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Geographic coordinates: 41° 34' 25" N 71° 22' 18" W
Nearest town: Jamestown. Located at the northern point of Conanicut Island in Narragansett Bay.
Established: 1886. Present lighthouse built: 1886. Deactivated: 1933.
Height of focal plane: 47 feet.
Previous optic: Fifth-order Fresnel lens. Present optic: none.
For some years, the Newport and Wickford Railroad maintained a simple light and foghorn at the northern tip of Conanicut Island. The Lighthouse Board decided a proper lighthouse was needed at the location, as a guide for vessels heading south on their way to Newport or the Atlantic Ocean. The lighthouse took the form of a Gothic Revival house with six rooms and a square tower attached to the northeast corner. The first keeper was Rhode Island native and Civil War veteran Horace Arnold.
It was decided in the early 1930s that money could be saved by transferring the navigational light to an unattended 50-foot steel skeleton tower about 55 feet east of the lighthouse. The property was sold at auction to a private party for $2,785.
In its location on North Bay View Drive, it’s difficult to get a good view of the entire lighthouse from the road due to the surrounding trees. If you do visit the location, be sure to be respectful of the privacy of the owners. Better photographic opportunities are possible from the water. A good view is achievable from the 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.
Fascinating Fact 
Keeper Horace Arnold once made a risky walk out onto the ice to assist the passengers of a stranded vessel. The boat’s skipper presented the keeper with a captain’s chair for his considerable efforts.
