Lime Rock was completely surrounded by water about a third of a mile away from the mainland. The only way to reach the mainland was by boat. But Lime Rock is where Captain Hosea Lewis of the Revenue Cutter Service took his family when he was transferred to the Lighthouse Service and appointed keeper of Lime Rock Light in Newport., Rhode Island. His eldest daughter, Idawalley Zorada Lewis (known as Ida), born February 25, 1842, was one of his children.
Four months after arriving at Lime Rock, Captain Lewis was hit with a disabling stroke. Lewis and her mother, Ida Zordia Lewis, took over the duties of keeping the light. Lewis also rowed her siblings to school every day and obtained supplies from town. Not much more than a child herself, Lewis became very skilled at handling the heavy wooden boat. All this was in addition to the lightkeeper's chores: filling the lamp with oil at sundown and midnight, trimming the wick, cleaning carbon from the reflectors and dousing the light at dawn.
Captain Lewis died in 1872 and Ida's mother was officially appointed lightkeeper, even though it was young Ida Lewis doing the work. When Ida's mother retired in 1879, Lewis was given the official appointment and her own salary of $500 a year for the work.
Rescues at Lime Rock Lighthouse
Numerous tales of Lewis's lifesaving exploits abound. Four small boys whose small boat had capsized were rescued by Lewis. One young man climbed the mast and rocked the boat to tease his friends. He only succeeded in capsizing the boat. Luckily, Lewis was there.
In the winter of 1866, Lewis rescued a drunken sailor. During a storm, she rescued three sheepherders and the sheep they were trying to rescue from the water. Two men were walking across the frozen harbor when the ice broke. Lewis used a clothesline to pull them from the icy water.
At the age of 63, Lewis once again performed another rescue; this time a friend coming to visit stood up in her boat and lost her balance.
Lewis is officially credited for 18 rescues, unofficially for 25 (or more) rescues, from the water surrounding Lime Rock.
Soldiers from Fort Adams had their boat capsize one March night in 1869. Despite suffering from a cold, Lewis quickly left a cozy fire to rescue the soldiers as they clung to their boat.
It was this rescue which launched Lewis to fame. The story of her derring-do appeared in the New York Tribune, Harper's Weekly, Leslie's Magazine and other leading publications. Her fame spread so quickly that President Grant and Vice-President Colfax paid her a visit. Roughly ten-thousand people visited Lime Rock that year to catch a glimpse of the famous heroine.
Ida wrote in 1907:
Sometimes the spray dashes against these windows so thick I can't see out, and for days at a time the waves are so high that no boat would dare come near the rock, not even if we were starving.
But I am happy. There's a peace on this rock that you don't get on shore. There are hundreds of boats going in and out of this harbor in summer, and it's part of my happiness to know that they are depending on me to guide them safely. [1]
Ida was married for two years to Captain William Wilson from Black Rock, Connecticut. Though they never divorced, they were permanently separated. Nothing further is known about their relationship.
Ida Lewis died October 24, 1911. At the time of her death, all the vessels in Newport Harbor tolled their bells in her honor.
Ida Lewis Rock Light Station
Although the Lighthouse Service had a staunch rule against naming lighthouses after people, Lime Rock Light was renamed Ida Lewis Rock Light Station in 1925.
In 1927, a thirty-foot steel tower was placed in front of the dwelling. The light was automated and transferred into the tower.
In 1928 Ida Lewis Rock was sold to Narragansett Bay Regatta Association and the buildings were transformed into the Ida Lewis Yacht Club. A boardwalk was also built connecting the mainland to the rock.
In 1963 the light was switched off for good except to pay tribute to Ida Lewis. It is lighted during the summer months as a navigational aid and in memory of America's most famous woman lightkeeper. The original Fresnel lens is on display at the Newport Historical Society's Museum of History.
Some of the soldiers whom Ida had rescued presented her with a gold watch. Ida received a silver medal and a check for $100 from the Life Saving Benevolent Association of New York and another medal from the United States Lifesaving Service.
Newport held a parade in her honor on Independence Day. They also presented her with a mahogany rowboat complete with red velvet cushions and gold-plated oarlocks.
The Ida Lewis Yacht Club is now housed on Ida Lewis Rock (formerly Lime Rock).
The Ida Lewis Trophy is presented annually to the winners of the U.S. Junior Women's Doublehanded Championship (sailing) by the Hampton, Virginia Yacht Club.
Lenore Skomal wrote “The Keeper of Lime Rock” published in 2002 by Running Press and Doris Licameli wrote “Rowing to the Rescue: The Story of Ida Lewis, Famous Lighthouse Keeper” a children’s book about the life of Ida Lewis, self-published on Lulu.
[1] New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide; Lime Rock Light (Ida Lewis Yacht Club)
Sources
Wikipedia.org
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