This is a guest blog post by Noella Suchecki, a recent graduate of Salve Regina University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in American History. Noella is the 2026 John E. McGinty Fellow (Salve Regina University) in partnership with the NHS Buchanan Burnham Summer Scholars in Public History program.
A 1906 postcard of Lime Rock Lighthouse. 2017.039.001, Newport Historical Society.
Idawalley “Ida” Zoradia Lewis (1842-1911) is remembered as one of the most accomplished lifesavers in American lighthouse history. During her years at Lime Rock Lighthouse in Newport Harbor, she was officially credited with saving eighteen lives, although many historians believe that number is higher.[1] Her reputation was built not on a single heroic act but on decades of dedication to the lighthouse and the waters surrounding it.
Born in Newport on February 25, 1842, Ida developed a familiarity with the water at an early age.[2] Her father, Hosea Lewis, was appointed keeper of Lime Rock Lighthouse in November 1853. As a child, Ida often accompanied him on trips between the mainland and the island, learning to row and becoming comfortable navigating Newport Harbor.
Photograph of a young Ida Lewis captured around 1865. P648, Newport Historical Society.
For the first several years of her father’s appointment, the Lewis family continued living in Newport. In 1856, however, Congress appropriated $1,500 for the construction of a keeper’s residence on Lime Rock, and the family moved to the island in June 1857.[3] This 1906 postcard from the Newport Historical Society’s collection shows the Lime Rock Lighthouse and its accompanying homestead.[4]
Only a few months later, Hosea suffered a severe stroke that left him unable to perform the demanding duties of a lighthouse keeper.[5] Although he eventually regained some mobility, much of the responsibility for maintaining the station fell to his wife and children.[6] As the oldest of four siblings, Ida assumed a significant share of the work. Along with helping care for her father and maintaining the lighthouse, she rowed her brothers and sister to school on the mainland each day.[7] Those daily trips made her an exceptionally skilled oarswoman and gave her an intimate knowledge of the harbor’s changing conditions.
Ida’s first recorded rescue took place on September 4, 1858, when she was sixteen years old, [8] a few years younger than in the photograph pictured here.[9] Four boys had sailed to islands in Narragansett Bay known as “the Dumplings” for a picnic, but their small boat capsized on the return trip. Clinging to the overturned hull, they were unable to reach the shore on their own. From Lime Rock, Ida spotted the accident, immediately launched her boat, and rowed to their aid. She brought all four boys safely back to the lighthouse. Embarrassed by the incident, the boys kept the rescue quiet, and it remained largely unknown for many years.[10]
A rescue on March 29, 1869, however, brought Ida national attention; during a storm, an overturned boat was spotted drifting near Lime Rock with two men desperately clinging to its hull.[11] Despite rough seas and freezing water, Ida and her younger brother Hosea rowed out to the wreck.
Harper’s Weekly. “Ida Lewis Rescuing Sergeant James Adams and Private John McLoughlin.” April 17, 1869. FIC.2024.022. Newport Historical Society.
The men were Sergeant Jame Adams and Private John McLoughlin, soldiers stationed at Fort Adams.[12] Exhausted and suffering from exposure, they were barely able to hold on when Ida reached them. She and her brother pulled both men into their boat and returned them safely to the lighthouse, where they recovered.
A third person, a young boy hired to row the soldiers back to Fort Adams, was unable to stay afloat after the boat capsized and drowned before Ida and her brother could reach him.[13] Years later, Ida reflected on the rescue: “I remember one twilight in 1869. I heard the cries of two men during an awful storm. I put for them in my boat. I could see them clinging to their frail boat. I managed to pull them in, but they were nearly gone when I reached the shore.”[14]
News of the rescue spread rapidly. Featured in the April 1869 issue of Harper’s Weekly, this archival newspaper clipping—preserved by the Newport Historical Society—illustrates Ida Lewis’s famous rescue of two soldiers.[15] Newspapers across the country carried the story after it was telegraphed to New York, where it caught the attention of a reporter for the New York Tribune. The reporter traveled to Newport to meet Ida, comparing her heroism to that of celebrated English lighthouse keeper, Grace Darling. Visitors frequently traveled to Newport to meet her, including President Ulysses S. Grant, and reports of her many rescues continued to strengthen her reputation.[16]
A 1900 postcard depicting the Newport Historical Society’s museum when it was located in the Seventh Day Baptist Meeting House, featuring the boat “Rescue.” 2009.3.24, Newport Historical Society.
