Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse Awarded $15,000 Champlin Grant

Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse was selected as a recipient of a 2023 grant from The Champlin Foundation. The $15,000 Historic Preservation and Heritage grant will assist the volunteer group in installing historically accurate storm windows and shutters on the 1871 light station. Nina Stack, Executive Director of The Champlin Foundation, recently announced the grant as part of $10 million in capital funding for Rhode Island non-profit organizations.

“We are grateful to The Champlin Foundation for supporting our efforts to protect this historical landmark,” stated Chair of Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse Dennis Tardiff. “The funding will help us provide protection against extreme weather conditions,” he added.

The window/shutter project will replace all 19 metal-framed storm windows on The Lighthouse with historically accurate wooden-framed storm windows that fit into the recess of the window wells, as they were when The Lighthouse was built. Historically accurate wooden shutters that can be closed and secured over the storm windows have been fabricated as part of the project. Wooden shutters which can be latched closed, will provide an additional barrier to extreme weather conditions such as heavy rainfall and winds related to climate change. They will better protect the restored interior of the building and the artifacts housed in the museum, including Pomham’s antique Fresnel lens. The wooden storm windows and shutters will also restore the exterior of the building to its former appearance in its early years. Installation of the windows and shutters is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2024.