Watch Hill Lighthouse
Westerly, Rhode Island
Built in 1808
Location:
Eastern point of Fishers Island Sound. Located on Lighthouse Road, Watch Hill, Rhode Island, 02891
Latitude: 41° 18' 14" N
Longitude: 71° 51' 30" W
Historic Stories:
Watch Hill got its name during King George's War, in the 1740's when a watchtower was built on what was called Bear Hill to warn local residents against naval attacks. The watchtower continued to be used in the 1750s during the French and Indian Wars to track French pirates that were bothering local fishermen and merchant ships, making smoke signals during the day and bonfires at night when pirate ships were sighted. The makeshift tower was destroyed during a fierce storm in 1781.
As the number of recorded shipwrecks on the dangerous reefs around Watch Hill continued to increase, residents petitioned for a lighthouse. President Thomas Jefferson ordered the lighthouse to be built which was completed in 1808. It is Rhode Island’s second oldest lighthouse.
 Image Courtesy of US Coast Guard |
Although the beacon had guided many mariners, the area was still the site of many shipwrecks and maritime disasters from the dangerous rocks and ledges that surround the area until modern times. |
By the 1850's, the wooden structures of both the tower and keeper's building were rotting away, as constant erosion was also causing the tower to become dangerously close to falling into the sea.
| A new granite lighthouse with a new rock based seawall was approved and built in 1856 as part of a building frenzy that started after the Lighthouse Board took charge of all navigational aids in the United States. |  |
Two of Rhode Island's Worst Maritime Disasters Occurred Near Watch Hill Lighthouse
The Collision of the Steamer Metis and the Schooner Nellie Cushing
When the Civil War had finally ended, three specialized lifesaving services were established along the shoreline and out in the water under the US Lighthouse Service. The Revenue Cutter Service, which was used for off shore rescues a distance from the mainland using cutter vessels, the Lighthouse Service, that protected and maintained the growing number of lighthouses, and could only help with rescues near the beacon, and the Life Saving Service, where shore based stations were built a few miles between lighthouses consisting of trained "surfmen," who could go out a distance from the shore.
In 1872, the huge steamer Metis carrying 160 people to Providence collided with the schooner Nettie Cushing about a mile from Watch Hill lighthouse. Although 67 persons perished, through the coordinated efforts of those various branches of the newly formed lifesaving services and personnel, and with additional rescue efforts made by local mariners who risked their lives, 85 people were rescued in what could have been a more tragic incident in the loss of lives. This interaction among the three services, which initially had not been used, played a major factor in the coordination of rescue services in future events.
| In 1873, Keeper Jared Crandall was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his part in the rescue operations involving the Metis. | 
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Keeper Crandall had been placed in charge of Watch Hill Lighthouse in 1868 and served until his death in 1879 at the age of 57. He and his wife Sally had seven children who lived at the lighthouse. After her husband’s death, Sally Crandall was given responsibility for the lighthouse, a rare appointment in those days. She was quite popular with mariners and residents and was referred to “Aunt Sally."
When Grover Cleveland was elected as President in 1884, as she was not affiliated with the Democratic Party, mariners and residents from Connecticut to Rhode Island signed a petition for her to keep her job, which the President agreed. Sally Crandall stayed for another twenty years until her she retirement in 1888. She was followed by Fanny K. Sckuyle, another female keeper at the lighthouse who stayed on for two years.
Rescue of Survivors of the Steamship Larchmont
In 1907, in a blinding February blizzard, the steamer Larchmont collided with a schooner Harry P. Knowlton about 4 miles southwest of Watch Hill Light. The Larchmont sank in less than half an hour. Most of the passengers in the panic had only their night clothes on and perished from exposure to the bone chilling temperatures and howling winds. Many of those who were able to escape in a few of the lifeboats that were used, or on makeshift rafts, froze to death before reaching the shore.
Most of the survivors followed the fierce winds which blew them over towards Block Island North Lighthouse, as they could see the light flashing in the distance. Keeper Elam Littlefield and his family were awakened around daybreak by a young teenager, Fred Hiergesell, banging on his door, who had managed enough strength climb out of one of the lifeboats.
The keeper alerted the life saving station nearby and some local fisherman, and that morning was able to bring any survivors to the lighthouse for medical attention, as most were in severe condition due to exposure to the plummeting temperatures and gale force winds. It is believed about 143 passengers and crew died from the tragic incident. Only 19 people survived the disaster, most of those reaching Block Island. It would be Rhode Island's worst maritime disaster of the 20th century.
Block Island North Lighthouse Along Beach
Note: For more intricate details about both of these historic events, select the links "Wreck of the Metis" Blog, or "Larchmont Disaster" Blog at the top of the page to view both stories in my Lighthouse Stories section.
On June 28, 1918, the freighter Onondaga ran aground on Watch Hill Reef in heavy fog, and sank in fifty feet of water. Two months later, the fishing steamer George Hudson also hit the reef and sank.
On a cold, clear day in January of 1967, the ship Leif Viking, bound from Maine to New York with about 700 tons of newsprint, ran aground just a few hundred feet away from the lighthouse and remained stranded for nine days before a tug towed it to New York City once its cargo was removed. Keeper William I. Clark provided a written statement that he personally had checked all aids to navigation in the vicinity at the time of the grounding and found that all were operating except a buoy acouple miles away from the station. On July 18, 1970, Keeper Clark who had in charge of the beacon for over a decade, suffered a heart attack while on watch. He was pronounced dead when he arrived at Westerly Hospital.
