Ida Lewis was once considered the bravest woman in America. Now she's being honored

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20-06-2025

NEWPORT – The late Idawalley (Ida) Zoradia Lewis was once considered the bravest woman in America and an icon of the women's rights movement, according to state Rep. Lauren H. Carson.
Lewis, who died in 1911, called Newport her home, and this year, on Aug. 1, she will posthumously receive the Past Light Keeper Award from the National Lighthouse Museum in Staten Island, New York, at the museum's annual gala.
Carson said she was approached by two locals who asked that the state officially honor Lewis.
Carson also attended a memorial ceremony for Lewis on May 24 at Common Ground Burial Ground.
'Obviously, she is a woman who made a huge contribution to safety and the city of Newport,' Carson said during a recent interview.. 'After attending that event and hearing about her life and accomplishments, I thought it would be important that the (state) House of Representatives should honor her life.'
The Newport Historical Society website has images of Lewis and artifacts connected to her work.
According to the NHS website, Lewis, in 1857 and at 15, unofficially took over duties as keeper of the Lime Rock Lighthouse from her father, who had recently suffered a stroke at that time.
A year later, she recorded her first rescue when she saved four teenage boys from drowning after they accidentally overturned a boat they were sailing, according to the NHS website.
In 1869, she made a rescue that drew national attention when she saved two soldiers from drowning in their attempt to return to Fort Adams.
The city honored her two years later during the Independence Day celebration and presented her with a rowboat named Rescue.
Carson's resolution won't be the first one the Rhode Island General Assembly has bestowed upon Lewis. The state first recognized Lewis' heroism with a resolution in 1869 for her Fort Adams rescue.
According to the NHS website, Lewis is credited with making eight rescues and was 64 during her last one, only five years before her death in 1911. In total, she guarded Newport Harbor for 50 years.
She is the namesake of the USCGC Ida Lewis and Lewis Drive in Arlington National Cemetery.
And despite her prominence, she tried to live a quiet life, according to the NHS.
Her bravery paved a trail for women over the coming century and decades, according to Carson.
'Ida Lewis was a luminary of her time who proved how strong and brave a woman could be. She became an icon of the women's rights movement, and her memory will always serve as a point of pride for Newport,' Carson said.
The Newport Historical Society, in collaboration with the U.S. Lighthouse Society, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Coast Guard Auxiliary honored Lewis on May 24.
The commemoration featured the placement of a bronze U.S. Lighthouse Service grave marker by the crew of the USCGC Ida Lewis. The U.S. Lighthouse Service, originating in 1789, was incorporated into the Coast Guard in 1939, according to a release from the NHS.
"Ida Lewis was an ordinary person who, when faced with extraordinary circumstances, met the moment and showed that there is bravery in all of us,' said Rebecca Bertrand, executive director of the Newport Historical Society. 'Her story is very significant to Newport history. She was a lighthouse keeper who herself shines a light on why it is so important that people like her, their stories and the artifacts that capture them, are not lost to time," Rebecca Betrand, executive director of the Newport Historical Society.
For a closer look at some of her artifacts, log on to collections.newporthistory.org/MultiSearch/Index?search=ida+lewis
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: National Lighthouse Museum honors Ida Lewis with Past Light Keeper Award