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...)
Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.
The Roger Mowry Tavern, also known variously as the Roger Mowry House, Olney House and Abbott House, was a historic stone ender house, built around 1653, in Providence, Rhode Island. Roger Mowry was a constable and operated the only tavern in the town. The tavern also served as a government meeting place, church, and jail. It was originally constructed as a 1+1⁄2-story single room house with a chamber upstairs. By 1711 the house was expanded with a two-story lean-to by 1711. At an unknown later date, the top of the roof of the original house was raised up further. The original portion of the house was restored by Norman Isham in 1895. The Roger Mowry Tavern was the oldest house in Providence until it was demolished in 1900. (Full article...)
Watch Hill is an exclusive coastal village in the southwestern section of the town of Westerly, and the most southwestern town in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Watch Hill is a state-chartered Fire District (1901) and is authorized to tax residents to fund their volunteer fire department, but the bulk of property taxes goes to the town to fund municipal services and schools.
Watch Hill is an exclusive coastal village in the southwestern section of the town of Westerly, and the most southwestern town in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Watch Hill is a state-chartered Fire District (1901) and is authorized to tax residents to fund their volunteer fire department, but the bulk of property taxes goes to the town to fund municipal services and schools.
Image 10In 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 15In 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 16In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
