The lighthouse at Pomham Rocks, about 800 feet from the east side of the Providence River, was first lighted on December 1, 1871, replacing an earlier unlighted daymark. The pretty eight-room wooden dwelling had a light tower attached to the front end of its mansard roof.

C.H. Salisbury was the first keeper. The Providence Journal reported in 1891 that the "lovely house" included a parlor with a piano and a hall containing a large library. A flower and vegetable garden was maintained by the Salisburys, who lived with their daughter and a dog named Sailor. Salisbury remained keeper until his death in 1893, when his wife, Mary, took over for a few months.

In 1940, William Howard was keeper. He once saved four men in a motorboat who were drifting toward some rocks. Keeper Howard passed the time at what he called "Little Alcatraz" by carving model ships and playing guitar.

One of the last civilian keepers was Howard Beebe in the early 1950s. A veteran of almost 30 years of lighthouse keeping, he lived at the lighthouse with his wife and three of their five children. "The baby is our alarm clock," he told the Providence Journal, referring to their daughter Francine. "One of us is always awake."

The lighthouse was discontinued in 1974 and was replaced by an automatic light on a skeleton tower. In 1980 the General Services Administration sold the property to the Mobil Oil Company, which has a large refinery and terminal near the lighthouse, for a winning bid of $40,100.

ExxonMobil has now leased the historic structure at no cost to the American Lighthouse Foundation. Earlier this year, a new chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation called the Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, was formed. Greg DeMarco, superintendent of ExxonMobil's East Providence terminal, presented $25,000 to the new group toward the restoration of the lighthouse.

For more information: contact Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, P.O. Box 15121, Riverside, RI 02915, Phone: (508) 226-1185