Hog Island Shoal Lighthouse
a.k.a. Hog Island Shoal Light Station
S of Hog Island, E passage, Narrangansett Bay, Portsmouth, RIBuilt in 1901-1902 to warn ships approaching Bristol and Mount Hope Bay of a shoal south of Hog Island, Hog Island Shoal Light was the last lighthouse to be established in Rhode Island, and the only one in Narragansett Bay built to replace a lightship. Although earlier lights had been established nearby at Bristol Ferry (1854) and off Muscle Bed Shoals (1873), Hog Island Shoal Light is the only surviving one of the three, and as such remains the primary navigational aid for ships in the area. Architecturally, the light is significant as an example of late nineteenth-century engineering and prefabricated construction and is one of four surviving caisson lighthouses in Rhode Island.
As early as 1869 the annual report to the Lighthouse Board had cited the need for a lighthouse southeast of Hog Island to warn ships of Hog Island Shoal, a reef situated near the entrance to Mount Hope Bay. The Board had recommended the construction of an offshore light on the reef to replace a private lightship maintained by a steamboat company that ran boats between Newport and Fall River.
However, it was not until 1899, after the lightship was reported to be in poor condition and scarcely seaworthy, that Congress appropriated $35,000 to establish a lighthouse and fog signal on the reef. By the end of June 1901, the tower's foundation cylinder had been completed and work began on erecting the iron superstructure. Although a temporary light was installed in October of that year, it was not until March 1902, that the tower was entirely finished. A fog signal was established the following month.
In 1921 the station was repaired and oil tanks were installed on the deck of the lower gallery. Otherwise, few significant alterations have been made to the tower. Automation of the light was authorized in 1959 and began with the laying of an electric cable from Hog Island to supply the station with power. However, it was not until 1964 that automation finally was completed. At that time the windows in the tower were boarded over, and as part of the conversion, a brighter light was installed and a horn was added to replace an earlier fog siren.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.