Accessibility: 
Geographic coordinates: 41° 29' 48" N 71° 24' 16" W
Nearest city: Jamestown. Located at the southern tip of an 81-acre island in the West Passage of Narragansett Bay.
Established: 1827. Present lighthouse built: 1857. Automated: 1947. Deactivated: 1979. Relighted: 2007.
Height of tower: 42 feet. Height of focal plane: 56 feet.
Characteristic: Red light; two seconds on, four seconds off.
Previous optic: Fourth-order Fresnel lens.
Present optic: LED.
Dutch Island is in the middle of Narragansett Bay’s West Passage between Jamestown to the east and Saunderstown (a village of North Kingstown) to the west. The West Passage became a major route for vessels traveling north to Providence, and Congress appropriated $5,000 for a lighthouse at the island’s southern end in 1825–26.
The first lighthouse tower, 30 feet tall, went into service in 1827. The first keeper was William Dennis, a twice-captured privateering captain during the American Revolution and former sheriff of Newport County. Dennis remained keeper until the age of 93.
The first tower and dwelling were damp and poorly constructed. A new 42-foot-high square brick tower and attached two-story dwelling were built in 1857.
Ernest Homer Stacey arrived as keeper in 1937 and stayed for a decade, leaving when the light was automated in 1947. Stacey’s son, Robert, had to row ashore for school every day. Because the trip was often hazardous, Robert eventually boarded with his grandmother on the mainland during the school year.
The keeper’s house was demolished in 1960. In 1979, the Coast Guard replaced the lighthouse with a lighted buoy offshore. The abandoned tower soon fell victim to neglect and vandalism. In 2000, concerned local citizens formed the Dutch Island Lighthouse Society (DILS). (P.O. Box 435, Saunderstown, RI 02874, www.dutchislandlighthouse.org)
Fascinating Fact 
Dutch Island got its name from a Dutch trading post established on the island in the 1630s.
DILS received a grant of $120,000 in Transportation Enhancement funding, and Abcore Restoration was awarded a contract for the restoration of the lighthouse. The work was completed in November 2007, and the lighthouse was relighted as an aid to navigation. Restoration included interior and exterior repairs to the brick lighthouse tower, replacement of floors and metalwork, and the repair of interior stairs. The tower now has a white stucco finish.
Dutch Island is closed to the public because of safety concerns related to the ruins of old military structures on the island. The lighthouse can be viewed distantly (recommended only if you have a good long lens for your camera) from the Fort Getty Recreation Area. There is a fee to enter the area, but if you explain that you just want to photograph the lighthouse, you might be allowed in for free for a short visit.
To reach Fort Getty from the west, follow Route 138 East to Jamestown via the Jamestown Bridge. Take the Helm Street exit onto an access road and go straight at the stop sign. Continue to a stop sign and take a right onto North Road. Go straight at a four-way intersection and continue past Mackerel Cove Beach. After the beach, take the first right onto Fort Getty Road and continue to the recreation area. From the east, follow Route 138 West over the Newport Bridge. Take the Jamestown exit. Bear right at a yield sign and continue to a stop sign. Turn left onto Conanicus Avenue and go straight at the intersection. Follow approximately a half mile and turn right onto Hamilton Avenue. Go straight at a stop sign and continue past Mackerel Cove Beach. Take the first right onto Fort Getty Road and continue to the recreation area.
This lighthouse can be viewed from lighthouse cruises offered by Rhode Island Bay Cruises, leaving from Quonset Point in North Kingstown; see www.rhodeislandbaycruises.com or call 401-295-4040 for the schedule.
