Notes:
(1) Castle Hill Light was built to guide navigation entering the eastern passage of Narragansett Bay.

      Castle Hill is a forty-acre peninsula located at the west end of Newport Neck with steep rocky cliffs descending into the East Passage of Narragansett Bay.  During the 1870s, Castle Hill was a ideal place to watch the regatta on the Narragansett Bay.

      Alexander Agassiz, Marine zoologist and Mining entrepreneur, purchased Castle Hill and built his Victorian mansion summer “cottage” from 1874 to 1875.  The Lighthouse Board determined a Fog Signal at Castle Hill would aid navigation sailing through the East Passage of Narragansett Bay and Congress appropriated $10,000 for constructing the Fog Signal on Alexander Agassizs’ land in 1875.

      Agassiz refused to sell a lot and ‘right of way’ to the government emphasizing he did want to hear a fog bell near his residence.  In 1877, Agassiz established a marine laboratory in a chalet constructed to the east of the mansion near the inlet.  Agassizs’ examination of sea life would be disrupted by a Fog Bell.

      In 1886, a Lighthouse was included with the fog bell proposal and Agassiz sold a lot of his land without a land access to the site in 1887.  The steep rocky cliffs of Castle Hill prevented landing construction steamships.  On May 20, 1888, Alexander Agassiz relinquished and deeded a 8,625 square feet parcel of his land including a ‘right of way’ to the United States for the site of the Lighthouse near Rams Head.

      A 34-feet high Granite Conical Tower was built and Castle Hill Lighthouse was First Lit on May 1, 1890 exhibiting a Flashing Red Light every 10 seconds illuminated by a Fifth-order Fresnel lens, visible for 10-miles.  The Lighthouse was designed by prominent Architect, Henry Hobson Richardson who used a innovative architectural style named after him, Richardson Romanesque that harmonizes with the Victorian style mansions nearby.  A 1,300-pound Fog Bell was suspended from a cantilever granite beam of the Lighthouse and a six room Keeper’s house was also constructed.

      The Fog Bell was discontinued after 1.6-years of operation per Alexander Agassizs’ complaint. In 1896, a new piercing 2,000-pound Fog Bell was installed and a fog bell screen was used to deaden the sound after Aggasiz complained again in 1898.

      The hurricane of September 1938 destroyed the Keeper’s house(1a) and the U.S. Coast Guard Station Castle Hill located near the Lighthouse at Castle Hill Cove.  The Coast Guard Station was rebuilt in 1940.  The Keeper’s house was never rebuilt and Lightkeeper Manuel Soares Macedo hiked the 1/4-mile trail from the new Coast Guard Station to the Lighthouse during the 1940s.

      In 1957, the Light was automated and a modern optic replaced the original Fifth-order Fresnel lens.

      Although Castle Hill Light was part of the ongoing program to upgrade navigation aids throughout Narragansett Bay due to increased shipping, one of the worst shipwrecks in Rhode Island Sound occurred within a short distance south of the Lighthouse.  On June 23, 1989, the Greek oil tanker M/V World Prodigy ran aground on Brenton Reef off Brenton Point just south of Castle Hill Light spilling 290,000 gallons of Number 2 fuel oil (home heating oil) into the Sound and Narragansett Bay.  The oil spread over 123 square miles closing beaches and fishing grounds throughout Narragansett Bay killing marine life.  The disaster received national attention due to Exxon Valdez that ran aground on a charted reef spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil in Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989 killing birds and marine life.

      Another foreign freighter, the 350-foot Portuguese Mantenha, ran aground near Castle Hill Light on the rocks at the foot of the Inn at Castle Hill around 6:20 p.m. on February 10, 2005.  Fortunately, the vessel Mantenha was carrying empty containers for Atlantic Shipping Co. in Fall River from Cape Verde.

(1a) According to a U.S. Coast Guard source.  There are conflicting sources.  Another source claims a 2-story brick Keeper’s house exists.  During our visit in 2005, we located this house behind the parking lot of the Castle Hill Cove Marina yet we have not discovered any facts to confirm the home was the Keeper’s house of Castle Hill Light.

(2) The original Characteristic was Fl R 10s [Flashing Red every 10 seconds] visible for 10 miles.
     1907 Characteristic: Fl R 30s [Flashing Red every 30 seconds].
     1939 Characteristic: Fl R 30s [Red Flash 9 seconds with eclipse 21 seconds].

(3) The original Fog signal was discontinued at the request of Professor Alexander Agassiz on November 30, 1891. The fog bell was reinstalled in 1896. To appease land owner’s complaints, a fog bell screen was built to divert the sound in 1898.

(4) Directions from Downtown Newport:
      Take America’s Cup Avenue which then becomes Thames Street (one way), turn Right onto Wellington Avenue, turn Left onto Halidon Avenue, and turn Right onto Harrison Avenue.  Turn right onto Castle Hill Road, then Left onto Ocean Drive.  Turn Right at a paved driveway with a small “Inn at Castle Hill” sign.  Turn right onto the Castle Hill Cove Marina and park.


      A 1/4-mile trail from the opposite side of the marina entrance leads over a hill to the Lighthouse.  If you drive past the marina, the road ends at the parking lot of the Castle Hill Inn.  Please be advised to ask the staff at front desk for permission to park before walking the path from the Inn to the Lighthouse (the parking lot is for Guests of the Inn).

      From the main house at Castle Hill Inn, there are several rooms overlooking panoramic picturesque views of the Lighthouse and Narragansett Bay.

      Captivating Cruises of scenic Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay provide picturesque views of the Lighthouse. For Links, refer to Right Side Navigation Menu.