The historic Fort Hamilton barracks will get needed repairs with the $100,000 grant.

BY RICHARD SALIT
Journal Staff Writer

NEWPORT -- When the Navy stored hundreds of thousands of pounds of TNT on Rose Island between World Wars I and II, an accident could easily have blown the roof off the low-slung, rock solid building housing the explosives.

Ultimately, however, incremental natural forces -- not sudden incendiary ones -- have taken their toll on the historic Fort Hamilton barracks. Wind, water, age and neglect are threatening to ruin the 206-year-old structure, jeopardizing one of the oldest surviving coastal fortifications in the country.

"We need to replace the roof, or we're going to lose the building," says Charlotte E. Johnson, executive director of the Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation.

Fortunately, in true military fashion, reinforcements are on the way. The foundation is a recipient of a $100,000 grant from the state Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission, the largest amount the agency hands out in its annual awards.

The grants, which were given to seven other East Bay preservation projects, were announced yesterday at a news conference at the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport, one of the recipients.

Across the harbor and out in the bay, the Fort Hamilton barracks is hunkered down on Rose Island. The 210-foot long building was built from 1798 to 1800, with nine vaulted chambers and shared chimney. With its 3- to 4-foot thick walls, it was designed to be bombproof, providing shelter for the troops stationed there.

When the 20th century arrived with its two world wars, the barracks became part of the Navy's Torpedo Station. Explosives made on Goat Island were stored here, said Johnson.

"They were still considered bombproof structures -- only the bombs were put inside," said Johnson.

After World War II, the buildings were abandoned. The lighthouse, which was built in 1870 upon one of the fort's bastions, remained in use until the Pell bridge was built in 1970. No longer needed as a navigational aid, its light was extinguished.

Since 1984, the Rose Island Foundation has been striving to preserve and protect the island and its historic structures. The lighthouse was its first priority. It was refurbished and automated, allowing it to be relit in 1993.

Now the foundation is embarking on a campaign to raise $1 million for an endowment fund and another $1 million for additional improvements to the lighthouse and to other fort buildings. Among the projects is replacing the barracks' old asbestos shingle roof for $475,000.

The following are the other East Bay projects, which are receiving grants from $12,500 to the maximum of $100,000.

BRISTOL Bristol County Jail: The 177-year-old building on Court Street has been slowly undergoing restoration since its owner, the Bristol Historical and Preservation Society, acquired it in the 1970s.

The $12,500 grant the society received will pay to replace and paint four windows with historic sashes, repair storm windows and install a back stair to archival storage in the second-tier of the former cell block. A project to restore the front door hood, funded by a 2003 preservation grant, is nearly complete.

Linden Place: The 195-year-old mansion on Hope Street will get more than just a routine roof job in a $33,450 project, for which the state awarded one of its $100,000 grants. The project will repair and replace areas damaged by powder post beetles, replace worn metal roofing, fix a bullseye skylight now covered by blue tarp and return a Chinese Chippendale balustrade.

LITTLE COMPTON Wilbor House Museum: A $24,750 grant will go toward a $37,455 project to replace roofs on Wilbor House and its ancillary buildings, including the crib house, the cookhouse and the carriage house. The late 17th century structures are owned by the Little Compton Historical Society. The project got started with a 2003 preservation grant.

MIDDLETOWN Whitehall Museum House: A new roof is also in line for this historic building, built in 1729 for Bishop Berkeley, who planned to establish a university in the New World. The $22,543 grant will be put toward the $34,054 job. The long sloping roof, a unique characteristic of the house, is said to have inspired the shingle-style designs of renowned Newport architect Charles McKim.

BARRINGTON Town Hall: The landmark building, constructed from 1887-1888, is in need of $863,830 in repairs to broken slates and wood trim. The preservation grant has awarded $50,000 to the town.

NEWPORT The Newport Casino: The home of the International Tennis Hall of Fame received $27,034 towards a $40,550 project to continue ongoing reshingling of the 1881 building, also designed by McKim.

Reporter Richard Salit can be reached at (401) 277-7467 or by e-mail at rsalit@projo.com