Rose Island Lighthouse, Rhode Island

Rose Island, about a mile offshore from Newport, Rhode Island, has a commanding position in Narragansett Bay's East Passage, with a clear view to the south all the way to Block Island. The local Indians knew the island as Conockonoquit, meaning "place of the long point." This name referred to a long grassy point on the island that once pastured cows, reduced by the great Portland gale of  1898 to tidal flast visibl only at low tide. The island-once more than 25 acres in size-today encompasses only about 18 acres.