There are a few places along the New England shore in winter where the only sounds you’ll hear are the cry of gulls and the only footprints you’ll see are your own. One of these places is Watch Hill, Rhode Island in the off-season, the quiet time, and a great place to take a walk.
The boats in the harbor are gone and the village shops are closed. End of season sale signs hang in the windows proclaiming, “one day only” or “closing after Columbus Day.” Last year’s summer fashions looking strange in the cold winter light are perhaps waiting for the ghosts of Napatree to come and claim them.
Up the hill there are still some signs of life. The Christmas tree in front of the Ocean House beckons with a message of welcome. It’s warm inside the hotel with holiday cheer available to the weary traveler, the only oasis available until spring.
The beach, which just a few months ago was filled with the cries of children playing in the water now seems angry and dark. The only sound now is the rumble of powerful surf created by distant Atlantic storms breaking on the strand.
To the east Napatree Point stretches toward the Connecticut shore, one of the most beautiful stretches of dune geology on the Rhode Island coast. The first European to sight this point was the intrepid Dutch explorer Adrian Block who aptly named it “Nap of Trees.” The trees are long gone destroyed by the Great Gale of 1815, but the point endures.
Walking the mile and a half out to the end of the Point it’s hard to believe that in 1938 this was the scene of a life and death struggle. In photographs taken before the Hurricane of 1938 Fort Road had 44 large summer cottages. These were all swept away in the great storm and tragically 15 people lost their lives.
Today, almost nothing remains of the road or the houses. As the sand shifts you can see parts of some of the concrete foundations. There are many reports of ghostly sightings out on the point and there does seem to be a strange loneliness that lingers in the air. Is it the wind or the soft whispering of Napatree’s ghosts? From the top of the big dune you can see most of Watch Hill, Block Island, Montauk Point, Long Island, Fishers Island, Napatree Point, and Stonington, Connecticut.
The ruins of Fort Mansfield lie at the very end of the Point. This Spanish-American fort was built to protect the approaches to Long Island Sound during the Spanish American War. It was first manned in 1901 and built on 60 acres the US government purchased. It was named in honor of General Joseph K. Mansfield who was killed in the battle of Antietam in the Civil War. The fort was abandoned after the First World War and only the concrete foundations for its big guns remain.
Another historic highlight is the Watch Hill Lighthouse. The first Watch Hill Lighthouse was commissioned in 1806 by President Thomas Jefferson to replace an earlier wooden tower. In 1856 the present-day lighthouse was built from gray Westerly Granite. A brick keeper’s cottage was also constructed. Jonathan Nash, Watch Hill’s first lighthouse keeper, recorded 45 wrecks during his 27 years of service. Lighthouse keepers must have been a hardy lot as Nash fathered 10 children while doing his keeping.
To some Watch Hill’s quiet time has a bit of magic. There aren’t many places today where you can walk and see a five-star resort, a Spanish American fort, a historic lighthouse, and a five-mile-long ocean beach. In Watch Hill you’ve got them all. So, there you go; no crowds, sweeping views, the sound of crashing waves, the crisp ocean air and a little history. What could be better.