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Castle Hill, at the westernmost
point of Newport, was the site of a watchtower built in 1740.
It was an obvious site for a light and fog signal to aid mariners
heading to Newport Harbor and up Narragansett Bay's East Passage
toward Providence.
In 1869, the Lighthouse Board's annual report made the case
for such an aid:
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Applications have been made at various times in the past,
and renewed this year, for a light-house and fog signal on Castle
Hill, to guide vessels, especially in thick and foggy weather,
into Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay. After a careful examination
of the locality, and a full consideration of the whole subject,
it is recommended that an efficient fog signal be authorized
for this point.
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Congress appropriated $10,000 for a fog signal at Castle Hill
on March 3, 1875. Just a short time before the appropriation,
a large summer home was built on the property that was coveted
by the Lighthouse Board. The owner was biologist and industrialist
Alexander Emanuel Agassiz.
Agassiz had made a large fortune as the president of a mining
company. Agassiz established a marine laboratory on the site
that operated until his death in 1910.
Agassiz refused to sell, and the $10,000 was allowed to "lapse
back to the Treasury." A buoy with an automatic whistle
was proposed for the area near Castle Hill, but the idea was
discarded because of the sheltered nature of the location. The
proposal for a fog signal at Castle Hill was revived in 1886,
and another $10,000 was appropriated. This time the plans were
to include a lighthouse, provided a suitable site could be obtained
"without expense to the Government."
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- Alexander Agassiz (1835-1910)
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Agassiz relented and gave a suitable portion of his property
to the government for $1 on June 10, 1887. Contractor William
T. Wilbur of Newport was hired to build the station. Water access
to the rocky site was problematic, and Wilbur was guaranteed
he would be allowed right-of-way across Agassiz's property. Agassiz
objected. He wrote on May 22, 1888, to the Third Light House
District, "What with one thing and another I stand an excellent
show of having my place ruined and nobody to foot the bill."
In November 1888, the engineer of the Third Light House District
was directed to confer with Agassiz. In the case that Agassiz
continued to refuse to agree to more acceptable terms, the government
would take the necessary steps "to obtain title by proceedings
in condemnation." Agassiz apparently "saw the light,"
or realized that he would, in the long run, lose his battle with
the government. On May 20, 1889, he deeded 1.98 acres to the
United States "without condition and without expense to
the Government." Meanwhile, an additional $5,000 was appropriated,
as it was realized that the 1886 funding was insufficient to
build the station.
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Early plans for Castle Hill Light
by H. H. Richardson |
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U.S. Coast Guard Academy Library |
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Architect H. H. Richardson made an early drawing for the proposed
station. Richardson was the designer of such acclaimed buildings
as Boston's Trinity Church and the Buffalo State Hospital in
New York. His favored style became so popular that it was dubbed
"Richardson Romanesque" after its originator.
The style
is characterized by rough-hewn masonry and rich details and textures,
and those elements are evident in the drawing for the lighthouse.
The 34-foot tall granite lighthouse was first lighted in May
1890, with a fifth order Fresnel lens exhibiting a flashing red
light visible for 10 nautical miles.
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The keeper's house was a short walk away at
Castle Hill Cove.The first keeper was Frank Ward Parmele.
Parmele
was from Guilford, Connecticut, and had served as a keeper on
Faulkner's Island near Guilford, as well as at Saybrook Breakwater
Light. He was a descendant of John Parmele, one of the original
founders of Guilford, who arrived there from England in
1639.
Parmele and his wife, Lillian (Norton), had three children. | 
Frank W. Parmele
Courtesy of Cinda Parmelee | |
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The station had a fog bell, but it had been in operation for
only 17 months when it was discontinued at Agassiz's request.
Five years later a larger, louder bell was installed and Agassiz
again complained; this time a screen was set up to soften the
sound.
The tower was originally all gray; the upper half was painted
white in 1899.
During the hurricane of September 21, 1938, which did tremendous
damage in Newport, the waters from Castle Hill Cove and the beach
nearby met, turning the point into an island.
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- A fog bell from the lighthouse is
on display on front of U.S. Coast Guard Station Castle Hill
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Agassiz's daughter-in-law was in the cottage at the time,
and was so traumatized by the storm that she vowed to never spend
time there again.
Soon after the hurricane, operation of the lighthouse was
taken over by Coast Guard personnel from the new Station Castle
Hill, a short distance to the northeast. For some years, the
keeper's house served as the residence of the officer in charge
of the station.
The Agassiz cottage was sold to J. T. Connell, who had established
a chandlery on Newport's Long Wharf. Connell eventually transformed
the property into an inn and added several smaller guesthouses.
Connell died in 1974, but the property is still maintained as
the Castle Hill
Inn and Resort.
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In 1957, the light was automated and the fifth-order lens
was replaced by a modern optic. Castle Hill received wide attention
in June 1989, when the Greek tanker World Prodigy ran
aground on Brenton Reef to the south, spilling about 290,000
gallons of fuel oil. Station Castle Hill became the command center
for the Coast Guard's response.
On February 10, 2005, a near disaster occurred even closer,
when a 350-foot freighter was caught on the rocks near the lighthouse.
In spite of a gash in the vessel's side, there were no fuel leaks
and none of the crew was injured.
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- The former keeper's house in April
2005
Left, the stairs near the bottom of the tower;
right, the ladder to the lantern room.
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- Inside the tower in July 2004
A short walk through the woods from the parking area at the
marina near the Castle
Hill Inn and Resort will get you to the lighthouse. The
handsome stone lighthouse and panoramic view are worth going
out of your way for.
You can read much more about this lighthouse in the book The Lighthouses
of Rhode Island by Jeremy D'Entremont.
This Rhode Island tourism sticker
incorporated Castle Hill Lighthouse.
Keepers: Frank W. Parmele (1890-1911), George
L. Hoxsie (1911-?), Manuel Soares Macedo (c. 1940s)
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