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 monument in 2012

Collyer Monument is an historic monument to firefighters in Mineral Spring Park, at the corner of Mineral Spring Avenue and Main Street, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States. The monument was built in 1890 by the sculptor Charles Parker Dowler to honor Samuel Smith Collyer, a fallen Pawtucket Fire Chief. The life-size bronze sculpture stands atop a pedestal of Westerly granite, which has a bronze plaque depicting the fatal accident while the reverse bears an inscription. The memorial represents a significant example of monumental work of the period and an early example of local civic pride. The monument was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. (Full article...)

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Official portrait, 2021

Gina Marie Raimondo (/rəˈmɒndoʊ/; born May 17, 1971) is an American businesswoman, lawyer, politician, and venture capitalist who has served since 2021 as the 40th United States secretary of commerce. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 75th governor of Rhode Island from 2015 to 2021, and was the first woman to serve in the role.

Born and raised in Rhode Island, Raimondo began her career in venture capital after law school. In 2000, she co-founded Point Judith Capital, Rhode Island's first venture capital firm. Raimondo entered politics in 2010, when she was elected general treasurer of Rhode Island. During her first year in office, she prioritized reforming Rhode Island's public employee pension system. (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 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?
... that three decades after chasing away surveyors for a previous railroad with guns, residents of Wickford, Rhode Island, built their own railroad?

Quotes related to Rhode Island

To me Newport could never be a place charming by reason of its own charm. That it is a very pleasant place when it is full of people, and the people are in spirits and happy, I do not doubt. But then the visitors would bring, as far as I am concerned, the pleasantness with them.

— Anthony Trollope

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Credit: User:Daniel Case

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.

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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 21884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 3Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 4Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 5The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 6County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 7The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 8Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 9Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 10Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 11The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 12Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 13Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 14In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 15Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 16In 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 17Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 18A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 19A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 20Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 21A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 22Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 23The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 24Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 25The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 26Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 27University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 28In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 29Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 30Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 31The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 32Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 33The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 34University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 35The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 36The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 37County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 38Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 39In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 40The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 41The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 42Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 431884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 44The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 45Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 46The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 47In 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 48Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 49Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 50The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 51University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 52A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 53Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 54Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 55The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 56The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 57The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 58Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 59University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 60Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 61Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 62Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 63In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 64Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)

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Credit: User:Meegs

A baseball game at McCoy Stadium, Pawtucket, May 7, 2002.

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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.