Prudence Island: The Keeper Who Relit the Light After Losing Everything

In a lighthouse keeper's cottage on Prudence Island, Rhode Island, six people huddle on the floor. It's September 21st, 1938. Outside, a wall of gray-green water is racing across Narragansett Bay, 16 feet of churning ocean pushed by winds exceeding 100 miles per hour. George Gustavus, the lighthouse keeper, stands with his wife Mabel, his 12-year-old son Edward, and three neighbors who came seeking shelter. They'd climbed upstairs when the water started rising.

TIMELINE
1869: New England had experienced no major hurricanes since 1869, 69 years earlier.
1905: Among them is Martin Thompson, the former keeper, a 70-year-old Norwegian immigrant who'd served at this ferry station from 1905 to 1933.
1961: The lighthouse was automated in 1961.

WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Prudence Island is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.

Episode 193 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

If you liked this: Episode 192 (Watch Hill, Rhode Island)

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

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