|
Whale Rock Light was constructed
in 1882 to help mariners past a treacherous reef at the entrance
to the busy West Passage of Narragansett Bay. Fifteen years before
the lighthouse was built, a schooner had hit the rocks, killing
five of the six men aboard.
A large ring was cut into the rock to prepare for the placement
of a cast-iron caisson, which was then filled with concrete.
The four-story lighthouse, equipped with a fog bell, was built
on top of this cylinder. Three of the levels served as living
quarters for the keepers.
|
- From the collection of Edward Rowe
Snow, courtesy of Dorothy Bicknell
|
- U.S. Coast Guard photo
|
Whale Rock was not a desirable location for keepers, and 16
different men served as head keeper between 1882 and 1909.
One keeper, Nelson Sprague, was fired for being away from
the station too much of the time, leaving the assistant doing
double duty.
A 1924 storm sent waves over the top of the tower and damaged
a roof. This storm was nothing compared to what was to come in
1938.
|
|
Walter Barge Eberle, assistant keeper at Whale Rock Light
in 1938, was the father of six children. He was a 20-year Navy
veteran and master diver.
On September 21, 1938, Eberle saw that the seas were growing
rough around Whale Rock. Because of the conditions, he left the
mainland earlier than had been scheduled to relieve Keeper Dan
Sullivan at the lighthouse.
With practically no advance warning, a devastating hurricane
was bearing down on New England's south facing coast. The waves
grew higher and higher as the hurricane of '38 battered the tower.
It was a long, anxious night at the Eberle home. At about
5:30 in the morning, Keeper Sullivan phoned the family. His words
were right to the point: "The light is gone."
|
Walter B. Eberle and his wife Agnes in happier
times. Courtesy of the family of Walter Eberle.
 |
|
- The remains of Whale Rock's caisson
in July 2004
|
Over 700 people died in the hurricane across New England,
including five people at the lighthouse station on Rhode Island's
Prudence Island. Many days passed before the seas calmed down
enough to get a boat out to Whale Rock.
The lighthouse was completely gone, and the body of Walter
Eberle was never found. Eberle was 40 years old and had been
in the Lighthouse Service for one year.
The remains of the structure were removed in 1939 and an automatic
light on a steel tower was erected. That light is now gone.
|
- In recent years, some of the remains of the lighthouse have
been located underwater by David Robinson, an undersea archeologist
with the Public Archeology Lab in Pawtucket, RI. Robinson hopes
to establish a plaque dedicated to Walter Eberle somewhere in
the vicinity of Beavertail Lighthouse.
You can view what's left of the base of Whale Rock Light from
the area around Beavertail Lighthouse. During their lighthouse
cruises (May - October), Rhode
Island Bay Cruises passes near the ruins of the base.
You can read much more about this lighthouse in the book The Lighthouses
of Rhode Island by Jeremy D'Entremont.
- This photo was taken from a helicopter in June 2007.
-
|
On September 21, 2008, the plaque at right was dedicated in
memory of Walter Barge Eberle, thanks to the efforts of David
S. Robinson of the Friends of Whale Rock Light, along with the
Beavertail Lighthouse Museum and the Foundation for Coast Guard
History.
The plaque is on display at the Beavertail Lighthouse Museum
in Jamestown, Rhode Island.
|
 |
Keepers: Nathaniel S. Dodge (1882-1885), John
W. Dodge (1st Assistant, 1882-1884), Elam P. Littlefield (1st
Assistant 1884-1885, Keeper 1885-1891), Joseph B. Eddy (1st Assistant
1886), Charles Wright (1st Assistant 1886-1887), Eugene R. Milliken
(1st Assistant 1887-1888), William Roman (1st Assistant 1888-1890),
Edward Andrews (1st Assistant 1890-1891, Keeper 1891-1893), Henricus
DeVries (1st Assistant 1891), Nelson Sprague (1st Assistant 1891-1892
and 1900, Keeper 1900-1901), Herbert R. Kenyon (1st Assistant
1892), Charles E. Smith (1st Assistant 1892-1893, Keeper 1893-1895),
Frank Tardiff (1st Assistant 1893-1894), Sylvester Allen (1st
Assistant 1894-1895, Keeper 1895), Judson G. Allen (1895), Isaac
G. Hoard, (1st Assistant 1895-1896), Henry Nygren (1st Assistant
1896-1897), Joshua A. Overton (1st Assistant 1897-1899, Keeper
1899-1900), Charles W. Oliver (1st Assistant 1897-1899), John
G. Skipworth (1st Assistant 1898-1899), B. A. Francisco (1st
Assistant 1898-1899), Silas E. Stanton (Staton?) (assistant 1900-1901,
Keeper 1901), Joseph D. Meade (1901-1902), Peter M. Peterson
(1902-1908), Marten W. Ekman (1st Assistant 1901-1902), Willis
A. Green (1st Assistant 1902-1903), Morell E. Hulse (1st Assistant
1903-1905), Edward R. Curtis (1st Assistant 1905-1906), John
A. Burke (1st Assistant 1906), Ernest Bloom (1st Assistant 1906-1908),
Haus. Anderson (1st Assistant 1908, Keeper 1908-1910), John S,
Sheridan (1910), John C. W. Porter (1910-1912), Theodore De Shong
(1911-1913), William F. Aichels (1908), Robert G. Lamer (1st
Assistant 1911), J. O. Browley (Joseph O. Bouley ?) (1st Assistant
1911-1914), Simon Sivounich (1st Assistant 1908-1911), Robert
G. Lamer (1st Assistant 1908-1911), Hans C. Anderson (1908-1911),
John (Jack) Larsen (1914-1915), Arthur E. Larkin (1st Assistant
1914-1915), Edward Grime (1915-1916), Otis L. Barstow (1st Assistant
1915-1916, Keeper 1916-1918), George H. Tooker (1st Assistant
1916-1918, Keeper 1918-1925), George T. Gardiner (1st Assistant
1921-1925), George A. Scheer (2nd Assistant 1921-1923), Thomas
H. Winn (2nd Assistant 1923-1925), Fred B. White (1925-1927),
Daniel A. Sullivan (1st Assistant 1925-1927, Keeper 1927-1938),
Alfred Auger (2nd Assistant 1925-1927), Willam O. Chapel (1st
Assistant 1927-1931), Robert H. Lyons (2nd Assistant 1927-1929),
Joseph G. Hindley (2nd Assistant 1929-1931, 1st Assistant 1931),
Harold E. Davis (2nd Assistant 1931), Peter Roudeau (1st Assistant
1931-1937), Ernest Stacey (2nd Assistant 1931-1937), Joseph H.
Dubois (1st Assistant,1937-1938), Walter Eberle (2nd Assistant,
1937-1938, died in service).
|
