EAST PROVIDENCE – A private nonprofit organization will take control of the Pomham Rocks Lighthouse.
The American Lighthouse Foundation announced Saturday that ExxonMobil Corp. would donate the 139-year-old lighthouse to the foundation. The foundation hopes to continue restoration on the working lighthouse and preliminary plans call for opening the grounds to the public on a scheduled basis, said Bob Trapani, executive director of American Lighthouse Foundation.
Built in 1871, the lighthouse sits on a small island in Narragansett Bay about 200 yards off the East Providence shoreline. In 2005, the foundation entered a 25-year lease with ExxonMobil for the station that was relit in 2006 after being deactivated in 1974.
Trapani said ExxonMobil, which owns a nearby facility, decided after discussions with the foundation to end the lease and outright donate the lighthouse it acquired in the early 1980s.
“They recognize the challenges we have been faced with from a fundraising perspective, and they do have a real interest in the community,” Trapani said. “This is a real community-style gesture, and basically they’re retuning the lighthouse to the people.”
Trapani said with a deed to the building the foundation and its local chapter, the Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, will be able to pursue grants it previously did not qualify for.
Lighthouse enthusiasts shouldn’t get too excited though. Trapani said the inside of the lighthouse needs much work before it can be opened to the public.
