RHODE ISLAND PRUDENCE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE

In 1862 a white octagonal tower for a lighthouse was built on Sandy Point on the east side of Prudence Island, R. I. With the tower was built a keeper’s dwelling.

During the terrible September hurricane of 1938, five persons, including the wife of the lighthouse keeper, were carried out to sea and drowned, when the 79 dwelling house on the lighthouse reservation was swept away by the savage fury of the tropical gale. The keeper was also thrown into the sea, but another wave swept him back ashore.

The light itself is only 28 feet above water and is visible for 10 miles, flashing green every 6 seconds. The light is now unwatched, being a 1,400-candlepower fourth-order electric. A bell renders one stroke every 15 seconds during fog. (5)

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