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The Prudence Island Lighthouse, more commonly known locally as the Sandy Point Lighthouse, is located on
Prudence Island Prudence Island is the third-largest island in Narragansett Bay in the state of Rhode Island and part of the town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, United States. It is located near the geographic center of the bay. It is defined by the United Sta ...
,
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...
and is the oldest lighthouse tower in the state. Sandy Point is nicknamed ''Chibacoweda'', meaning "little place separated by a passage", because the location is a little more than one mile offshore.


History

The lighthouse was constructed in 1823 and originally sat on a dike off
Goat Island Goat Island (or Goat Islands) may refer to: Arts * Goat Island (performance group), a Chicago-based company * ''Goat Island'' (play), ''Delitto all'isola delle capre'', by Ugo Betti Places Australia * Goat Island (Port Jackson) in Sydney Harbou ...
farther south in the Bay, where the Newport Harbor Light stands today. In 1851, it was transported to Prudence Island where it remains. It is one of the few lighthouses in the United States to retain its original bird-cage lantern. The light was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
in 1988.


1938 New England hurricane

The lighthouse keeper's house was swept away in the
1938 New England hurricane The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The storm ...
, and five people were washed out to sea and drowned:
  1. the keeper's wife, Mrs. George T. Gustavus ( Mable Gertrude Norwood; 1888–1938),
  2. the keeper's son, Edward J. Gustavus (1926–1938),
  3. the former keeper, Martin Thompson (1868–1938),
  4. James George Lynch (1863–1938) and v, his wife, Ellen Lynch ( Ellen Wyatt; 1870–1938) – both of whom had sought refuge at the lighthouse residence.
The lighthouse keeper, George Theodore Gustavus (1884–1976), was also swept into the sea, but was swept back ashore and survived.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Newport County, Rhode Island __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Newport County, Rhode Island. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Newport County, ...


References


External links


Lighthouse HistoryLighthouseFriends.com
Lighthouses completed in 1823 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island Lighthouses in Newport County, Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Portsmouth, Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Newport County, Rhode Island {{NewportCountyRI-NRHP-stub