Portal:Rhode Island

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The Rhode Island Portal

Rhode Island (/ˌroʊd-/ ^ⓘ, pronounced "road") 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 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". On November 3, 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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Stuart in a c. 1825 portrait by Sarah Goodridge

Gilbert Stuart (né Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter born in the Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washington, begun in 1796, which is usually referred to as the Athenaeum Portrait. Stuart retained the original and used it to paint scores of copies that were commissioned by patrons in America and abroad. The image of George Washington featured in the painting has appeared on the United States one-dollar bill for more than a century and on various postage stamps of the 19th century and early 20th century.

Stuart produced portraits of about 1,000 people, including the first six Presidents. His work can be found today at art museums throughout the United States and the United Kingdom, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Frick Collection in New York City, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, the National Portrait Gallery in London, Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. (Full article...)

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The Westminster Arcade (also known as the Providence Arcade, Arcade Providence, or The Arcade) is an historic shopping center at 130 Westminster Street and 65 Weybosset Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island erected in 1828. It is notable as the first enclosed shopping mall in the United States and has been lauded as a fine example of commercial Greek Revival architecture. It served as a shopping center for many years before falling into decline in the late 20th century. It has since been closed for renovation and rehabilitation several times, and most recently reopened its doors in October 2013 as a residential and commercial mixed-use building. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976. (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 a Rhode Island TV station broadcast for 14 months and then was off the air for 26 years before returning?
... 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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Well, the last chunk of ice that broke off was about the size of the state of Rhode Island. Some people might call that pretty sensational.

— The Day After Tomorrow

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Credit: User:Juliancolton

Ninigret Pond is a coastal lagoon in Charlestown, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, located at 41°22′45″N 71°38′43″W / 41.3792677°N 71.6453401°W / 41.3792677; -71.6453401. It is the largest of nine such lagoons (often referred to as "salt ponds") in southern Rhode Island.

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

Image 1Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 2The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 3Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 4The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 5University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 6Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 7The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 8In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 9The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 10Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 111884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 12University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 13Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 14Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 15Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (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)
Image 17Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 18University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 19A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 20The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 21The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 22Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 23The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 24Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 25Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 26Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 27In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 28County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 29Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 30The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 31Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 32The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 33Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 34The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 35The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 36Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 37In 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 38Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 39The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 40Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 41The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 42A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 431884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 44Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 45University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 46A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 47Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 48The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 49Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 50Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 51The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 52Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 53The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 54A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 55County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 56Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 57Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 58Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 59In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 60The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 61The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 62Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 63In 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 64Topographic map of Rhode Island (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.