Block Island, RI
Built in 1875
52 feet; light is 261 feet above water.

7,000-acre Block Island, about a dozen miles off the coast of Rhode Island, is surrounded by such dangerous shoals that it was called the "stumbling block" of the New England coast.

Jeremy’s Lighthouse Guide #30

Many vessels went down in the years before the Lighthouse Service decided to build two lighthouses, the North Light in 1829 and the Southeast Light in 1875. Block Island Southeast Light, considered a primary seacoast light, is the highest light in New England.

President Grant signed the appropriation for the Southeast Light and later visited the station. The building was designed to be an architectural showcase and ended up costing about $80,000, $10,000 for the huge first order Fresnel lens alone.

The hurricane of September 21, 1938 did tremendous damage to the lighthouse and grounds. The radio beacon was knocked over, the oil house was demolished, windows were blown out, and all power was lost. The keepers had to turn the lens by hand for several days.

In 1990 the Coast Guard deactivated the light, replacing it with a steel tower. Decades of erosion had put the lighthouse on the endangered list. The building, once over 300 feet from the edge of the bluff, was then only 55 feet from the brink.

A dedicated group of volunteers, the Block Island Southeast Lighthouse Foundation, managed to raise about $2 million in federal and private funds to pay for the lighthouse to be moved. In August 1993, International Chimney Company and Expert House Movers, Inc., moved the historic structure to its present location about 300 feet from the bluff. The navigational light was moved back to the lighthouse and relit in August 1994.

Tours of the tower are offered in the summer. For more information or to help with the ongoing restoration of Block Island Southeast Lighthouse, contact Block Island Southeast Lighthouse Foundation, Box 949, Block Island, RI 02807. Phone (401) 466-5009.

For detailed HISTORY of this lighthouse,visit Jeremy's web site  

Copyright 2004 by Jeremy D'Entremont,New England Lighthouses
Photos are the property of the author and may not be used without permission.
Photos above from Jeremy D'Entremont.