With foreign trade blossoming from Newport, Rhode Island, local merchants petitioned for a lighthouse at Beavertail Point at the southern tip of Conanicut Island in the town of Jamestown, and a 69-foot-tall wooden tower was first lighted in 1749. It was the third light station in the American colonies. The 45-foot square granite lighthouse that stands today was built in 1856. The lighthouse is located within Beavertail State Park, and the Beavertail Lighthouse Museum Association (BLMA) preserves and manages the light station. The museum occupies two former keepers’ houses and two other buildings.
Nancy Beye is the president of the Beavertail Lighthouse Museum Association. She’s also a councilwoman on the Jamestown Town Council and owner of the Jamestown Early Learning Center. David Smith is a board member of the BLMA, and he has been involved with the development of many of the exhibits in the museum at Beavertail. Varoujan Karentz is on the board of the Beavertail Lighthouse Museum Association and is the author of three books and numerous articles. His book Beavertail Light Station is the most comprehensive history available on this historic location.
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U.S. Lighthouse Society Historian Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of 24 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is a past president of the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and he has lectured and narrated cruises throughout the Northeast and in other regions. He is also the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s weekly podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org