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Rose Island (Rhode Island)
Encyclopedia
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
off Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
. The name of the island is allegedly named "Rose Island" because at low tide the island appears to be shaped like a rose. The Island is only accessible by boat. The island and its lighthouse are run by the private, non-profit Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation.
History
The Native American name for Rose Island was "Conockonoquit." Fortifications were constructed during the American Revolution on island. In 1798, the U.S. government began constructing Fort HamiltonFort Hamilton Historic District
Fort Hamilton Historic District is a historic district including all of Rose Island in Newport, Rhode Island. The district includes Rose Island Light and an early U.S. military fortification designed in part by Major Louis de Tousard...
on Rose Island. The U.S. Infantry was stationed there. The stone barracks from the fort still remain. The U.S. Navy used Rose Island to store explosives during World Wars I and II as part of the Navy Torpedo Station. The government stopped using the island after World War II (except for the lighthouse) and declared it government surplus. The abandoned fort was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2001 as Fort Hamilton Historic District
Fort Hamilton Historic District
Fort Hamilton Historic District is a historic district including all of Rose Island in Newport, Rhode Island. The district includes Rose Island Light and an early U.S. military fortification designed in part by Major Louis de Tousard...
.
Lighthouse
Built in 1870, the Rose Island LightRose Island Light
The Rose Island Light, built in 1870, is located on Rose Island in Narragansett Bay in Newport, Rhode Island in the United States. The Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation preserves, maintains and operates the lighthouse....
served as an aid to navigation for a century, and was deactivated in 1970 after the Newport Bridge was built. In 1984, a group of citizens started the Newport Lighthouse Foundation to preserve the light. As of 2008, it has been restored to its Victorian appearance.
Visitors may pay to stay at the lighthouse for a night or one week as keepers.
External links
- Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation
- Military History
- Frederic Denlson, Narragansett Sea and Shore, (J.A. & R.A. Reid, Providence, RI., 1879)
- George L. Seavey, Rhode Island's Coastal Natural Areas.