Widespread admiration of Lewis is reflected in several objects preserved today in the Newport Historical Society’s collection. These artifacts commemorate her remarkable career while illustrating the lasting impact she had on the Newport community.
Among the most significant is the rowboat Rescue, presented to Lewis by the citizens of Newport on July 4, 1869, following the rescue that brought her national recognition. Built by Newport boatbuilder Thomas Stoddard, the boat remained closely associated with Lewis throughout her career and was later donated to the Newport Historical Society after her death. Pictured here is a postcard from circa 1900, featuring her boat alongside other memorabilia.[17]
Life Saving Benevolent Association of New York Commemorative Medal Presented to Ida Lewis, 1869. 12.1.4, Newport Historical Society.
Lewis’s bravery was also recognized beyond Rhode Island. Around 1869, the Life Saving Benevolent Association of New York awarded her a silver medal honoring her “skill, courage, and humanity” in rescuing the two soldiers from Newport Harbor.[18]
Sheet Music, “To Miss Ida Lewis, Ida Lewis Mazurka” by E. Mack, 1854 – 1911. 2013.2.1, Newport Historical Society.
Her fame even inspired popular culture. The Society’s collection includes Ida Lewis Mazurka, a piece of sheet music dedicated in her honor.[19] Together, these objects demonstrate how Lewis became not only one of America’s best-known lighthouse keepers but also a lasting symbol of courage and selfless service.
Ida remained devoted to Lime Rock Lighthouse throughout her life. The skills she developed through years of hard work and daily experience on the water enabled her to save countless lives that otherwise might have been lost. She served at Lime Rock for thirty-nine years until her death in 1911. At the age of sixty-nine, she suffered a stroke, remained in a coma for three days, and died on October 24, 1911.[20] By the time of her death, Ida Lewis had become a legendary figure in American maritime history. Today, her legacy endures not only because of the lives she saved but also because of her unwavering commitment to duty, service, and the safety of all who traveled to Newport Harbor.
[1] Ida Lewis Yacht Club, “Idawalley Zorada Lewis,” https://www.ilyc.org/idawalley-zorada-lewis.
[2] Lenore Skomal, Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter: The Remarkable True Story of American Heroine Ida Lewis (Globe Pequot Press, 2010), 18.
[3] Skomal, Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, 26.
[4] A 1906 postcard of Lime Rock Lighthouse, 2017.039.001, Newport Historical Society.
[5] Skomal, Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, 27.
[6] Skomal, Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, 27.
[7] Skomal, Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, 27.
[8] Skomal, Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, 31.
[9] A photograph of young Ida Lewis captured around 1865, P648, Newport Historical Society.
[10] Skomal, Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, 34.
[11] Skomal, Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, 2.
[12] Skomal, Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, 4.
[13] Skomal, Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, 5.
[14] Skomal, Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, 6.
[15] Harper’s Weekly. “Ida Lewis Rescuing Sergeant James Adams and Private John McLoughlin.” April 17, 1869. FIC.2024.022. Newport Historical Society.
[16] Skomal, Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, 45.
[17] A 1900 postcard depicting the Newport Historical Society’s museum when it was located in the Seventh Day Baptist Meeting House, featuring the boat “Rescue,” 2009.3.24, Newport Historical Society.
[18] Life Saving Benevolent Association of New York Commemorative Medal Presented to Ida Lewis, 1869, Newport Historical Society, 12.1.4.
[19] Sheet Music, “To Miss Ida Lewis, Ida Lewis Mazurka” by E. Mack, 1854 – 1911, Newport Historical Society, 2013.2.1.
[20] Skomal, Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, 115.