Portal:Rhode Island

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The Rhode Island Portal

Rhode Island (/ˌroʊd-/ ^ⓘ ROHD) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound; and shares a small maritime border with New York, east of Long Island. Rhode Island is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020; but it has grown at every decennial count since 1790 and is the second-most densely populated state, after New Jersey. The state takes its name from the eponymous island, though nearly all its land area is on the mainland. Providence is its capital and most populous city.

Native Americans lived around Narragansett Bay for thousands of years before English settlers began arriving in the early 17th century. Rhode Island was unique among the Thirteen British Colonies in having been founded by a refugee, Roger Williams, who fled religious persecution in the Massachusetts Bay Colony to establish a haven for religious liberty. He founded Providence in 1636 on land purchased from local tribes, creating the first settlement in North America with an explicitly secular government. The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations subsequently became a destination for religious and political dissenters and social outcasts, earning it the moniker "Rogue's Island".

Rhode Island was the first colony to call for a Continental Congress, in 1774, and the first to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown, on May 4, 1776. After the American Revolution, during which it was heavily occupied and contested, Rhode Island became the fourth state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, on February 9, 1778. Because its citizens favored a weaker central government, it boycotted the 1787 convention that had drafted the United States Constitution, which it initially refused to ratify; it finally ratified it on May 29, 1790, the last of the original 13 states to do so.

The state was officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations since the colonial era but came to be commonly known as "Rhode Island". In November 2020, the state's voters approved an amendment to the state constitution formally dropping "and Providence Plantations" from its full name. Its official nickname is the "Ocean State", a reference to its 400 mi (640 km) of coastline and the large bays and inlets that make up about 14% of its area. (Full article...)

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General Sir Robert Pigot (portrait by Francis Cotes), the organizer of the raids

The Mount Hope Bay raids were a series of military raids conducted by British troops during the American Revolutionary War against communities on the shores of Mount Hope Bay on May 25 and 31, 1778. The towns of Bristol and Warren, Rhode Island were significantly damaged, and Freetown, Massachusetts (present-day Fall River) was also attacked, although its militia resisted British attacks more successfully. The British destroyed military defenses in the area, including supplies that had been cached by the Continental Army in anticipation of an assault on British-occupied Newport, Rhode Island. Homes as well as municipal and religious buildings were also destroyed in the raids.

On May 25, 500 British and Hessian soldiers, under orders from General Sir Robert Pigot, the commander of the British garrison at Newport, Rhode Island, landed between Bristol and Warren, destroyed boats and other supplies, and plundered Bristol. Local resistance was minimal and ineffective in stopping the British activities. Six days later, 100 soldiers descended on Freetown, where less damage was done because local defenders prevented the British from crossing a bridge. (Full article...)

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Memorial marker for William Coddington dedicated on 200th anniversary of Newport founding

William Coddington (c. 1601 – 1 November 1678) was an early magistrate of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and later of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He served as the judge of Portsmouth and Newport in that colony, governor of Portsmouth and Newport, deputy governor of the four-town colony, and then governor of the entire colony. Coddington was born and raised in Lincolnshire, England. He accompanied the Winthrop Fleet on its voyage to New England in 1630, becoming an early leader in Boston. There he built the first brick house and became heavily involved in the local government as an assistant magistrate, treasurer, and deputy.

Coddington was a member of the Boston church under the Reverend John Cotton, and was caught up in the events of the Antinomian Controversy from 1636 to 1638. The Reverend John Wheelwright and Anne Hutchinson were banished from the Massachusetts colony, and many of their supporters were also compelled to leave. Coddington was not asked to depart, but he felt that the outcome of the controversy was unjust and decided to join many of his fellow parishioners in exile. He was the lead signer of a compact to form a Christian-based government away from Massachusetts. He was encouraged by Roger Williams to settle on the Narragansett Bay. He and other supporters of Hutchinson bought Aquidneck Island from the Narragansetts. They settled there, establishing the town of Pocasset which was later named Portsmouth. Coddington was named the first "judge" of the colony, a Biblical term for governor. A division in the leadership of the town occurred within a year, and he left with several others to establish the town of Newport at the south end of the island. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

... that three decades after chasing away surveyors for a previous railroad with guns, residents of Wickford, Rhode Island, built their own railroad?
... that James Diossa rescued the only public library and post office in Central Falls, Rhode Island, when the city went into bankruptcy?
... that a Rhode Island TV station broadcast for 14 months and then was off the air for 26 years before returning?
... that Northup Avenue Yard in Providence, Rhode Island, was described as "the finest in the New Haven system"?

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Political corruption is to Rhode Islanders as smog is to people who live in Los Angeles: nobody complains of its absence, but when it rolls around everyone feels right at home.

— Philip Gourevitch

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Jerimoth Hill is the highest natural point in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, at 812 feet (247 m) above sea level. It was formerly controversial due to property complications, but it is now accessible to the public on weekends.

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The following are images from various Rhode Island-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 2Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 3Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 41884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 5University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 6In 1936, on the 300th anniversary of the settlement of Rhode Island in 1636, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp, depicting Roger Williams (from Rhode Island)
Image 7A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 8Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 9The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 10The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 11Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 12The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 13Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 14Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 15Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 16Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 17A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 18Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 19Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 20Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 21The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 22Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 23The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 24In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 25Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 26The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 27Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 28University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 29The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 30In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 31The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 32County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 33In 1936, on the 300th anniversary of the settlement of Rhode Island in 1636, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp, depicting Roger Williams (from Rhode Island)
Image 34Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 35Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 36Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 37The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 38Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 39A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 40A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 41Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 42The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 43Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 44The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 45The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 461884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 47In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 48Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 49Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 50The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 51The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 52The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 53Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 54Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 55University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 56The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 57University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 58In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 59Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 60The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 61Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 62Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 63The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 64Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)

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Easton Beach in Newport, Rhode Island

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged or categorized (e.g. Category:WikiProject Rhode Island articles) correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.