Conimicut Shoal Lighthouse
Warwick, Rhode Island
Built in 1868
Location:
Entrance to Providence River in Narragansett Bay, sitting on Conimicut Point Shoal.
| Latitude: 41° 43' 01" N |
| Longitude: 71° 20' 42" W |
Historic Stories:
Conimicut Shoal Lighthouse is located on the entrance to the Providence River in Narragansett Bay, sitting on Conimicut Point Shoal. In 1868 a granite tower was built as a lighted aid for mariners. Early keepers were not provided with living quarters at Conimicut Lighthouse and had to make daily mile long trips that were sometimes quite dangerous in a rowboat to nearby Nayatt Point Lighthouse for overnight stays. Years later, in 1873, a five-room keeper's dwelling was built on the landing pier attached to the tower.
Keeper and Son Survive Deadly Ice Floes
Keeper Horace W. Arnold was one of the early keepers at the lighthouse. In early March in 1875, heavy ice floes from a gale storm were colliding against the keeper's building attached to the lighthouse one night. Arnold and his nine-year-old son Earnest were sleeping on the second floor. Just before dawn, the ice floes starting ripping into the foundation and caused one of the walls to collapse as the dwelling evenutally fell over. Arnold and his son survived the collapse as the keeper looked for a way to secure his scared son. He found a wet mattress and secured it to the remains of the building as the winds cointinued at gale-force, and then tied his son to the mattress. To send out a distress signal he climbed up the tower to ring the bell.
Captain Sutton of the tug Reliance, heard the bell and helped to rescue the the keeper with crewmembers from a nearby schooner using their lifeboat. Both father and son were resuced about two hours later. Keeper Arnold was frostbitten so badly that it was several months before he could resume his duty at the light station, his son was also hospitalized for frostbite. The lighthouse survived the ice flows, but the keeper's house was destroyed and the family lost all their possessions, so Arnold and his family stayed at nearby inactive Nayatt Point light until the quarters were rebuilt.
Note: For more details about this story, select the link above to my Lighthouse Stories blog.
Several months later Arnold's youngest seven-year-old son was killed, when he fell from the lighthouse tower onto the rocks below.
Spark Plug Style Construction |
1882, the old granite tower was removed and a new cast-iron style, known as “spark plug light” was built. The keeper's quarters was constructed inside the tower. |
Keeper's Son Saves His Little Brother
On March 1, 1905, Keeper Daniel MacDonald’s two small sons, Leslie who was six years old, and Melton who was three, were playing on the rocks near the base of the tower. Leslie had a little pole and was leaning over poking at little blocks of ice floating past the rocks. Suddenly, little Melton lost his footing and fell into the freezing waters. Melton frantically cried out to his brother as Leslie grabbed his pole and calmly eased himself down over the rocks until he was waist deep in water. He extended his pole far enough for Melton to grasp it, and calmly told his younger brother to hang on as he pulled him to safety. Both boys, now safe, climbed over the rocks and ran to their father inside the lighthouse with their clothes wet and freezing from the waters. Keeper MacDonald calmly warmed them up, gave them dry clothes and food, and praised them for their bravery, especially for Leslie's calmness in such a perilous predicament.
About three weeks later, young Leslie received a letter from Wilbert E. Longfellow, commander of the Rhode Island branch of the U.S. Volunteer Life Saving Corps, who had heard about the rescue. He praised Leslie for "the courage it took to make the plunge for the little chap who had fallen in." A few weeks later, members from the corps arrived at the lighthouse to present the lad with a medal of honor for his cool-headed rescue of his little brother.
Murder Suicide of Keeper’s Wife and Child
Sometimes remote lighthouse locations become too much for family members to adjust to. Keeper Ellsworth Smith who was appointed keeper in 1921, came to Conimicut Shoal Light with his wife Nellie and two children. His wife could not adjust to the lonely life and longed for socializing on the mainland. Keeper Smith refused her requests to leave the lighthouse as he felt maintaining the lighthouse tower and buildings was a family affair.
One day as the keeper went ashore to gather supplies, Nellie decided to take her life and the children’s lives as the isolation of the tower had become too much for her to bear. She found Ellsworth’s keys and unlocked the medicine cabinet where she found some poison tablets. She brought the children (ages five and two) into the bedroom and gave each a pill, telling them it was candy. When the keeper returned from gathering supplies in town, he found his wife and two year old son dead, and his five year old son very ill. He immediately rowed his son the mile long journey back to shore to a doctor's office where he would later recover. That night, the tower would not be lit. The five year old boy survived the ordeal and told his father he spit the "candy" out because he didn't like the taste.
