Beavertail Lighthouse

During my trip to Jamestown, RI in July 2023, I visited Beavertail Lighthouse, a free museum about the history of the building and its keepers. Earlier that day, I visited many other historic attractions on Conanicut Island, including Historic New England’s Casey Farm and Watson Farm, along with several sites operated by Jamestown Historical Society (JHS), like Conanicut Battery. I had wanted to visit the Beavertail Lighthouse museum for a long time, but it had never been open when I visited. This was my lucky day!

Many protective buildings existed on the Jamestown coast even before the construction of the current lighthouse. The first Watch House was built in 1705, and a Fire Beacon in 1712. The original Beavertail Lighthouse was erected in 1749, making it the third lighthouse established on the Atlantic Coast in the British American colonies. The lighthouse was designed by Peter Harrison, often called “America’s First Architect”. His other famous work in the area was Touro Synagogue in Newport, RI. While Harrison had a successful career, his Jamestown lighthouse did not. The tower burned down in 1753, only four years after it was built. The foundation of that lighthouse still stands with a plaque and signage marking its location. The current building was constructed soon after.

British troops attacked Beavertail Lighthouse in 1779 as they exited the Newport area near the end of the American Revolutionary War. The lighthouse survived and became the property of the new United States government in 1793. Lighthouse maintenance was not standardized until 1849 after the establishment of the United States Lighthouse Board. Because of this board, the lighthouse received many improvements still seen to this day. An 1851 air fog trumpet, a 1856 granite light tower, and a 1898 assistant keeper’s residence were all part of this system.

By 1903, the Lighthouse Board became part of the United States Department of Commerce and was reestablished as the Bureau of Lighthouses in 1910. This system lasted another twenty-nine years until it, too, was abolished in 1939, and lighthouses were transferred to the United States Coast Guard. This branch of the military operates lighthouses to this day. Since 1977, the light house has been part of the National Register of Historic Places. A collaboration between the Rhode Island Parks Association, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the Town of Jamestown, and the U.S. Coast Guard led the the restoration of the building beginning in 1989, while the museum opened to the public in 1993. The lighthouse and nearby buildings underwent their latest restorations in 2009 through 2010.

On the grounds and inside the buildings were a range of interesting exhibits on the lighthouse itself and other lighthouses in the area. Signage described Whale Rock Lighthouse, a spark-plug shaped building constructed in 1872 and destroyed during the Great Hurricane of 1938, killing Light Assistant Keeper Walter B. Eberle in the process. Another tragedy during the hurricane was a school bus drowning during a storm surge, with the only survivors being the bus driver and Clayton Chellis, son of the Beavertail Light Keeper. Chellis would later die during World War II at age nineteen. A more upbeat story was the comic phone conversations of George Light, who found the perfect job as a light keeper due to his last name. Visitors could learn these stories and more by perusing interactive kiosks and touch tables, which I found to be sophisticated and easy-to-use technology. The museum also included traditional models, lights, and artwork.

Beavertail Lighthouse Museum is open every day from mid-June through Labor Day from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., plus Memorial Day weekend and weekends in September and October from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m. The museum is always free, but donations are accepted, and the museum gift shop is well-stocked. The museum is accessible via a ramp at the back of the building. The museum’s website is currently out of service. This is a fun way to spend an hour or two at the beach if you prefer to learn history instead of going in the water.

Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 8/10

Accessibility: 8/10