Bristol Ferry Light
lighthouse in Rhode Island, United States
Bristol Ferry Light is a historic lighthouse in Bristol, Rhode Island. It is located on the shores of Narragansett Bay at Bristol Point, the northern land point of Mount Hope Bay at the base of the Mount Hope Bridge.
The two-story square brick lighthouse was built in 1855, along with an attached 1+1⁄2-story brick keeper's house. Its use was discontinued in 1927 with the construction of the Mount Hope Bridge, and a replacement automated beacon across Ferry Road. A ferry operated between Bristol and Aquidneck Island before the bridge was built, and the light assisted the ferry service. The Bristol Ferry Lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, at which time it was a private residence.
“Bristol Ferry Light” enters the record as lighthouse in Rhode Island, United States. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Bristol, Ferry and Light can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Bristol Ferry Light” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Bristol, Ferry and Light provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4968900. Authority coordinates are 41.643, -71.260. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1855, 1927 and 1988.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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- Expand the search: follow Bristol Ferry Light primary sources, Bristol Ferry Light archive and Bristol research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Bristol Ferry Light” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.