Warwick Light Station

Lighthouse Data

Established:	1826; Rebuilt: 1889, 1932
Light List:	Aid No. 19345/J0608
Position:	N 41° 40' 01.70", W 71° 22' 42.30" Nautical Chart Warwick Neck / Narragansett Bay, Warwick, Rhode Island
Characteristic:	Oc G 4s (2) [Green eclipsed every 4 seconds]
Original Optics:	8 Lamps with 9" Reflectors (3)
Present optic:	250 mm Lens - 1985
Elevation:	66-feet high Focal Plane
Range:	12 nautical miles visible reach at sea
Structure: (Daymark)	51-feet high White Cylindrical Cast Iron Tower with Black Octagonal Lantern
Fog signal:	One blast every 15 seconds (4)
First Keeper:	Elisha Case (Edmund Burke declined)
Current Use:	Active aid to navigation, U.S. Coast Guard Keeper’s House is private Coast Guard Housing

Notes:
(1) Warwick Light was built to mark the narrow passage between Warwick Neck and North end of Patience Island. The Lighthouse also aided navigation around Providence Point at the North end of Prudence Island.

Since 1765, a early form of Light beacon at Warwick Neck guided ships through the narrow strait between Warwick Neck and Patience Island on their route to Providence Harbor. After the Revolutionary War, Providence became a resourceful seaport that developed into a industrial and financial center by 1830.

As shipping increased to Providence Harbor, a permanent Lighthouse was needed at Warwick Neck. In 1826, three acres was purchased for $750. The first Lighthouse was a poorly built 2-room stone house with a unconventional Windmill style 30-feet Tower built on the roof. In 1832, a 3-room wood frame house was built attached to the original Lighthouse at the request of Lightkeeper Daniel Waite.

U.S. Coast Guard Photograph of Warwick Light, 1826

In 1856, The Lighthouse was refitted with Fourth-order Fresnel lens. The immense storm of September 8, 1869 created widespread damage along the coast. At Warwick Light, the Keeper’s house roof was damaged and most of the bank near the Lighthouse was washed away in the storm.

The first Fog Bell was installed in 1882. In 1889, a 1.5-story Victorian framed Keeper’s House was built and the 1832 addition was converted into a barn. By 1932, bank erosion was endangering the Lighthouse and the present 51-feet high Cast Iron Tower was built with a Electric light.

U.S. Coast Guard Photograph of Warwick Light, 1932

      In 1939, the Tower was moved 50-feet inland due to the bank erosion caused by the Great Hurricane of 1938.

(2) Lighted throughout 24 hours. Emergency light of reduced intensity when main light is extinguished.

(3) Optics Refitted:
      1856: Fourth-order Fresnel Lens, Fixed White
      1891: Fourth-order Fresnel Lens, Fixed White
      1939: Fourth-order Fresnel Lens, Fixed Green, 5,100 cp electric

(4) Fog Signals:
      1882: Fog Bell
      1907: Compresed Air Siren
      1939: Fog Horn

(5) Best Viewed by Boat
     Directions: From Interstate 95 to Rt 117 (East) and Right turn onto Warwick Neck Avenue. The Light Station is at the end of Warwick Neck Avenue. The Lighthouse can be viewed at a distance from the locked gate of the Light Station where a Coast Guard family lives in the Keeper’s house.

Scenic Distant View from Sandy Point Beach, East Greenwich
(about 1.5 miles across Greenwich Bay):

From Interstate 95 to Exit 9 onto RI-4 S to Exit 8 towards East Greenwich, keep Right at fork in the ramp and merge onto Division St (RI-401). Slight Right turn on 1st Ave (RI-401) to Right onto Main St (US-1). Turn Left onto Old Forge Rd. to Left turn onto Ives Rd. Sandy Point Beach is at the end of Ives Rd.

Travel Weather Forecast

Conimicut Lighthouse

Distant Scenic Views of Conimicut Shoal Lighthouse and Nayatt Point Lighthouse can be seen from Conimicut Point Park (Google Map) in Warwick. The park is 5-miles NE of Warwick Lighthouse.