Whale Rock Light
 | |
 | |
| Location | Whale Rock, Washington County, Rhode Island, US |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°26′N 71°25′W / 41.44°N 71.42°W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1882 |
| Foundation | Bedrock |
| Construction | Cast Iron |
| Shape | Conical |
| Markings | White with black lantern |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1882 |
| Deactivated | Destroyed by the Hurricane of 1938 |
| Lens | Fourth order Fresnel lens |
Whale Rock Light was a sparkplug lighthouse marking Whale Rock, a dangerous island in the entrance to the West Passage of Narragansett Bay.
The lighthouse was built on the rock in 1882. It was destroyed in the New England hurricane of 1938 when it was dislodged from its foundation, killing keeper Walter Eberle. Part of the lighthouse foundation remains and the remains of the lighthouse are underwater nearby.[1][2] The rock is now marked by Whale Rock Lighted Gong Buoy 3.[3]
| Keeper | years | 1st Assistant | years | 2nd Assistant | years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathaniel S. Dodge | 1882-1885 | John W. Dodge | 1882-1884 | ||
| Elam P. Littlefield | 1884-1885 | ||||
| Elam P. Littlefield | 1885-1891 | unknown | 1885-1886 | ||
| Joseph B. Eddy | 1886 | ||||
| Charles Wright | 1886-1887 | ||||
| Eugene R. Milliken | 1887-1888 | ||||
| Eugene R. Milliken | 1887-1888 | ||||
| William Roman | 1888-1890 | ||||
| Edward Andrews | 1890-1891 | ||||
| Edward Andrews | 1890-1891 | ||||
| Edward Andrews | 1891-1893 | Henricus DeVries | 1891 | ||
| Nelson Sprague | 1891-1892 | ||||
| Nelson Sprague | 1891-1892 | ||||
| Herbert R. Kenyon | 1892 | ||||
| Charles E. Smith | 1892-1893 | ||||
| Charles E. Smith | 1893-1895 | Frank Tardiff | 1893-1894 | ||
| Sylvester Allen | 1894-1895 | ||||
| Sylvester R. Allen | 1895 | Isaac G. Hoard | 1895-1896 | ||
| Judson G. Allen | 1895-1899 | Henry Nygren | 1896-1897 | ||
| Joshua A. Overton | 1897-1899 | ||||
| Joshua A. Overton | 1899-1900 | John G. Skipworth | 1899-1900 | ||
| Nelson Sprague | 1900 | ||||
| Nelson Sprague | 1900-1901 | Silas E. Stanton | 1900-1901 | ||
| Silas Stanton | 1901 | Marten W. Ekman | 1901-1902 | ||
| Joseph D. Meade | 1901-1902 | ||||
| Peter M. Peterson | 1902-1906 | Willis A. Green | 1902-1903 | ||
| Morell E. Hulse | 1903-1905 | ||||
| Edward R. Curtis | 1905-1906 | ||||
| John A. Burke | 1906 | ||||
| Ernest Bloom | 1906-1908 | ||||
| William Aichele | 1906-1908 | ||||
| Hans Christian Anderssen | 1908 | ||||
| Hans Christian Anderssen | 1908-1910 | Simon Sivounich | 1908-1911 | ||
| John J. Sheridan | 1910 | ||||
| John C. W. Porter | 1910-1911 | ||||
| Robert G. Lamer | 1911 | ||||
| Theodore De Shong | 1911-1913 | Joseph O. Bouley | 1911-1914 | ||
| John (Jack) Larsen | 1913-1915 | ||||
| Arthur E. Larkin | 1914-1915 | ||||
| Edward Grime | 1915-1916 | Otis L. Barstow | 1915-1916 | ||
| Otis L. Barstow | 1916-1918 | George H. Tooker | 1916-1918 | ||
| George H. Tooker | 1918-1925 | unknown | 1918-1921 | ||
| George T. Gardiner | 1921-1925 | George A. Scheer
(first second assistant) |
1921-1923 | ||
| Thomas H. Winn | 1923-1925 | ||||
| Frederick B. White | 1925-1927 | Daniel A. Sullivan | 1925-1927 | Alfred Auger | 1925-1927 |
| Daniel A. Sullivan | 1927-1938 | William O. Chapel | 1927-1931 | Robert H. Lyons | 1927-1929 |
| Joseph G. Hindley | 1929-1931 | ||||
| Joseph G. Hindley | 1931 | Harold E. Davis | 1931 | ||
| Peter Roudeau | 1931-1937 | Ernest Stacey | 1931-1937 | ||
| Joseph H. Dubois | 1937-1938 | Walter Eberle | 1937-1938 | ||
| Octavius E. Davis | 1938 | ||||
| On September 21, 1938, a hurricane destroys the lighthouse and kills keeper Walter Eberle. | |||||
References
- ^ a b "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Rhode Island". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
- ^ a b Rowlett, Russ (2009-10-03). "Lighthouses of Rhode Island". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- ^ Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2013. p. 177.
- ^ "Whale Rock Lighthouse Keepers". rhodeislandlighthousehistory.info. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
- ^ "Whale Rock Light history". New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide. Retrieved 2015-08-28.
