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When the R ose Island Lighthouse Foundation (RILF) purchased Rose Island in 1999, we became stewards of a unique combination of historic and environmental components. These include, among others, several layers of English, French and American forts and military structures dating from the American Revolution through World War II that, after being abandoned in the 1950s, were magnificently transformed by Mother Nature into one of the most important bird nesting habitats in Narragansett Bay.As the new owners and stewards of this property, it is our responsibility to manage these historical and environmental resources in accordance with a deeded conservation easement held jointly by the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission and the Department of Environmental Management. Additionally, Rose Island is in Newport’s Historic District, and it also falls under the jurisdiction of the state Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC). Thus, before any structures or landscape can be altered in any way (whether to be restored or demolished), it is necessary to get a long list of approvals and permits. We happily reported last year that we had cleared all those hurdles and our state and local permits are in place for the first phase of our plan to restore Fort Hamilton. The next steps? To document the historical resources as they existed at the time we took over the property. With funding from the Alletta Morris McBean Charitable Trust, a Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) survey of Rose Island’s military structures was begun in 2000 by HAER Architect Todd A. Croteau of the National Park Service. As you may know, HAER is the industrial sister to the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) program that documents historic houses. Sample photographs from our HAER survey are shown here. Measured and interpretive drawings, large-format black and white photographs, and written historical information from the archives of the Library of Congress in Washington DC will soon be available to the public on line. This HAER survey, along with Rose Island’s National Register nomination and the vision statements that resulted from the Foundation’s early planning sessions, form the basis for future decision-making. Most importantly, the HAER survey serves as a benchmark for changes to Ft. Hamilton’s 200-year-old structures and the 20th century Torpedo Station buildings on Rose Island. Ironically, some of the oldest buildings, like the 200-year-old barracks and the northwest circular bastion, are in good enough condition to be restored for public use. On the other hand, many of the newer Torpedo Station buildings and structures, such as the water tower, the TNT filling station, and torpedo storehouse are beyond repair and, depending on how dangerous they are, will either be razed or simply left to fall according to Mother Nature’s plan into “picturesque ruin” (which in many instances is also the most historically appropriate method as well). In addition to the HAER survey, the Foundation is also documenting the history of Rose Island’s early fortifications in the next issue of the Rose Island Beacon that will be filled with early maps and photographs. Please contact the RILF office if you wish to help publish this issue by being a sponsor, or mail your contribution with the form at the end of this newsletter. Our future newsletters will include more detailed information and drawings of the Foundation’s approved plans to clean up, renovate and restore Fort Hamilton’s Barracks and northwest circular bastion for public use.
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