Notes:
(1) In 1866, the Old Colony Steamship Company extended their service to Bristol and Providence with palatial steamers for summer travel.  The Steamship Company anchored a small boat with a beacon at the southern end of Hog Island to mark the dangerous shoals near the island and the narrow Strait between Narragansett Bay and Mount Hope Bay.

      From 1886 to 1901, Hog Island Shoal Lightship (LV 12 Assigned: 1885; On Station: Aug 14, 1886), a 72 feet long Sail-Schooner rigged, was located at southern end of Hog Island to mark the hazardous shoals at the entrance to Bristol Harbor.  In 1891, the Lightship LV12 was reported to be structurally weak from rot and Congress appropriated $35,000 for a Lighthouse in 1896.

      In 1901, A 60-feet high Sparkplug style cast-iron Lighthouse was built to replace the aging Lightship which remained On Station until the Tower was First Lit in October 1901 exhibiting a white flash illuminated by a Fifth-order Fresnel lens.  The Lighthouse contains five decks with Keepers living quarters on the second and third decks.


      In 1959, the Lightjouse was converted to electric power by a submarine cable.  In 1964, the Lighthouse was automated and the Coast Guard completed major repairs to structure in 1995.

      In 2006, the General Services Administration sold Hog Island Shoal Lighthouse at auction for $165,000 after the Lighthouse became available under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 in 2004.  Hog Island Shoal Lighthouse is privately owned by Jon and Juli Chytka of South Dakota and continues to be an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation.

(2) Refitted with a Fourth-order Fresnel lens, Sep 15, 1903 and the characteristic was changed from Flashing to Fixed White

(3) The Lighthouse is best viewed aboard the Prudence Island Ferry, Inc. from Bristol.  Distant Views of the Light can be seen from several vistas in Bristol and Portsmouth including the Mount Hope Bridge.  Click on Road Map link below for best locations.