Prudence Island Light

The lighthouse was constructed in 1823 and originally sat on a dike off Goat Island farther south in the Bay, where the Newport Harbor Light stands today. In 1851, it was transported to Prudence Island where it remains. It is one of the few lighthouses in the United States to retain its original bird-cage lantern. The light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

The lighthouse keeper's house was swept away in the 1938 New England hurricane, and five people were washed out to sea and drowned:

1. the keeper's wife, Mrs. George T. Gustavus ({{italic correction|née}} Mable Gertrude Norwood; 1888–1938),

2. the keeper's son, Edward J. Gustavus (1926–1938),

3. the former keeper, Martin Thompson (1868–1938),

4. James George Lynch (1863–1938) and v, his wife, Ellen Lynch ({{italic correction|née}} Ellen Wyatt; 1870–1938) – both of whom had sought refuge at the lighthouse residence.

The lighthouse keeper, George Theodore Gustavus (1884–1976), was also swept into the sea, but was swept back ashore and survived.

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Newport County, Rhode Island

{{reflist|30em|refs=

{{cite news |ref={{SfnRef|Hartford Courant, September 24,|1938|p=}} |last=Hartford Courant, The |date=September 24, 1938 |title=Reports from Hurricane Stricken Territory Summarized by Regions: Rhode Island |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/370009469/ |type= |location=Hartford, Connecticut |volume=102 |pages=1 (columns 4–5) & 8 (columns 4–5) |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 22, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com |postscript={{space|1}} Re: 1938 New England hurricane. }}

{{cite journal |ref={{SfnRef|D'Entremont, June|2003|p=}} |last1=D'Entremont |first1=Jeremy (born 1956) |author-link1= |date=June 2003 |title=Keeper George T. Gustavus, Survivor of Terror and Tragedy |url=https://www.foghornpublishing.com/Digest/StoryPage.cfm?StoryKey=1669 |access-date=February 22, 2021 |format= |department= |journal=Lighthouse Digest |type=magazine |language=en-US |location=East Machias, Maine |volume= |page= |pages= |issn=1066-0038 |oclc=26863953 |postscript={{space|1}}(D'Entremont is president of and historian for the American Lighthouse Foundation, founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and the historian for the United States Lighthouse Society) }}

}}

• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20170807232652/http://lighthouse.cc/prudence/history.html Lighthouse History]}}
• [http://www.rhodeislandlighthousehistory.info/prudence_island_lighthouse.html RI Lighthouse History of Prudence Light]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20071017230526/http://www.nps.gov/history/maritime/light/prudence.htm National Park Service Prudence site]
• [http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=684 LighthouseFriends.com]

{{Portsmouth, Rhode Island}}

{{Lighthouses of Rhode Island}}

{{National Register of Historic Places}}

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Category:Lighthouses completed in 1823

Category:Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island

Category:Lighthouses in Newport County, Rhode Island

Category:Buildings and structures in Portsmouth, Rhode Island

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Newport County, Rhode Island

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