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 more than 1.1 million residents as of 2024. The state's population, however, has continually recorded growth in every decennial census since 1790, and it 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, found on its welcome sign, 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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Gina Marie Raimondo (/rəˈmɒndoʊ/; born May 17, 1971) is an American businesswoman, lawyer, politician, and venture capitalist who served from 2021 to 2025 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 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?
... that a Rhode Island TV station started out by re-running an inventory of 50 hours of cartoons and 14 old movies?
... that Northup Avenue Yard in Providence, Rhode Island, was described as "the finest in the New Haven system"?

Quotes related to Rhode Island

Political corruption is to Rhode Islanders as smog is to people who live in Los Angeles: nobody complains of its absence, but when it rolls around everyone feels right at home.

— Philip Gourevitch

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Credit: Kyle Anderson

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Providence. It is known as a New England summer resort and famous for the Newport Mansions; it is also the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport, which houses the United States Naval War College, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and a major United States Navy training center.

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

Image 1Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 2Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 3The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 4University Hall at Brown University is one of the oldest academic buildings in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 5Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 6A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 7Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 8The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 9Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 10Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 11County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 12University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 13The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (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 15Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 16The United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 17The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 18A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 19Rhode Island population density map (from Rhode Island)
Image 20Interior of The Breakers, a Newport symbol of the Gilded Age (from Rhode Island)
Image 21The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 22The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 23The Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium (from Rhode Island)
Image 24The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside
Image 25In 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 26Many Rhode Islanders visit Washington County for its beaches (from Rhode Island)
Image 27Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 28Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 29The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (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 United States Naval Academy was moved to Fort Adams in Newport during the Civil War. (from Rhode Island)
Image 32University of Rhode Island's Meade Stadium in Kingston (from Rhode Island)
Image 33The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 34Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 35Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads (from Rhode Island)
Image 36A nine-pence banknote issued by Rhode Island in 1786 (from Rhode Island)
Image 37County results of the 2020 Presidential election. Joe Biden (D) won every county. (from Rhode Island)
Image 38The Towers are a Narragansett landmark. (from Rhode Island)
Image 391884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 40Trustom Pond, a lagoon in South Kingstown (from Rhode Island)
Image 41Providence Revolutionaries burned HMS Gaspee in Warwick in protest of British customs laws. (from Rhode Island)
Image 42Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 43The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge (foreground) and Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (background)
Image 44Rocky shoreline in Newport (from Rhode Island)
Image 45Touro Synagogue in Newport is the oldest existing synagogue building in the United States. (from Rhode Island)
Image 46Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge (from Rhode Island)
Image 47The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority operates a statewide system of bus transport. (from Rhode Island)
Image 48In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (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 50Köppen climate types of Rhode Island, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Rhode Island)
Image 51A southbound Northeast Regional train at Kingston Station (from Rhode Island)
Image 52In 1680, Newport was the third largest Anglo-American city. It remained a prosperous population center until the 1770s. (from Rhode Island)
Image 53Topographic map of Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 54Downtown Providence in 2008 (from Rhode Island)
Image 55The Block Island Wind Farm is the first commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. (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 58Ethnic origins in Rhode Island (from Rhode Island)
Image 59In 1636, Roger Williams and his followers founded the settlement of Providence Plantations. (from Rhode Island)
Image 60Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 61The Rhode Island State House in Providence boasts the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. (from Rhode Island)
Image 62Slater Mill in Pawtucket is cited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Image 631884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays (from Rhode Island)
Image 64The East Bay Bike Path in Riverside

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Easton Beach in Newport, Rhode Island

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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.