Newport/Rose Island – July 26, 2017

Newport Harbor (Goat Island) Light

After several rainy days the sky finally cleared, so I headed over to Newport to paddle out to Rose Island.

I put-in at the Washington Street Boat Ramp, paddled out through the Goat Island Marina, and past the Newport Harbor (Goat Island) Light. The first lighthouse was constructed on Goat Island in 1823, but it was moved to Prudence Island in 1851 where the structure still remains as the Prudence Island Light. The current Newport Harbor Light was constructed in 1842.

Rose Island Light

I paddled out into the channel for the 1-mile crossing to Rose Island. With its strategic location on the East Passage of Narragansett Bay, fortifications were constructed on Rose Island as early as the American Revolution. In 1798, the U.S. government began constructing Fort Hamilton on Rose Island. Like Fort Adams, Fort Greble on Dutch Island, Camp Cronin on Point Judith and Fort Wetherill, Fort Hamilton was a coastal defense battery during World War II, and was also used store explosives as part of the Naval Torpedo Station.

With increased shipping traffic around Newport in the mid-1800s, Rose Island seemed like an ideal place to build a lighthouse. The Rose Island Light was completed in 1870. The lighthouse stands atop a bastion of Fort Hamilton, which was built in 1798-1800. The wooden keeper's dwelling features a mansard roof with an integrated 35-foot light tower.

Barracks from Fort Hamilton

The government stopped using Rose Island as a military base after World War II. After the Newport Bridge was completed in 1969, the lighthouse was also abandoned and fell into disrepair. 

In 1984, the Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation was established to restore the lighthouse. The lighthouse now functions as a bed & breakfast, and the island is a wildlife refuge. 

Newport Bridge

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My Pictures

Washington Street Boat Ramp from Rhode Island Blueways