HISTORY
Pomham Rocks is the name for a small, half acre island located on the Providence River about 800 feet from the shore in Riverside, Rhode Island. Pomham Rocks was selected as the site for a navigational aid due to an increase in shipping traffic heading towards Providence in the first half of the nineteenth century.
A pyramidal daymark, called the Pomham Beacon, was erected around 1828. By the late 1860s this beacon proved to be inadequate. On July 15, 1870 Congress appropriated $20,000 for the construction of three lights on the Providence River: Pomham Rocks, Sassafras Point and Fuller Rock.
Designed by Albert Dow in a French Empire mansard style, Pomham Rocks Lighthouse has seven rooms and a 42 foot tower. The lighthouse was built originally with a large store room behind it, an outhouse/privy and hen house. A dock and boat house were constructed in 1873 at the cost of $1,200. The light was first lit on December 1, 1871 with a sixth order Fresnel lens showing a fixed white light. This characteristic was changed to fixed red on October 1, 1872. The first Lighthouse keeper, Charles H. Salisbury, stayed for 22 years (1871-1893). Following his death in 1893, his wife, Mary, took over until the arrival of his replacement. Nathaniel Dodge replaced Mary in November of 1893 and served until the arrival of Thomas Fishburn in 1898 after having been stationed at Sakonnet Point and Conimicut Point lights.
A continuous fog siren was installed in 1900 and residents complained of its noise. The continuous horn was changed to a three-second blast at 12 -second intervals on June 15, 1901 after residents complained of its noise. One year later a fog bell replaced it. The fog bell was operated by a hand-wound mechanism. Winding the mechanism raised the weights to the top of the bell tower and had the weights fell they drove the hammer that struck the bell at defined intervals. The bell went into service on October 1, 1902 and the bell tower was added in 1908. In 1929, a new 1,000 lb. bell was installed and it replacing the old one, which weighted 300 lbs.
The next keeper (1908-1937) Adolph Aronson came to Pomham with his wife Nellie and their three children, Marjorie, Raymond and Elmer after an assignment on the Hog Island Lightship. During Keeper Aronson’s stay, the light’s fuel was changed from oil to incandescent oil vapor (I.O.V.). Incandescent oil vapor lamps use air pressure and fuel vaporizer tubes where the kerosene is preheated into a fine gas vapor before being ignited. This dramatically increases oxygen at the flame and provides a brighter light using less fuel. The original sixth order Fresnel lens was replaced with a fourth order Fresnel lens in 1926. the I.O.V. was installed at the same time. The light’s 4th order optic weighs about 300 pounds. It is a multi-prism lens about two feet tall, which magnified the light and sent out a red signal.
Keeper William Howard (1937-1951) moved to the island with his wife and teenage son. He is credited with the rescue of a man and four boys from an overturned boat. He also saved four men in a disabled motorized craft drifting towards some rocks.
The last civilian keeper, Howard Beebe, came to Pomham in 1951 from New London Ledge and Block Island North and stayed until 1956. By this time the station’s boat was motorized which cut the trip to shore to about a minute in good conditions. Water came from a cistern by way of a hand pump in the kitchen. There was no bathroom. A small windmill charged a battery, which supplied electricity to a radio. Kerosene powered the household lighting and the refrigerator and stove. Beebe retired in 1956 and was replaced by a crew from the US Coast Guard.
After the Coast Guard assumed duties at the lighthouse in 1956 electricity finally came to the island via a cable from shore. By 1974, the kitchen was renovated, the bedrooms were colorfully painted and the now-paneled living room had television and comfortable couches and chairs all 1970s style.
In spring of 1974, the Coast Guard relocated the navigational light from the tower to the top of a newly erected skeleton tower located next to the lighthouse. The fog signal house was demolished in May of 1974 and the bell was removed in June of 1974 in preparation of the skeleton tower. In June 1974 the lighthouse was decommissioned. The fourth order Fresnel lens was removed in June 1974 and put on display at the Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport, Mass. The 4th order lens was returned to Pomham Rocks Lighthouse in September 2021, just in time for the 150th anniversary of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse.
In 1978 the General Services Administration declared the property surplus federal property. Plans for its sale were completed in 1980 and it was put out to bid. A high bid of $40,100 gave Mobil Oil Corporation ownership of the lighthouse and the islands of Pomham Rocks and nearby Ruth. With the islands located so near to its terminal the company wanted ownership of the property “to preserve the continuity of the waterfront area.”
In 2000 Exxon Mobil Corp was approached by local citizens regarding the possibility of a partnership to restore the lighthouse to its 1871 condition. Under the leadership of Donald Doucette the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF) was approached and together they organized a group called Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse. In December 2004 Exxon Mobil leased the lighthouse and island to ALF at no cost and. To help jump start fundraising for the exterior restoration, Exxon Mobil presented the organization with an initial donation of $25,000. After a two-year fundraising campaign, Abcore Restoration Company was contracted to restore the exterior of the lighthouse. When the project neared completion the Coast Guard was contacted with a request to return a light to the lantern room and restore the lighthouse as an active aid to navigation. In May 2006 a relighting ceremony was held at Save The Bay, located across the Providence River from the lighthouse. Attended by local and national representatives, officials from the American Lighthouse Foundation and members of Friends of Pomham Rocks lighthouse, the lighthouse was relit after having been dark for 32 years. In 2010, Exxon Mobil transferred ownership of the island and its buildings by donating them to the American Lighthouse Foundation. In January of 2016, The Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission awarded Pomham Rocks Lighthouse $150,000, which will be a major help with the restoration with the interior.
Work has continued on various projects on the island including new docking facilities, oil house restoration, new fencing and restored windows in the lighthouse itself. On October 17, 2016 work began at the lighthouse to return electricity to the island. A trench was dug from the lighthouse down to the dock where PVC piping was laid. On October 20, 2016 the electric cable was pulled through the piping and into the lighthouse cellar and then laid across the bay to the Riverside shore and was connected on Exxon Mobile’s property. On January 20, 2017, Adam Dias, Alex Dias, Joe Estrella and Dennis Tardiff went out to the lighthouse and turned on the portable heaters that were recently installed. After 37 years, electricity was brought back to the lighthouse and with it came heat, which will prevent the further deterioration of the interior. After years of hard work and fundraising the Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse raised $301,000 to make this become a reality.
After matching the $150,000 grant awarded by The Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission, interior restoration work kicked off in October 2017. Abcore was selected as the contractor to carry out the daunting task. Working through the winter, Abcore completed the restoration in March 2018. The Friends then began the beginning stages of a museum inside the lighthouse for visitors to see on opening day.
On June 10, 2018 local dignities, invited guests and Board Members of the Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, departed the Squantum Association on Save the Bay’s Alletta Morris for the Pomham Rocks Lighthouse. Arriving at the lighthouse at 12:00 p.m. the group took a tour of the completed interior restoration. Shortly after 12:30 p.m. the group lined up on the lawn with a red ribbon passing across each of them. At this point, the historic moment was being live streamed back to the Squantum Association for all to watch and be a part of. The Chairman of the Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, Joe Estrella, said a few words while all dignitaries held on to a ceremonial ribbon. At this moment, with the 1871 lighthouse happily presiding in the background, the red ribbon was cut, officially marking the end to our 14 yearlong restoration effort and opening a new chapter in the Pomham Rocks Lighthouse. Guests attending the event at Squantum enjoyed a lunch followed by boat tours to the lighthouse and a first glimpse at the newly restored interior.
The Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse are now working on building an endowment and improving the museum inside the lighthouse. Tours are offered seasonly on select days – tickets can be purchased on our website.