Since the tragedies, keepers and Coast Guard personnel have reported weird occurrences at the lighthouse. Some have reported hearing a woman crying and a young child laughing, when no one else was around. Others have reported that items and tools have been moved around from their original locations.
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By the 1930’s at times as many as 50 local fishermen would crowd the lighthouse area to fish off the rocky shore. |
 Courtesy US Coast Guard |
It finally got to a point that the Coast Guard had to post the area as “off limits” for visitors.
Conimicut lighthouse was one of the last lighthouses in the US to convert to electricity in 1960.
In the spring of 1997, a Coast Guard crew was performing routine maintenance at the lighthouse, and found a stranded coyote that somehow had managed to swim to the lighthouse. They captured the animal and later released it back in the woods on shore.
Places to Visit Nearby:
| Warwick offers plenty of parks, beaches, specialty shops and restaurants, and great golfing. | 
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As Rhode Island's second largest city, Warwick provides much history in exploring its architecture and culture along with plenty of recreational activities in its parks to enjoy along its 39 miles of coastline with great views. You'll also find a host of marinas for boaters.
Although best viewed by boat, Conimicut Shoal Lighthouse can easily be viewed from Conimicut Point Park in Warwick. The park offers a tiny beach, playground, and picnic tables to relax and enjoy the views.
As part of Rhode Island's Greenways system of hiking and biking trails, the Coventry Greenway is a 5-mile unpaved hiking trail along a former railway line that extends from Warwick, to Greenwich, to the town of Coventry.| Goddard State Park is Rhode Island's most popular park with trees from all over the world. |
Trees Blooming at Goddard State Park |
The Warwick Heritage Trail system is where you'll find plenty of examples of early historic architecture as well as one of the largest concentrations of retail stores for all you shopaholics.
Warwick Harbor Light Tower |
In Warwick, visitors can get a partial view of the other beacon, Warwick Harbor lighthouse from Route 117 after the Aldrich Mansion. |
Contact Info:
City of Warwick
3275 Post Rd
Warwick, RI 02886
Directions for a Distant View
Conimicut Lighthouse can be seen best from Conimicut Point Park in Warwick.
- To reach Conimicut Point Park in Warwick follow Route 117 East on along the Providence River to Shawomet.
- Turn eastward onto Economy Avenue and then make a sharp left onto Symonds Avenue.
- Turn right onto Point Avenue and follow it to its end at the park.
Local Boat Tours
Rhode Island Fast Ferry
Offers weekly lighthouse tours in season. Their narrated high-speed ferry cruises cover ten Rhode Island lighthouses in Narragansett Bay. They also provde ferry services to Martha's Vineyard and Block Island. On Martha's Vineyard, they provide a narrated 2.5-hour sightseeing island tour on a scheduled bus.
1347 Roger Williams Way
North Kingstown, RI 02852
Phone: (401) 295-4040
Email: info@fastferry.com
Save the Bay Tours
Organization for lighthouse and coastal preservation provides nature and seal watching tours. On select days in the summer, they provide an extensive 7-hour Ultimate Lighthouse Tour covering most of the lighthouses in Narragansett Bay.
100 Save the Bay Drive, Providence, RI 02905
Phone: (401) 272-3540
Books to Explore
 Available also from bookstores in paperback, hardcover, and as an eBook for all devices.
Enjoy a 10% discount on the hardcover version. Printed and distributed globally by IngramSpark. |
The Rise and Demise of the Largest Sailing Ships: Stories of the Six and Seven-Masted Coal Schooners of New England In the early 1900s, New England shipbuilders constructed the world’s largest sailing ships amid social and political reforms. These giants of sail were built to carry massive quantities of coal and building supplies, and measured longer than a football field! This book, balanced with plenty of color and vintage images, showcases the historical accounts that followed these mighty ships. These true stories include competitions, accidents, battling destructive storms, acts of heroism, and their final voyages. |
My 300-page book, Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Southern New England: Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, provides special human interest stories from each of the 92 lighthouses, along with plenty of indoor and outdoor coastal attractions you can explore, and tours. Look inside! |
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