In June 2023, the National Park Service recommended that Watch Hill Lighthouse be transferred to the Watch Hill Lightkeepers Keepers organization to help with maintence and presevation of the lighthouse and surrounding buildins. It to the organization in January 2024, although many local authorities wanted public access to the site, which is still not allowed, possibly for safety reasons with the rocks and seawall surrounding the beacon.
Places to Visit Nearby:
Westerly offers the Victorian elegance and history of Watch Hill with its beaches and golf courses nearby as one of Rhode Island’s top vacation spots. It is part of what is considered as Rhode Island's South County. It is a quaint resort area with the nation’s oldest carousel and stately mansions. One of its beaches, the Misquamicut Beach, spans seven miles from Watch Hill to Weekapaug, and is Rhode Island's longest stretch of beach with its pristine waters and white sand. Misquamicut Beach also features a state of the art pavilion, amusement parks, and plenty of restaurants. Families can also enjoy the Water Wizz Fun Park. Westerly is next to the Connecticut border and lies 15 minutes away from Foxwoods Casino and Mohegan Sun Casino.
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Watch Hill lighthouse grounds are open to visitors and a small museum has been established in the oil house. |
The museum, which features a fourth-order Fresnel lens once used in the tower, is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the summer.
| You can fish offshore while enjoying the surf. |  |
There are plenty of restaurants and specialty shops to explore as you park along the shoreline before walking to the lighthouse.
Directions:
From the North or South
- From Route 1A South or North, in Avondale, stay south onto Watch Hill Road, then keep right onto Wauwinnett Road.
- Bear left onto Bay Street and find a place to park if you not a senior or are handicapped.
- Continue to walk on Bay Street, then turn Left onto Larkin Road.
- Just before Bluff Road on the right is the Lighthouse Road for seniors and handicapped persons to park near the station. All others must park outside the lighthouse road or in town and walk to the lighthouse.
- Follow Larkin Road until you reach Lighthouse Road.
- Turn right on Lighthouse Road and walk to the lighthouse grounds at the end of the road.
From the East:
- Take Route 1A/Shore Road until you reach Ocean View Highway.
- Turn left onto and stay on it until reach Ninigret Avenue.
- Turn right onto Ninigret Avenue and drive to the end.
- Turn left onto Watch Hill Road and stay on until it becomes Wawinnett Road.
- Bear left onto Bay Street and find a place to park.
- Continue to walk on Bay Street, then turn Left onto Larkin Road.
- Just before Bluff Road on the right is the Lighthouse Road for seniors and handicapped persons to park near the station. All others must park outside the lighthouse road or in town and walk to the lighthouse
- Follow Larkin Road until you reach Lighthouse Road.
- Turn right on Lighthouse Road and walk to the lighthouse grounds at the end of the road.
Contact Info:
Watch Hill Lighthouse Keepers Association
14 Lighthouse Road
Watch Hill, RI 02891
Ferries and Boat Tours
Boat cruises mentioned below offer many types of cruises. While some may offer specific lighthouse cruises, some will pass by specific lighthouses as part of charters, narrated wildlife and historic tours, ferrying passengers, fishing tours and other types of excursions. Enjoy!
Davis Park Ferry Co.
Ferry from Patchogue, Long Island, to Watch Hill, Rhode Island.
Phone: (516) 475-1665
Hard Tail Charters
They offer scenic tours and harbor cruises from Watch Hill, Rhode Island, to Stonington and Mystic, Connecticut, and out to Fishers Island, New York.
Phone: (401) 234-1171
Snappa Charters
Offers specific lighthouse tours around Narragansett Bay and to Block Island in addition to other adventure tours like sport fishing, whale watching, and shark tagging.
Mailing Address: 2 Congdon Dr., Wakefield, RI 02816
Boat Location: 33 State Street, Narragansett, RI 02882
Boat/Cell (401) 487-9044
Email: snappacharters@cox.net
Cross Sound Cruises
Provdes lighthouse cruises between southeast Connecticut and Long Island Sound lighthouses; The Classic Lighthouse Tour, The Long Island Lights Tour, and the Lights and Sights Cruise, which includes views of Watch Hill Light.
2 Ferry St, PO Box 33, New London, CT 06320
OR
41270 Main Road, Orient Point, NY 11957
Phone: (860) 444-4620
Email: info@longislandferry.com
Books to Explore
Lighthouses and Coastal Attractions of Southern New England: This 300-page book showcases special human interest stories from each of the 92 lighthouses of the southern coastline, along with plenty of indoor and outdoor coastal attractions you can explore. You'll find more detailed accounts of the Metis shipwreck, and of the collision between the Harry P Knowlton and the Larchmont, that occured near the lighthouse. Look inside! |
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Available 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 self-published book, balanced with plenty of color and vintage images, showcases the historical accounts that followed these mighty ships. |
New England Lighthouses: Famous Shipwrecks, Rescues & Other Tales This image-rich book contains over 50 stories of famous shipwrecks and rescues around New England lighthouses, and also tales of hauntings. You'll find more details and imagery in the stories of the rescues of the Metis and the collision between the Larchmont and the Harry P. Knowlton by Watch Hill Light. |
You'll find this book and my lighthouse tourism books from the publisher Schiffer Books, or in many fine bookstores like Barnes and Noble.