Notes:
(1) The Lighthouse from Goat Island, Newport Harbor was moved to Sandy Point on Prudence Island to mark the sandbar at the point.  The Light Tower is officially recognized as Prudence Island Lighthouse yet Sandy Point Lighthouse is the popular name used by local mariners.

      The East Passage of Narragansett Bay was the major shipping channel to Newport Harbor, Bristol Harbor, and Providence.  Seaport villages at these harbors developed as prosperous shipbuilding, fishing, and trading centers.

      Prudence Island, located in Narragansett Bay, is a 6-miles long and 1-mile wide island 13-miles south of Providence.  The main shipping channel of the East Passage is near the shoreline of Prudence Island to avoid the dangerous shoals offshore from Coggeshall Point, Portsmouth.  Sandy Point at Prudence Island is hazardous obstruction on the west edge of the shipping channel.

      In 1851, a 25-feet high Granite octagonal pyramidal Tower with “Bird-cage” style Lantern Room, originally built in 1823, was moved from Goat Island in Newport Harbor to Sandy Point on Prudence Island.  Sandy Point Lighthouse was First Lit in January 1852 exhibiting a Fixed White Light illuminated by Oil Lamps and reflectors.  A 1-1/2 story 6-room Keeper’s house was built and located 190-feet to the west of the Lighthouse with a elevated walkway connecting the house to the tower.

      As steamboats and sailing vessels plied the busy seaway, the Lighthouse was needed to guide the expanding navigation around Sandy Point.  Coastal freighting, passenger service, and whaling (until 1861) was thriving along Narragansett Bay.  In 1857, the original optic was refitted with a Fifth-order Fresnel lens.  A Bell tower and Fog bell with automatic striking machinery was installed in 1891.

      By 1876, two summer cottages were constructed and Prudence Park became a popular summer resort with steamboat service from Providence and about 40 cottages existed by 1900.  In 1904, Halsey Chase began the present Ferry service from Bristol to the island and a wharf was built at Sandy Point around 1909 increasing the importance of the Lighthouse.  These “summer colonies” continue to attract vacationers today.

      The Keeper’s House was destroyed by a powerful tidal surge during the September hurricane of 1938.  The Lighthouse tower and Lightkeeper, George T. Gustavas survived.  Miraculously, Keeper Gustavas was swept back to the beach after the surge hit yet his wife and son were “washed to sea.”  In 1939, Prudence Island Light was converted to electric power and refitted with a Fourth-order Fresnel lens illuminated by a 1,400-candlepower bulb.

      From 1943 to 1947, the U.S. Navy used the southern point of Prudence Island as an ammunition depot.  In 1973, the Navy abandoned the property when the State of Rhode Island acquired ownership.  The 726-acre reserve is called South Prudence Bay (State) Park and is open to the public for fishing and hiking.

      In 1961, Prudence Island Light was automated and the Coast Guard leased the lighthouse to the American Lighthouse Foundation in 2000 yet, the lease was transferred in 2001 to the Prudence Conservancy after local protests.  Remarkably, Sandy Point Lighthouse still has a rare nineteenth-century “bird-cage” style Lantern Room.



(2) 1855 Characteristic: Fixed White

1924 Characteristic: FW Oc R 5s [Fixed White alternating with Flashing Red, 5 seconds]
1939 Characteristic: FW Oc G 5s [Fixed White alternating with Flashing Green, 5 seconds]

(3) Refitted with a Fourth-order Fresnel lens in 1939

(4) Directions to the Prudence Island Ferry from Providence:
      Take I 195 East to the Barrington/RI 114 South Exit. Merge onto RI 114 South and travel to to Bristol.
In Bristol, RI 114 is also named Hope Street.  Turn Right onto Church Street and drive to the ferry landing at the Church Street Wharf.


      The grounds of the Lighthouse are about a mile from the Ferry landing on the island by turning Left onto Narragansett Avenue.  Perhaps the easiest and best course to view the Sandy Point Light is from a Lighthouse Cruise:

      Although Prudence island is not a primary tourist destination, there are two large reserves at each end of the island open to the public: the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Sanctuary at the north end and South Prudence State Park.  Summer rental homes may be available if reserved early and a Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast overlooks the Lighthouse on scenic Sandy Point and Narragansett Bay.