Notes:
(1) Plum Beach Light was built at the request of ship captains who were detouring Dutch Island in dense fog in order to avoid the shoals offshore from Plum Beach Point.  In the late 1800s, Narragansett Bay’s West Passage was the busiest direct route to Providence.  Coal and freight vessels navigating the narrow waterway frequently came close to running aground.  In 1888, a steam-powered ferry was established between Jamestown and Saunderstown in North Kingstown.

      In 1897, construction began using “pneumatic caisson” technology by lowering a 33-feet diameter cast-iron cylinder to the bottom of the bay.  After water was pumped out of the caisson, workers dug into the sea floor sinking the caisson 30-feet into the floor of Narragansett Bay.  The caisson foundation was filled with concrete and Granite rip rap was placed around the base to prevent scouring from the swift tidal currents.

      The 53-feet high 5 level White Conical Cast Iron “Spark Plug” Lighthouse with Integral Keepers Living quarters was completed in 1899 and First Lit on July 1, 1899 exhibiting a Flashing White every 5-seconds illuminated by a revolving Fourth-order Fresnel lens that floated on a bed of mercury.


      During the extreme subfreezing winter of 1918, Narragansett Bay was frozen over causing severe cracks in the caisson foundation that were repaired in 1922.  During the Great Hurricane of September 21, 1938, the cracks redeveloped and were were never repaired allowing birds access to the structure.  Thirty feet high tidal wave surges deluged the Lighthouse with floating debris from wrecked boats and homes.

      During the storm, Light-keepers Edwin S. Babcock and John O. Ganze sought refuge by lashing themselves, back to back, to the pipe containing the weights for the clockwork mechanism that rotated the lens in the center of the galley on the fourth level of the Lighthouse as Hurricane force winds and waves pounded the bay.  Both men were lucky to survive the worst storm in New England’s history as the Lighthouse sustained severe damage.  In the local region, seven people at Lighthouses were killed by the Hurricane.

      After 18 months of construction, the (old) Jamestown-Verrazzano Bridge was opened July 1940.  Plum Beach Lighthouse was deactivated by the Coast Guard and replaced by Lights of the Jamestown Bridge in 1941.  For the past 62 years, the Lighthouse was the largest Birdhouse in New England due to the reopened cracks, lost doors, and broken windows.

      After years of dispute over ownership of the Lighthouse, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management transferred the deed to the Friends of Plum Beach Lighthouse, a nonprofit preservation organization, in 1999.  The group received $500,000 under the Transportation Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) and Newport Collaborative Architects estimated a $955,000 cost for a total restoration of the lighthouse in 2000.

      In 2003, the Abcore Restoration Company of Narragansett was awarded the contract and restoration work began in June first to remove the toxic 52 tons of pigeon guano that accumulated to depths of four and a half feet inside the abandoned Lighthouse.

      By December 2003, all major renovations were completed with a solar powered beacon installed in the Lantern Room.  The Coast Guard approved Plum Beach Lighthouse as a private aid to navigation, #19310 using the 1899 Light Characteristic of Flashing White every 5 seconds and a four-mile visible range similar to beacon buoys in the bay.

      During the Christmas week of 2003, permanent accent lighting, three solar powered fluorescent lights, was installed to highlight the Lighthouse and its flashing beacon.  A Lighthouse Gala event is planned for the Spring of 2004 to commemorate the importance of Plum Island Light in Rhode Island’s maritime history.

(2) On Feb 1, 1897, A Fog Bell and temporary Red Lantern (First Lit Feb 22) was installed at the work site until the completion of the Tower in June 1899.

(3) The Lighthouse was replaced by the Lights of the Jamestown (-Verrazzano) Bridge in 1941.

(4) Joseph L. Eaton was the Keeper of the temporary Red Lantern and the Tower’s First Keeper was Judsen Gallen, appointed Jul 1, 1899.

(5) A good view of the Lighthouse can be seen from the Jamestown Shores along Seaside Drive.

Directions from Providence: Take I-95 S to Exit 9 and Merge onto RI-4 S toward Newport (9.9-mi).  Turn slight Right onto US-1 S (Tower Hill Road) (0.7-mi) and Merge onto RI-138 E toward Jamestown (4.5-mi).  After the bridge, take the Jamestown Center exit and Turn Right onto Helm Street.
Turn Right onto Hull Street (0.2-mi).  Turn Right onto Seaside Drive and travel north to Spindrift Street for a view of Plum Beach Light.