History of the Beavertail Light Station

History of the Beavertail Light Station. . , 1678 , Town of Jamestown is incorporated. There are about 150 residents., 1705 , Jamestown Town Council orders that a Watch House be built at "Beaver Tail.", 1712 , Jamestown Town Council orders Gershom Remington to build a "Fire Beacon" and Benedict Arnold to "look after the watch and see that it be faithfully kept"., 1749 , Peter Harrison, known as "America's First Architect," designs and builds the first light tower. It is the 3rd lighthouse built in Colonial America. Constructed of wood, the tower is 58 feet in height to the cornice with an 11-foot lantern on top., 1753 , Tower burns down from an unknown cause. Second tower is constructed of stone and rubble left over from building Fort George (Goat Island) in Newport., 1776 , Rhode Island is the first American colony to declare Independence from Britain., 1779 , British Troops departing Newport during the Revolution set fire to the inside tower wood and remove some of the lighting equipment., 1787 , Town windmill on North Road is rebuilt after the British destroy the previous mill., 1789 , Beavertail Light and 11 other lighthouses are selected by George Washington to be transferred to the National Government., 1790 , Rhode Island is the last of the thirteen colonies to join the Union, the United States Revenue Service (forerunner of the Coast Guard) is established., 1793 , The deed to Beavertail is transferred to the United States Government., 1817 , Beavertail beacon is lit with manufactured gas for one year in an experiment conducted by the Newport inventor David Melville., 1827 , First Dutch Island Lighthouse is constructed., 1849 , The United States Lighthouse Board is established to improve lighthouses throughout the country., 1851 , An air fog trumpet powered by a horse driven compressor pump is installed., 1856 , The present granite light tower is constructed to replace the deteriorating 1753 structure. A third-order Fresnel lens installed and a keeper's residence constructed. The old tower is removed and on its foundation a fog-whistle house built., 1857 , First Ericssion coloric coal fed engine is install for use with the fog signal. Several other "firsts" in foghorn equipment are tested at Beavertail over the next 40 years., 1882 , Whale Rock Lighthouse is constructed., 1884 , The Naval War College opens in Newport., 1898 , An assistant keeper's residence is added. Ninety one years later this building will serve at the first Beavertail Lighthouse Museum., 1903 , United States Lighthouse Board is transferred to the United States Department of Commerce., 1910 , The Bureau of Lighthouses is established., 1930 , America's Cup Yacht Race moved to waters off Newport and Jamestown where they remained the next 53 years (1983)., 1931 , The first electric light-beacon is installed at Beavertail., 1938 , The Great Hurricane of 1938 destroys the fog signal building and exposes the original 1749 lighthouse foundation. A new fog signal building is erected adjacent to the granite light tower., 1939 , The Bureau of Lighthouses is abolished. Responsibilities for navigational aids is transferred to the United States Coast Guard, which continues these duties today., 1940 , First Jamestown Bridge opens at a cost of $3 million., 1969 , The $61 million bridge between Jamestown and Newport is opened, 1972 , The beacon and fog signal apparatus is automated. The last keeper and assistant keeper are transferred off site., 1977 , Beavertail Light Station is listed in the National Register of Historic Places., 1983 , The Rhode Island Parks Association announces that they will restore the deteriorating Assistant Keeper's House as a lighthouse museum., 1989 , The Beavertail Lighthouse Museum is announced; the result of a joint effort by the Rhode Island Parks Association, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the Town of Jamestown, and the U.S. Coast Guard., 1991 , The Fresnel lens at Beavertail is removed and replaced by a Rotating Aero Beacon., 1992 , The $161 million Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge opens, replacing the former Jamestown Bridge., 1993 , The non-profit Beavertail Lighthouse Museum Association is organized and takes over management of the museum., 2007 , A ground penetrating radar survey determines that the original 1749 light tower was octagonal in shape., 2009 , The first major restoration of granite light tower in 156 years is completed., 2010 , The oil storage building, built in 1905, is restored by museum volunteers.