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 Narragansett Pacer, illustrated in 1895

The Narragansett Pacer was one of the first recorded horse breeds developed in the United States. It emerged in the 18th century (1700s), and was theorized to have been bred from a mix of English and Spanish breeds, although the exact cross is unknown. The Pacer was associated with, and bred in, the state of Rhode Island and the area of New England; as horse breeding shifted to Kentucky and Tennessee in the late 1700s, it became extinct by the 20th century.

Narragansett Pacer horses were owned and ridden by many famous people of the American Revolutionary War era, including President George Washington, Paul Revere, and others. The last known purebred Pacer is thought to have died around 1880, though the breed disappeared earlier from pedigrees in the late 1700s or early 1800s. (Full article...)

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Ince, c. 1918

Thomas Harper Ince (November 16, 1880 – November 19, 1924) was an American silent era filmmaker and media proprietor. Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films.

Ince revolutionized the motion picture industry by creating the first major Hollywood studio facility and invented movie production by introducing the "assembly line" system of filmmaking. He was the first mogul to build his own film studio dubbed "Inceville" in Palisades Highlands. Ince was also instrumental in developing the role of the producer in motion pictures. Three of his films, The Italian (1915), for which he wrote the screenplay, Hell's Hinges (1916) and Civilization (1916), which he directed, were selected for preservation by the National Film Registry. He later entered into a partnership with D. W. Griffith and Mack Sennett to form the Triangle Motion Picture Company, whose studios are the present-day site of Sony Pictures. He then built a new studio about a mile from Triangle, which is now the site of Culver Studios. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

... 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?
... that a Rhode Island TV station broadcast for 14 months and then was off the air for 26 years before returning?

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One hundred years after the declaration that all men are created equal, there began to gather in Newport a colony of the rich, determined to show that some Americans were conspicuously more equal than others.

— Alistair Cooke

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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 1Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 2Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 3Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 4Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 5In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 6The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 7The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 8Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 9Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 10Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 11In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 12Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 13Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 14In 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 15The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 16Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 17Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 18The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 19Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 20Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 21A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 22The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 23County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 24The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 25Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 26The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 27The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 28Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 29Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 30University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 31The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 32The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 33The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 34The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 35Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 36In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 37Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 38County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 39University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 40Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 41Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 42The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 43The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 44Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 45University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 46Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 47A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 48The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 49Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 50A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 51University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 521884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 53Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 54The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 55Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 56In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 571884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 58In 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 59Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 60Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 61The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 62Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 63The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 64A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)

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Credit: User:UpstateNYer

The Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge with lightning

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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.