A lonely little coffee pot Hog Island Light is a lonely little lighthouse that few people get to see up close. It’s located about a third of a mile southeast of Hog Island and north of the Newport Bridge and most of the boat traffic. Distance views can be seen from the Mount Hope Bridge and a few places in Portsmouth but you really need a small boat to get good views. The area south of Hog Island has treacherous shoals and rocks so it was decided back in 1838 to place a small buoy as a warning. This of course didn’t work so in 1866 a small lightship was anchored there and then replaced by a larger lightship in 1886. Lightships were always at high risk and deteriorated quickly so in 1901 at real lighthouse was constructed. This is the newest light in Rhode Island and is a very generic design that was popular at the time. Called spark plugs or coffee pots because of there shapes, these lights certainly weren’t as aesthetically beautiful as the earlier lights but were cheap and strong as hell. There are three other lights in RI that look a lot like it and they actually are well designed with five levels inside to house the keeper and all the equipment. The light is about 60 feet tall and never had a real dock. That means anyone trying to get on the light has to climb from a boat up a ladder and then into the light. Not as easy as it sounds in crappy weather and nasty falls were always a possibility. Interestingly tons of granite was placed around the light to protect it from ice flows even though I have seldom seen much ice in the area. I suspect the weather was quite a bit cooler back when the light was built. The lighthouse was automated in 1964 and is now a private dwelling. Nobody actually lives in the lighthouse but it was bought by a couple from South Dakota in 2006 for 165,000 dollars. Part of the deal is that they have to do the maintenance and keep it looking nice but exactly what they do with the light is unknown. Having your own private chunk of maritime history would be nice and It certainly is a very cool place to hang out and spend some time.
