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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The 1761 Milestone is a mile marker located at 640 South Main Street in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The stone originally marked the junction of a Colonial highway from Great Road and an east-west route from Boston, Massachusetts to Connecticut. It was rediscovered during the installation of an electrical road (likely a tram). In 1898, it was restored to its original location by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The stone is embedded in a low retaining wall at the corner of South Main Street and Smithfield Road. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 24, 1982, and is historically significant as a Colonial-era highway marker. (Full article...)

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Block Island looking north over Block Island Sound. The coast of Rhode Island is seen in the distance.

Block Island is an island of the Outer Lands coastal archipelago, located approximately 9 miles (14 km) south of mainland Rhode Island and 14 miles (23 km) east of Long Island's Montauk Point. The island is coterminous with the town of New Shoreham, Rhode Island and is part of Washington County. The island is named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block, and the town was named for Shoreham, Kent, in England.

Block Island is a popular summer tourist destination known for its bicycling, hiking, sailing, fishing, and beaches. It is home to the historic lighthouses Block Island North Light, on the northern tip of the island, and Block Island Southeast Light, on the southeastern coast. About 40 percent of the island is set aside for conservation, and much of the northwestern tip of the island is an undeveloped natural area and resting stop for birds along the Atlantic flyway. The Nature Conservancy includes Block Island on its list of "The Last Great Places", which consists of 12 sites in the Western Hemisphere. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

... 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"?
... 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?

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The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.

— H. P. Lovecraft

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The Mount Hope Bridge is a two-lane suspension bridge spanning the Mount Hope Bay in eastern Rhode Island, at one of the narrowest gaps in Narragansett Bay. The bridge connects the Rhode Island towns of Portsmouth and Bristol, and is part of Route 114.

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

Image 1The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 2The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 3The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 4Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 5County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 6Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 7Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 8A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 9In 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 10The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 11In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 12County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 13In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 14Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 15University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 16The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 17Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 18The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 19The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 20The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 21University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 22The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 23Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 24Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 25A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 26Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 27Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 28The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 29University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 30The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 31University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 32Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 33The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 34Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 35A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 36Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 37Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 38Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 391884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 40Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 41Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 421884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 43Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 44Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 45Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 46Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 47In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 48Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 49The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 50The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 51Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 52Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 53In 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 54Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 55A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 56In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 57The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 58Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 59The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 60Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 61The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 62Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 63Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 64The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)

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Credit: Flickr user: boliyou

The skyline of Providence, 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.