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 Rhode Island Tercentenary half dollar (sometimes called the Providence, Rhode Island, Tercentenary half dollar) is a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936. The coin was designed by John Howard Benson and Arthur Graham Carey. Its obverse depicts Roger Williams, founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. It was intended to honor the 300th anniversary of Providence, Rhode Island, although it bears no mention of the city.

Members of Rhode Island's congressional delegation sought a coin for the 300th anniversary of Providence, and Senator Jesse Metcalf added authorization for one to a bill for another commemorative coin that had already passed the United States House of Representatives. The amended bill was approved by both houses of Congress, and it was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A total of 50,000 coins were struck at the three mints then in operation. (Full article...)

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Interactive map showing The Breakers' location

The Breakers is a Gilded Age mansion located at 44 Ochre Point Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, US. It was built between 1893 and 1895 as a summer residence for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, a member of the wealthy Vanderbilt family.

The 70-room mansion, with a gross area of 138,300 square feet (12,850 m²) and 62,482 square feet (5,804.8 m²) of living area on five floors, was designed by Richard Morris Hunt in the Renaissance Revival style; the interior decor was by Jules Allard and Sons and Ogden Codman Jr. (Full article...)

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... 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?

Quotes related to Rhode Island

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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Credit: User:Daniel Case

The Ocean Drive Historic District covers Ocean Drive along the southern shore of Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1976 and consists of houses on large lots that overlook the beaches and ocean.

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

Image 1The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 2In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 3Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 4Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 51884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 6The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 7Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 8Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 9The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 10Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 11The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 12Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 13County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 14County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 15A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 16Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 17Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 18Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 19The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 20The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 21The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 22Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 23The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 24A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 25The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 26Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 27In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 28University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 29Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 30Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 31The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 32In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 33The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 34University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 35Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 36A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 37The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 38Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 39The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 40University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 41Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 42In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 43University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 44The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 45Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 46Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 47Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 48Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 49Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 50In 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 51Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 52Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 53The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 54Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 55The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 56The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 57A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 581884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 59Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 60In 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 61Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 62Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 63The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 64Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)

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Credit: User:ReneS

The Newport Bridge spanning the Narragansett Bay

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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.