristol Coast Guard Depot.