Notes:
(1) Block Island North Light was built to mark a hazardous shoal that extends 2,800 feet beyond Sandy Point causing a large number of shipwrecks.  The Lighthouse also marks the entrance to Block Island Sound, an area noted for dense and frequent fog.

      In 1614, Dutch explorer Adriaen Block charted the island that now bears his name and English settlers from Massachusetts Bay Colony colonized the island in 1661. Block Island was neutral trading with both sides during the American Revolution and War of 1812.

      Early mariners knew that the shallow shoals and frequent fog surrounding Block Island was a hazardous location along the eastern seaboard.  After the War of 1812, Block Island was in the center of the shipping lanes between Long Island and Rhode Island sounds and 59 shipwrecks were recorded from 1819 to 1838.

      In 1829, a 45-feet high Lighthouse was constructed with two Light Towers at each end of a stone building and exhibited two Fixed White lights visible for 12 miles.   Yet during a gale in 1830, the two Lights did not prevent the passenger packet schooner Warrior running aground on Sandy Point and 21 people perished.   The Lighthouse was abandoned in 1836 due to erosion from the encroaching sea and shifting sands weakened the structure.

      In 1837, a new 50-feet high Lighthouse was built a quarter mile farther inland with two Light Towers at each end of a granite building and exhibited two Fixed White lights illuminated by 7 Oil Lamps with 15-inch Reflectors..  A year later on Nov 22, 1838, Lieutenant George M. Bache, U.S.N. reported the that both Lights were very dim and sighted only at a short distance.  From a distance, the 2 Lights appeared as one light until mariners passed within 2 to 3 miles of the Lighthouse.  This Lighthouse endured the encroaching sea and sand erosion for twenty years.

      In 1857, a new Lighthouse with a single Tower was built near the location of the first Lighthouse on the Point.  In 1861, Hiram D. Ball was appointed Keeper of the Light Station by President Abraham Lincoln and later, Mr. Ball became the First Keeper of the fourth Lighthouse.  In ten years, the Light became ineffective due to storms and shifting sands.

      In 1867, the fourth and current Lighthouse was constructed three-quarters of a mile beyond the north end of Corn Neck Road.  The 55-feet high brown octagonal Tower extended above the roof of a Granite house exhibited a Fixed White light illuminated by a Fourth-order Fresnel lens and kerosene lamp visible for 13.5-miles.  The Lighthouse was First Lit September 15, 1868 by Keeper Hiram D. Ball, the brother of Honorable Nicholas Ball who primarily promoted Block Island as a Victorian resort and lobbied Congress for Southeast Lighthouse.


      By 1873, erosion around the Lighthouse was stabilized by grading.
In 1875, the name of the Lighthouse was changed from Sandy Point Light to North Light when Southeast Light became active.

(2) From 1973 to 1989, the Lighthouse was replaced by a offshore skeleton tower exhibiting a Flashing White light every 5-seconds 36-feet above sea level and visible for 13-miles.  The optic was a battery powered 190mm Rotating Lens illuminated by a 12-volt lamp.

      In 1973, The abandoned Lighthouse and 28 acres were acquired by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for a wildlife refuge protecting the open habitats of shore birds and migratory birds.  The land was incorporated into the 69-acre Block Island National Wildlife Refuge.

      On November 20, 1984, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service transferred ownership of the lighthouse and two acres of land to the Town of New Shoreham.  The town had ceded the land to the federal government in 1829.

      The town of New Shoreham established the North Light Commission to restore the Lighthouse and the U.S. Coast Guard was persuaded to reactivate the Lighthouse.  The Fresnel Lens was replaced by a DCB-24 Aerobeacon and on August 5, 1989, Block Island North Light was relighted and later, the restored first floor was opened as a Interpretive Center.

(3) Since 2003, the Light has been relocated from the Lighthouse to a steel Tower until the deteriorated iron tower on the Granite Lighthouse can be repaired.  In April 2006, the prisms of the 300-pound Fourth-order Fresnel lens were repaired and reset.  After extensive repairs to the iron Tower are completed, the North Light Commission has plans to relight the restored Fresnel lens on September 15, the date when it was first lit 138 years ago.

      The original Characteristic was Fixed White.  During the 1920’s, the Light’s characteristic exhibited a Occulting White light with a group of three eclipses every 13.5 seconds.

(4) 1829 Optics: Each Tower contained 7 Oil Lamps with 15-inch Reflectors
     1842 Optics: 18 Oil Lamps with 15-inch Reflectors

      In 1907, the Illuminant was changed from 1-wick oil to Incandescent Oil Vapor increasing the illumination from 475 cp to 4,308 cp.

      The original 1867 Fourth-order Fresnel Lens is on Display in the Interpretive Center (Keepers House).

(5) The North Light Interpretive Center is open during the summer.  For more information on the summer schedule, call (401) 466-3200 or 1-800-383-BIRI.

Directions from Point Judith, Rhode Island:
Block Island Ferry to Old Harbor.  At the Ferry Landing, Right turn and go Southwest for 300 feet, Right turn onto Water Street, Left turn onto Dodge Street, Right turn onto Corn Neck Road.
Park at the end of Corn Neck Road and walk to the Lighthouse on a Sandy Trail for 0.75-miles.

Block Island Ferry also departs from Newport, RI and New London, CT.Ý Directions to all three cities can be found at their web site.