Portal:Rhode Island

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Recognized content - show another

Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

The First Ward Wardroom is a historic meeting hall at 171 Fountain Street in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It is a single-story red brick building, with a low-pitch gable-over-hipped roof. Basically rectangular, an enclosed entry pavilion projects from the main block. The building, designed by William R. Walker & Son and built in 1886, is one of only three ward halls (structures built by the city and used as polling places and meeting halls) to survive in the state. Since about 1920 it has been the Major Walter G. Gatchell Post No. 306 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. (Full article...)

List of recognized articles

Selected article - show another

Official portrait, 2017

John Francis Reed GOIH (born November 12, 1949) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Rhode Island, a seat he was first elected to in 1996. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district from 1991 to 1997. Reed graduated from the United States Military Academy and Harvard University, serving in the U.S. Army as an active officer from 1971 to 1979. He is the dean of Rhode Island's congressional delegation. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know?

... that James Diossa rescued the only public library and post office in Central Falls, Rhode Island, when the city went into bankruptcy?
... that Northup Avenue Yard in Providence, Rhode Island, was described as "the finest in the New Haven system"?
... 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

Texas could wear Rhode Island as a watch fob.

— Pat Neff

More selected quotes

Related portals

edit

Selected picture

Credit: Juliancolton

The Rose Island Light (built 1870) is located on Rose Island in Narragansett Bay in Newport, Rhode Island in the United States. The Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation preserves, maintains, and operates the lighthouse.

More selected pictures

General images

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

Image 1The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 2Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 3Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 4Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 5A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 61884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 7The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 8Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 9County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 10Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 11University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 12The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 13Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 14Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 15Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 16The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 17Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 18In 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 19The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 20The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 21Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 22Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 23The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 24Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 25University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 26The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 27Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 28Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 29The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 30The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 31Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 32A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 33Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 34County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 35The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 36Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 37In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 38Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 39Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 40Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 41A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 42The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 43In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 44The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 45University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 46The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 47The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 48Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 49In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 50Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 51In 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 52The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 53University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 54The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 55Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 56A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 57Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 58Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 59Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 601884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 61In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 62The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 63Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 64Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)

Topics

Selected panorama

Credit: User:Chensiyuan

View from the Newport Cliff Walk

More selected panoramas

Quality content

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.