Born in Newport to Captain Hosea and Zoradia Lewis in 1842, Ida Zoradia Lewis was the lighthouse keeper at Lime Rock Lighthouse in Newport Harbor from 1879 until 1911. Her family moved to Lime Rock upon her father’s appointment as lighthouse keeper in 1853. When Ida’s father became ill in 1857 and could no longer act as keeper, she and her mother assumed his duties.
Ida married Captain William Wilson of Connecticut in 1870, but they separated after only two years of marriage and she returned to the lighthouse. When her father died in 1873, her mother was appointed keeper, although sick herself. Ida became the official lighthouse keeper in 1879, a position she held until her death in 1911.
While Ida is credited with eighteen recorded rescues, unofficial reports suggest that the number is much higher. Her first recorded rescue was in 1857 when she saved four boys from drowning. Her last rescue was in 1906 when she was 64. Throughout her life, Ida received numerous medals and awards for her daring rescues, including the Gold Lifesaving Medal in 1881. She was the first woman to receive the award. The lighthouse was renamed for her in 1924.
Biography provided by the Newport Historical Society and Roger Williams University Image courtesy of Newport Historical Society
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