LIGHTHOUSE XV

BLOCK ISLAND (SOUTHEAST) LIGHT, RHODE ISLAND

Order No. 110

HISTORY: Congress first decided that Mohegan Bluffs on Block Island, R.I., needed a lighthouse in 1854 and two years later $9,000 was appropriated. However, that money was spent to rebuild the Block Island North Lighthouse on a site farther inland on Sandy Point. After the ship, Palmetto, was lost on the reef below the bluffs in 1858, many urged action and in 1872 President Grant signed the congressional appropriation bill for $75,000 and the Southeast light was established in 1874.

This red-brick octagonal tower and attached Victorian/Gothic residence built in 1875 looks like the setting for a 19^th century romance novel. The 67 foot tall tower has a 25 foot diameter base and tapers to 15 feet at the lantern deck. Although the tower is only 67 feel tall, the height of the cliffs places the light 260 feet above sea level. It was automated in 1990 but by then erosion had eaten the high, crumbling bluffs away to within a few feet of the structure’s foundation. $2 million was raised to have the building moved 300 feet inland to safety.

The keeper’s house was constructed in 1874 and is presently a museum. The original light was a first order Fresnel lens and the new first-order Fresnel lens was installed in 1994. The Block Island Light is an active aid to navigation.

STITCHING INFORMATION: Stitch count: 165 stitches wide x 116 high. Our model was stitched on a 16" x 13" piece of white 16-count AIDA fabric. To use a different type of fabric or different AIDA sized fabric, give the stitch count to your fabric store and they will help you select the correct amount of fabric to complete this design. Our threads were carefully chosen to depict the actual colors of the lighthouse to give it the most realistic appearance possible.