Rhode Island

Rhode Island, officially the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States. Rhode Island is the smallest in area, the eighth least populous, and the second most densely populated, following New Jersey, of the 50 U.S. states. Its official name is also the longest of any state in the Union. Rhode Island is bordered by Connecticut to the west, Massachusetts to the north and east, and the Atlantic Ocean (via Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound) to the south.

On May 4, 1776, Rhode Island became the first of the Thirteen Colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown, and on February 9, 1778 was the fourth to ratify the Articles of Confederation among the newly sovereign states. It boycotted the 1787 convention that drew up the United States Constitution, and initially refused to ratify it. On May 29, 1790, Rhode Island became the thirteenth and last state to ratify the Constitution.

Rhode Island’s official nickname is “The Ocean State”, a reference to the fact that the state has several large bays and inlets that amount to about 14% of its total area. Rhode Island covers 1,241 square miles (3,210 km²), of which 1,045 square miles (2,710 km²) are land.

Geography

Further information: List of counties in Rhode Island

Terrain Map of Rhode Island

Rhode Island covers an area of 1,214 square miles (3,140 km²) located within the New England Region, and is bordered on the north and east by Massachusetts, on the west by Connecticut, and on the south by Rhode Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. It shares a narrow maritime border with New York State between Block Island and Long Island. The mean elevation of the state is 200 feet (61 m). It is only 37 miles (60 km) wide and 48 miles (77 km) long, yet the state has a tidal shoreline on Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic Ocean of 384 miles (618 km).

Rhode Island is nicknamed the Ocean State and has a number of oceanfront beaches. It is mostly flat with no real mountains, and the state’s highest natural point is Jerimoth Hill, 812 feet (247 m) above sea level.

Rhode Island has two distinct natural regions. Eastern Rhode Island contains the lowlands of the Narragansett Bay, while Western Rhode Island forms part of the New England Upland. Rhode Island’s forests are part of the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion.

Narragansett Bay is a major feature of the state’s topography. There are more than 30 islands within the bay. The largest is Aquidneck Island, shared by the municipalities of Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth. The second-largest island is Conanicut; the third-largest is Prudence. Block Island lies about 12 miles (19 km) off the southern coast of the mainland and separates Block Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean proper.

Map of Rhode Island, showing major cities and roads

Shoreline in Newport, Rhode Island

Ninigret Pond National Wildlife Refuge, Rhode Island

Geology

Main article: Geology of New England

A rare type of rock called Cumberlandite is found only in Rhode Island (specifically in the town of Cumberland) and is the state rock. There were initially two known deposits of the mineral, but since it is an ore of iron, one of the deposits was extensively mined for its ferrous content. The state is underlain by the Avalon terrane and was once part of the micro-continent Avalonia before the Iapetus ocean closed.

Climate

The Blackstone River Greenway in autumn, approximately one mile south of the Martin St. Bridge

Rhode Island is on the borderline between humid subtropical and humid continental climates with warm, rainy summers and chilly winters. The highest temperature recorded in Rhode Island was 104 °F (40 °C), recorded on August 2, 1975 in Providence. The lowest recorded temperature in Rhode Island was −23 °F (−31 °C) on February 5, 1996 in Greene. Monthly average temperatures range from a high of 83 °F (28 °C) to a low of 20 °F (−7 °C).

Cities and Towns

Main article: List of municipalities in Rhode Island

A historic side street in Newport

Rhode Island is divided into five counties, but along with Connecticut and to a partial extent the rest of New England, it has no county governments. The entire state is divided into municipalities, which handle all local government affairs.

There are 39 cities and towns in Rhode Island. Major population centers today result from historical factors—with the advent of the water-powered mill development took place predominantly along the Blackstone, Seekonk, and Providence Rivers. Providence is the base of a large metropolitan area.

Ranked by population, the state’s 15 largest municipalities are:

Providence (178,042)
Warwick (82,672)
Cranston (80,387)
Pawtucket (71,148)
East Providence (47,034)
Woonsocket (40,186)
Coventry (36,014)
Cumberland (32,506)
North Providence (32,078)
South Kingstown (30,639)
West Warwick (29,191)
Johnston (28,768)
North Kingstown (26,486)
Newport (24,672)
Bristol (22,954)

In common with many other New England states, some of Rhode Island’s cities and towns are further partitioned into villages. Notable villages include Kingston, in the town of South Kingstown, which houses the University of Rhode Island, Wickford, in the town of North Kingstown, the site of an annual international art festival, and Wakefield, where the Town Hall of the Town of South Kingstown is located.

