U.S. Naval Sea Cadets Assist with Historical Fence Restoration Project at Pomham Rocks Lighthouse

In the early 1900s, the newly constructed Pomham Rocks Lighthouse in Riverside featured a white picket fence around the perimeter of the half-acre island. The 1938 hurricane destroyed the fence and it was replaced with a metal chain link fence. More than eighty years of exposure to the elements in the middle of the Providence River has taken its toll on the 1939 metal fence. With the assistance of funding from The Squantum Association, Friends of Pomham Rock Lighthouse initiated a 5-year fence replacement project in 2023. Planned and engineered by Friends member Rick Lux, with carpentry directed by member Jay Dent, volunteers have worked on the project for three years, each year replacing sections of the rusting mesh and poles with cedar pickets painted white to restore the island to its historically accurate appearance.

Because the lighthouse is located on bedrock, most of the supporting poles have to be reinforced and cemented in place. This year’s section of fencing requires more than sixty 50-pound bags of concrete, as well as dozens of painted poles, rails and pickets. In addition, one hundred bags of topsoil needed to be transported to the island to fill in the ground in the fence area.

To assist with the heavy lifting and moving the materials, the Friends sought the help of Sea Cadets. Ranging in age from eleven to eighteen, six girls and eight boys of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, Falcon Division located in Cranston, spent six hours on a recent Saturday doing the heavy lifting and transporting of materials to the island lighthouse. Commanding Officer Lt. Haley Bruce, NSCC, a former Sea Cadet herself, noted that the Cadets had done community projects in the past, such as cleaning cemeteries. But the lighthouse fence project offered a unique opportunity for them to learn about maritime history and play an active role in its preservation. The Cadets toured the lighthouse and broke up into groups. The older, stronger cadets were stationed at Edgewood Yacht Club to load supplies onto the boat and another group on the island to move the supplies from the boat to the east side of the island where the next fence section will be installed. The younger cadets helped to carry fencing and dig holes.

The Sea Cadets moved a total of 6,000 pounds, or three tons of supplies for this year’s fence project. The Cadets enjoyed the experience and enthusiastically volunteered to come back next year to help with the fifth and final year of fence restoration. Middle school or high school youth from Rhode Island and Massachusetts who are interested in joining or learning more about the Sea Cadets can contact Lt. Haley Bruce, NSCC at falcondivision.org.