Once known as the bravest woman in America, Ida Lewis held an important job as a lighthouse keeper and rescued many people from drowning in the waters off Newport, Rhode Island.
According to Coast Guard records, she saved the lives of 18 people, including some soldiers from nearby Fort Adams. Until 2020, she was the only woman to receive the Coast Guard’s Gold Lifesaving Medal.
Ida Lewis was born on February 25, 1842. She was the oldest of four children. Her father, Captain Hosea Lewis, served in the Revenue Cutter Service.
In 1853, he was appointed to guard the Lime Rock Light Station. So, he moved his family to the small, rocky island in Newport Harbor, where the lighthouse was located.
As a lighthouse keeper, Captain Lewis was responsible for keeping the oil lamps lit so that the light would illuminate the sharp rocks at the coastline, making sure that commercial ships, ferries, and vessels transporting military personnel could pass through safely.
In 1857, Captain Lewis suffered a debilitating stroke and became permanently disabled. His wife, Zoradia, was forced to take over the lighthouse duties, but since she also had to tend to her ailing husband and younger children, Ida helped out at the lighthouse. At the time, she was only 15 years old.
During the 19th century, lighthousekeeping was one of the few federal jobs open to women that didn’t involve clerical work. At least 122 women held the official position of lighthouse keeper between 1828 and 1905.
To maintain the lighthouse properly, Ida stayed awake all night to periodically fill the lamp with oil, trim the lamp’s wick, keep an eye out for incoming ships, extinguish the light in the morning, and row between the island and mainland for supplies.
In the mornings, she rowed her younger siblings to school. Once she returned home to the island, she slept until it was time to pick them up from school. All that practice made her a strong, highly skilled rower.
Steven – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
Even before she was officially appointed as the lighthouse keeper of Lime Rock, Ida performed heroic acts.
Her father had taught her how to swim at a young age. She was just a teenager when she rescued a group of men who capsized their boat in Newport Harbor in the fall of 1858.
Her most famous rescue, which made it into the national news, was on the night of March 29, 1869. By then, she was 21-years-old.
Two Army soldiers had been on the way back to Fort Adams when a snowstorm hit. They had hired a 14-year-old boy, who claimed to be an experienced sailor, to take them back to the fort.
When Ida realized the soldiers were in trouble, she did not hesitate to swim out into the frozen water to save their lives. She successfully pulled the two soldiers to shore. Unfortunately, the boy had already drowned.
For this act of bravery, Ida received several medals, and President Ulysses S. Grant even visited Lime Rock to meet her.
The soldiers at Fort Adams were so grateful that she had saved their fellow comrades that they gathered $218 and a gold watch as a gift to Ida.
As a lighthouse keeper, Ida earned $750 per year, the highest salary for any lighthouse keeper in the country.
She continued to save drowning people well into her 60s. Ida died on October 24, 1911, at the age of 69, after suffering from a stroke.
In 1924, the Lime Rock Light Station was renamed the Ida Lewis Rock Light Station in her honor. Ida paved the way for other women around the United States to serve their nation by becoming lighthouse keepers. Her legacy lives on by naming Lewis Drive at Arlington National Cemetery after her.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
