Plum Beach Light

University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel: 401-874-4632

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2007

Collection Overview

Title:	Plum Beach Light
Date range:	1864-2000
Creator:	Bradner, Lawrence H.
Extent:	4 box(es) (2.5 linear feet)
Abstract:	The collection consists of print and audio/visual material regarding the construction, history, and restoration of the Plum Beach lighthouse.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Mss. Gr. 138

Scope & content

The collection contains original notes, interview tapes and notes, photographs, photocopies of news articles, and correspondence, both original and photocopied, regarding the construction, history, and restoration of the Plum Beach lighthouse. Also contains ancillary material regarding 19th and early 20th century lighthouse and maritime history in the New England area.

Arrangement

Materials accessioned in 2007 were interfiled with the existing unprocessed Plum Beach Light research materials accessioned in 1990. The collection is arranged in alphabetical order. Oversized materials are at the end of the collection; some plans and oversized materials are stored in the map case. The collection is arranged in one series.

• 1. Subject File

Historical Information

In 1988, Lawrence H. Bradner, inspired by an inaccurate news article on the Plum Beach Light, began to record the history living in the people who still remembered when the lighthouse served as an important guide to ships in the West Passage of Narragansett Bay. The lighthouse was closed permanently in 1941. In preparation for writing what became a book on the subject, Bradner amassed information regarding all aspects of the Plum Beach Lighthouse and some information on lighthouses in general in the New England area. The Plum Beach Light : the birth, life, and death of a lighthouse, 1989 was the final result of this labor.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Open for research.
Use of the materials:	Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Preferred citation:	Plum Beach Light Research Collection, Mss. Gr. 138, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contact information:	University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	Gift of Lawrence H. Bradner. The materials were deposited by Bradner in the University Archives and Special Collections in two accessions, in 1990 and in 2007.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Sarina R. Wyant.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Sarina R. Wyant on 2007 Oct 15, updated by Hailie D. Posey on 2009 Aug 05, updated by Mark Dionne on 2020 April 10
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Related material:

The book, The Plum Beach Light : the birth, life, and death of a lighthouse published 1989 is in the Rhode Island Collection. A collection of papers related to Bradner as Episcopal priest and chaplain of the Rhode Island State Hospital were separated from the 2007 accession and made a distinct collection, Rev. Lawrence H. Bradner Papers, Mss. Gr. 206. The following books were removed and cataloged in the Rhode Island Collection:Great storms and famous shipwrecks of the New England coast by Edward Rowe Snow; Boston, Mass. : The Yankee Publishing Company, 1946, 3d ed. and Picture postcard views of Rhode Island lighthouses and beacons : together with a brief history of lifesaving stations / an excursion with commentary by Mildred Santille Longo; Providence, RI : Rhode Island Publications Society, 1990.

Inventory

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Inventory