Gull Rocks, RI 
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Gull Rocks Lighthouse, one of the most unusual aids to navigation ever constructed in New England, stood on a tiny, wave-washed outcrop in the upper reaches of Newport Harbor for more than eight decades. Though modest in scale and eccentric in design, the station played a significant role in safeguarding maritime traffic at the northern entrance to the harbor, particularly in the busy waters opposite the United States Naval Training Station. Its history reflects broader developments in lighthouse administration, evolving navigation technology, and the eventual obsolescence of traditional aids in the modern era.
By the mid-1880s, Gull Rocks had already proven hazardous to navigation. Barely rising above the water’s surface, the rocks were difficult to detect even in clear weather. A privately maintained light—operated by the Old Colony Steamboat Company—attempted to mitigate the danger, but such arrangements were increasingly viewed as inadequate. The Lighthouse Board criticized private lights as unreliable and potentially dangerous, noting that their inconsistent maintenance could mislead mariners who assumed they were official aids.
Congress responded to these concerns on August 4, 1886, appropriating $10,000 for the construction of a proper government-operated lighthouse and fog signal. Plans were quickly drawn, and construction began in 1887. By September of that year, the new station was ready to enter service.
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The structure erected on Gull Rocks was anything but conventional. A wedge-shaped wooden dwelling, rising roughly 40 feet, featured a steeply pitched roof that extended downward to within a few feet of the foundation. This distinctive A-frame-like profile made it one of the most recognizable—and unusual—lighthouses in the region. The design was not merely aesthetic; it helped deflect wind and waves, though it also made maintenance, particularly painting, notoriously difficult. A kitchen and living room were found on the main floor, with two bedrooms on the second floor and space for maintaining the lights on the top floor.
The lighthouse was first illuminated on September 20, 1887. Rather than a single lantern, the station exhibited two fixed lights, mounted within the upper portion of the building. Positioned at opposite gables, the lights created a range: one showed red and the other white, aligned roughly east-northeast to west-southwest. This configuration allowed mariners to use the lights for orientation as well as hazard avoidance.
In addition to the lights, a fog bell was installed, sounding a single stroke every five seconds during periods of low visibility. By 1888, the station was fully equipped with its signaling apparatus, along with a boathouse, landing improvements, and protective railings.
Life at Gull Rocks was both isolated and demanding. The keeper and his family lived within the structure, relying on collected rainwater stored in a cistern. However, the large roof surface introduced an unexpected complication: salt spray accumulated on the shingles and was washed into the water supply during rainstorms. Keepers learned to divert the initial runoff to reduce salinity.
The first keeper, Frederick Purinton, soon experienced both the routine and hazards of the post. His tenure was dramatically interrupted in September 1894, when he was violently assaulted by a man believed to have rowed out to the lighthouse. The attack, possibly stemming from a dispute over lobster pots, left him severely injured. In a remarkable display of determination, his wife discovered him unconscious and rowed half a mile to shore to summon help from the Naval Training Station. Although Purington recovered physically, the incident effectively ended his service; he left the station shortly thereafter and was officially removed from his position in October 1894.
Despite such incidents, the station continued to function as an important navigational aid. Repairs and upgrades were frequent. In 1894, new fender piles were installed at the landing wharf, and in 1895 storm damage to walkways and platforms was repaired.
Technological improvements followed. In 1899, the original lanterns were replaced with more efficient lens-lanterns. The following year brought a significant change in the color characteristics of the lights. As part of a broader effort to standardize navigation aids—so that white lights marked the port side and red lights the starboard side when entering channels—the colors at Gull Rocks were reversed. The easterly light became white and the westerly light red, aligning the station with emerging navigational conventions.
In 1928, a single flashing green light mounted atop a newly erected 45-foot, skeletal tower replaced the station’s two lights.
Life on Gull Rocks remained a mixture of routine maintenance and occasional drama. Keepers often supplemented their provisions by keeping chickens, and at times even rabbits and cats, on the tiny island. Anecdotes from the period describe chicken eggs being washed away by tides and discovered on nearby shores, puzzling local residents.
Acts of bravery also punctuated the station’s history. In 1914, Keeper Joseph Bouley rescued an exhausted man adrift in a sand-laden boat, bringing both vessel and occupant to safety after two hours of effort.
Not all incidents ended as well. In 1949, a tragic accident occurred near the lighthouse when a young sailor fell overboard from a naval launch. Despite rescue attempts by a fellow crewman and the intervention of Keeper Alfred J. Roy—who successfully saved the would-be rescuer—the sailor drowned. The event underscored the persistent dangers of the harbor, even in the twentieth century.
By the mid-twentieth century, advances in technology began to transform lighthouse operations. Gull Rocks Light was electrified on July 18, 1956, with power supplied via submarine cable. Automation followed soon after. In October 1960, the station was converted to automatic operation, eliminating the need for resident keepers. The light was changed to a flashing green signal with increased intensity, and both the light and fog signal were controlled remotely from Rose Island Lighthouse.
With automation came the end of an era. The keeper’s dwelling, already considered outdated and costly to maintain, was abandoned. In July 1961, the structure was deliberately burned by contractors in what the Coast Guard described as a “legal burning.” Only the skeletal tower and essential equipment remained.
The final chapter in the history of Gull Rocks Lighthouse was shaped by large-scale infrastructure changes. The completion of the Newport Bridge in 1969 fundamentally altered navigation patterns in the harbor. The bridge’s presence rendered the light unnecessary, particularly as vessels could no longer pass through the channel it had once marked.
The light was officially discontinued on November 14, 1969. In early 1970, the remaining structure was dismantled, with the tower removed by helicopter. The site, once home to a distinctive and much-photographed lighthouse, was reduced to a small remnant: a masonry oil house and traces of the former landing.
In 1973, the tiny island itself—little more than a quarter-acre above water at high tide—was sold at auction by the federal government. Sixty bids were placed, ranging from $1 to the highest and winning bid of $3,500, submitted by Frank Manuella of New York. Despite its long history, the site was deemed to have little practical value. Yet its legacy endures.
Gull Rocks Lighthouse stands out not only for its unusual architecture but also for its role in the transition from private to federally controlled navigational aids, a shift driven by safety concerns in heavily trafficked waters. Its dual-light system, domestic life under challenging conditions, and dramatic human stories—from assaults to rescues—offer a vivid glimpse into the realities of lighthouse keeping.
Today, though little remains physically, the memory of Gull Rocks Light persists as part of the rich maritime heritage of Newport Harbor. Its story is a reminder that even the smallest and most unconventional stations could play a vital role in protecting life and property along America’s coasts.
