Brenton Reef Light Station was the second of seven “Texas Tower” lights that were built off the Atlantic Coast. Five of these were staffed, while Brenton Reef Light Station and Savannah Light Station were not. The permanent structure replaced a succession of lightships that had marked the entrance to Narragansett Bay since 1853. Perini Corporation built the tower at a cost of $465,000. A submarine cable from Beavertail Lighthouse supplied power to the automated, offshore station.

The Coast Guard first proposed decommissioning Brenton Reef Light in 1983, but it was retained due to its proximity to the America's Cup races. In 1989, the Coast Guard announced that the light would be removed, and it was dismantled in 1992. The following year, the pieces were sunk off Long Island as part of an artificial reef. A lighted buoy replaced Brenton Reef Light Station at a position somewhat further south, where it remains at present.

A lighted buoy marks this locaton today.

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