Watch Hill, Rhode Island

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See Watch Hill (Lake District) for fells in the English Lake District called Watch Hill.

Watch Hill Lighthouse in Westerly, RI.

Watch Hill is a small coastal fire district in the southwestern Washington County, Rhode Island. Situated on a peninsula surrounded by the Block Island Sound, Watch Hill is the westernmost fire district in the state. Napatree Point, at the end of the peninsula, is the westernmost point in Rhode Island. The Watch Hill fire district is part of the town of Westerly, whose chamber of commerce, shared with Pawcatuck, Connecticut, administers the Watch Hill area. The fire district is a secluded and seasonal resort community with shopping, a golf and beach club, yacht club and public and private beaches. Once occupied by Niantic Indians in the 1600s, European colonists used the area as an important lookout point during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War, hence the fire district's name. Watch Hill is most recognized for the Watch Hill Lighthouse, which was built in 1806. The fire district is also known for The Flying Horse Carousel, the oldest continuously-operated carousel in the United States.

The Remains of FortMansfield on Napatree Point

Another point of interest in Watch Hill is the old Spanish-American War subpost named Fort Mansfield. The fort was built to guard the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound. Fort Mansfield was active from 1898-1917. The United States had purchsed 60 acres on Napatree Point to build the fortification. On the center emplacement were two 8-inch Crozier guns, which protected the waters far beyond the eastern end of Fishers Island Sound. The Hurricane of 1938 forever changed Napatree. It destroyed all 36 houses and Fort Road that connected Fort Mansfield to the rest of Watch Hill. Today Napatree Point is a barrier beach over 2 miles long without any roads or houses which offers great bird watching and surf casting. The remains of the fort are still there and offer adventurers tunnels, underground rooms, and gun batteries to explorer. Some of the fort lies under the sea and other parts under the ever shifting sands. As the sea and sand shift, old weapons and sometimes artifacts from the hurricane are uplifted.