Rose Island Lighthouse
Rose Island Lighthouse is a structure in Newport, Rhode Island, listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 10, 1987.
Plan your visit
- Access
- Access information not verified
Last checked October 31, 2026 - Location
- Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island
National Register listing does not mean a place is open to the public. Parking and accessibility are shown only when verified.
History
The Rose Island Light, built in 1870, is on Rose Island in Narragansett Bay in Newport, Rhode Island in the United States. It is preserved, maintained and operated by The Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation.
One of a group of New England lighthouses built to an award-winning design by Vermont architect Albert Dow, Rose Island Light has sisters at Sabin Point, Pomham Rocks, Esopus Meadows Light and Colchester Reef. The lighthouse stands atop a bastion of Fort Hamilton, which was built in 1798-1800.
The building was abandoned as a functioning lighthouse in 1970, when the Newport Bridge was constructed nearby. In 1984, the Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation was founded to restore the dilapidated light on behalf of the City of Newport, which had received it for free from the United States government. In 1987, the federal government listed the lighthouse on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1992 it was relit as a private aid to navigation.
The lighthouse is today a travel destination, reached only by boat. For a fee to the Foundation, visitors can spend a night as a guest or a week as the "lighthouse keeper," completing many of the chores required to keep the lighthouse in good condition.
Excerpt from the Wikipedia article, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The official nomination form is linked under Sources.
Other listings in Newport
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- Bird's Nest, The Building · listed 1982
- Breakers, The Building · listed 1971
- Cotton, Dr. Charles, House Building · listed 1972
- Kay Street-Catherine Street-Old Beach Road Historic District District · listed 1973
- King, Edward, House Building · listed 1970
- Luce Hall Building · listed 1972
- Newport Casino Building · listed 1970
- Newport Historic District (Additional Documentation) District · listed 1968
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- President's House, Naval War College Building · listed 1989
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- Southern Thames Historic District District · listed 2008
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Nearby historic places
- Shoreby Hill Historic District Jamestown, RI · about 1 mi
- Boyd's Windmill Middletown, RI · about 4 mi
- Bailey Farm Middletown, RI · about 4 mi
- Crowfield Historic District North Kingstown, RI · about 5 mi
- Sakonnet Light Station Little Compton, RI · about 8 mi
- Earlscourt Historic District Narragansett, RI · about 8 mi