Castle Hill Lighthouse is located on

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. S ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, at the end of the historic Ocean Drive. It is an active navigation aid for vessels entering the East Passage, between

Conanicut Island Conanicut Island ( ) is an island in Narragansett Bay in the American state of Rhode Island. The second-largest in the Bay, it is connected on the east to Newport, Rhode Island, Newport on Aquidneck Island by the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge, ...

and

Aquidneck Island Aquidneck Island ( ), officially known as Rhode Island, is an island in Narragansett Bay in the state of Rhode Island. The total land area is , which makes it the largest island in the bay. The 2020 United States Census reported its population as ...

. The lighthouse has become a symbol of Newport, and a frequent site for wedding photos, proposals, and tourist photos. Although the property is owned by the nearby Castle Hill Inn, the lighthouse is owned by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

History

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

drew a sketch for a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

at this location which may or may not have been the basis for the actual design. The structure does not include the residence which was featured in Richardson's sketch. The keeper's house was built, and still stands, near Castle Hill Cove, a few hundred feet away. The lighthouse was completed in 1890 on property formerly belonging to the naturalist, oceanographer, and zoologist

Alexander Agassiz Alexander Emmanuel Rodolphe Agassiz (December 17, 1835March 27, 1910), son of Louis Agassiz and stepson of Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, was an American scientist and engineer. Biography Agassiz was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and immigrated t ...

of Harvard University. Agassiz sold the land to the United States Government for the lighthouse for $1. His mansion on the property, commissioned in 1874, is now an inn. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1988 as Castle Hill Lighthouse. Although the lighthouse building is not open to the public, the shoreline and cliff face where the lighthouse sits are accessible by several footpaths from the Castle Hill Inn and the Castle Hill Cove Marina. The lighthouse is a popular site for tourist photos and wedding shoots, and widely recognizable as a symbol of Newport. While the property is owned by the nearby Castle Hill Inn, the lighthouse itself is owned by the

2021 repainting

By 2020, the iconic lighthouse had become streaked with unsightly brown rust, and the Coast Guard indicated that it had no plans to perform any exterior maintenance. In March 2021, the Castle Hill Inn signed a five-year agreement with the Coast Guard to refresh the lighthouse's exterior appearance. A local contractor was hired to perform a full power wash, paint, and beautification at a cost of $17,000, just in time for the 2021 summer wedding season. File:Castle Hill Light - Newport RI.jpg File:15 23 0450 castle hill light.jpg File:Castle Hill Lighthouse at sunset.jpg

List of keepers

# Frank W. Parmele (1890 – 1911) # George L. Hoxsie (1911 – at least 1944) # Manuel Soares Macedo (at least 1945). # Ernest H. Stacey (Coast Guard BM1, May 22, 1947 – September 30, 1948) After the 1938 hurricane, operation of the lighthouse was taken over by Coast Guard personnel. In 1957, the light was automated.

References

External links

Castle Hill Lighthouse Plans and Maps 1869–1896

Castle Hill Lighthouse
at American Byways Lighthouses completed in 1890 Lighthouses in Newport County, Rhode Island Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island Henry Hobson Richardson buildings Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Newport, Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Newport, Rhode Island Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Rhode Island 1890 establishments in Rhode Island {{NewportCountyRI-NRHP-stub

History

2021 repainting

List of keepers

See also

References

External links