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Rose Island Lighthouse stands on an 18-acre island in the middle of Narragansett Bay between the shores of Newport and Jamestown in the shadow of the Pell-Newport Bridge. Although it’s painted white, it has been “green” for nearly a quarter of a century. Built atop a circular bastion of an 18th century fort, the Lighthouse was established in 1870 and was operated by industrious keepers and their families for 100 years. After the bridge was built, the Lighthouse was no longer needed as a navigation aid, so it was abandoned and over the next 14 years fell victim to vandalism and the weather.
Now some might have considered his remark to be the end of that, but Yankee ingenuity being what it is – a combination of not wanting to see anything go to waste on the one hand, and a fiercely independent spirit that says, “You’re not going to tell ME what I can’t do!” on the other – motivated a small group of citizens to form the Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation (RILF) to restore, maintain and operate the historic lighthouse as a public site. Inspired
by Wanton’s reminiscences about his grandmother’s
big black stove and the pitcher pump at the pantry sink, plus the
fact that no city services or utilities extended to the island, RILF
volunteers restored the historic rainwater harvesting system from
the roof into a basement cistern, and developed new, independent,
renewable energy systems that rely on the sun and wind. |
Relighting the navigation beacon in 1993 with wind-powered electricity marked the completion of the lighthouse restoration and the first stage in RILF’s long-range plan to preserve all of Rose Island and establish it as an environmental education center. More than anything, the operating light and RILF’s open invitation for people to stay overnight in the lighthouse and to voluntarily take on the keeper’s responsibilities and chores unquestionably “put the life back into the lighthouse.” RILF saved the rest of the island from development by purchasing it in 1999. At that time it was so overgrown with vegetation it was nearly impossible to discern that it had served as the Naval Torpedo Station’s munitions depot during World Wars I and II. Efforts soon began to reclaim the oldest of Rose Island’s fort structures: a unique 9-room bombproof barracks and the northwest circular bastion of Fort Hamilton, which was constructed between 1798-1800.
Today’s visitors can learn much from the keeper’s self-sufficient, resourceful way of life, as well as the practical side of living “off the grid” with minimal impact on the environment. Today we simply call it “being green.” Its success depends on the awareness and ingenuity of its visitors and its volunteer keepers who monitor and conserve these precious resources. © 2008 Newport Harbor Guide. All rights reserved. return to Newport Harbor Guide Articles |
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By 1984 when the General Services Administration offered the property
at no cost to the City of Newport, many thought its condition was
so poor that it couldn’t be saved. Wanton “Jagger” Chase,
who lived at the Lighthouse until 1918 with his grandparents Charles
and Christina Curtis, summed it up by proclaiming, “It can’t
be saved. The life has gone out of it.”