Transportation

Further information: Rhode Island Department of Transportation

Bus

A RIPTA bus at Kennedy Plaza

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) operates statewide intra- and intercity bus transport from its hubs at Kennedy Plaza in Providence, Pawtucket, and Newport. RIPTA bus routes serve 38 of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns. (New Shoreham on Block Island is not served). RIPTA currently operates 58 routes, including daytime trolley service (using trolley-style replica buses) in Providence and Newport.

Ferry

From 2000 through 2008, RIPTA offered seasonal ferry service linking Providence and Newport (already connected by highway) funded by grant money from the United States Department of Transportation. Though the service was popular with residents and tourists, RIPTA was unable to continue on after the federal funding ended. Service was discontinued as of 2010^[update]. The privately run Block Island Ferry links Block Island with Newport and Narragansett with traditional and fast-ferry service, while the Prudence Island Ferry^[113] connects Bristol with Prudence Island. Private ferry services also link several Rhode Island communities with ports in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. The Vineyard Fast Ferry offers seasonal service to Martha’s Vineyard from Quonset Point with bus and train connections to Providence, Boston, and New York. Viking Fleet offers seasonal service from Block Island to New London, Connecticut, and Montauk, New York.

Rail

The MBTA Commuter Rail’s Providence/Stoughton Line links Providence and T.F. Green Airport with Boston. The line was later extended southward to Wickford Junction, with service beginning April 23, 2012. The state hopes to extend the MBTA line to Kingston and Westerly. as well as explore the possibility of extending Connecticut’s Shore Line East to T.F. Green Airport. Amtrak’s Acela Express stops at Providence Station (the only Acela stop in Rhode Island), linking Providence to other cities in the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak’s Northeast Regional service makes stops at Providence Station, Kingston, and Westerly.

Aviation

Rhode Island’s primary airport for passenger and cargo transport is T. F. Green Airport in Warwick, though Rhode Islanders who wish to travel internationally on direct flights or who seek a greater availability of flights and destinations often fly through Logan International Airport in Boston.

Limited Access Highways

Interstate 95 runs southwest to northeast across the state, linking Rhode Island with other states along the East Coast. Interstate 295 functions as a partial beltway encircling Providence to the west. Interstate 195 provides a limited-access highway connection from Providence (and Connecticut and New York via I-95) to Cape Cod. Initially built as the easternmost link in the (now cancelled) extension of Interstate 84 from Hartford, Connecticut, a portion of U.S. Route 6 through northern Rhode Island is limited-access and links I-295 with downtown Providence.

Several Rhode Island highways extend the state’s limited-access highway network. RI-4 is a major north-south freeway linking Providence and Warwick (via I-95) with suburban and beach communities along Narragansett Bay. RI-10 is an urban connector linking downtown Providence with Cranston and Johnston. RI-37 is an important east-west freeway through Cranston and Warwick and links I-95 with I-295. RI-99 links Woonsocket with Providence (via RI-146). RI-146 travels through the Blackstone Valley, linking Providence and I-95 with Worcester, Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Turnpike. RI-403 links RI-4 with Quonset Point.

The Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge

Several bridges cross Narragansett Bay connecting Aquidneck Island and Conanicut Island to the mainland, most notably the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge and the Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge.

Bicycle Paths

The East Bay Bike Path stretches from Providence to Bristol along the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, while the Blackstone River Bikeway will eventually link Providence and Worcester. In 2011, Rhode Island completed work on a marked on-road bicycle path through Pawtucket and Providence, connecting the East Bay Bike Path with the Blackstone River Bikeway, completing a 33.5 miles (53.9 km) bicycle route through the eastern side of the state. The William C. O’Neill Bike Path (commonly known as the South County Bike Path) is a 6-mile path through South Kingstown and Narragansett. The 14-mile Washington Secondary Bike Path stretches from Cranston to Coventry, and the 2-mile Ten Mile River Greenway path runs through East Providence and Pawtucket.

Landmarks

Rhode Island State House

The Breakers mansion

The state capitol building is made of white Georgian marble. On top is the world’s fourth largest self-supported marble dome. It houses the Rhode Island Charter granted by King Charles II in 1663, the Brown University charter, and other state treasures.

The First Baptist Church of Providence is the oldest Baptist church in the Americas, founded by Roger Williams in 1638.

The first fully automated post office in the country is located in Providence. There are many historic mansions in the seaside city of Newport, including The Breakers, Marble House, and Belcourt Castle. Also located there is the Touro Synagogue, dedicated on December 2, 1763, considered by locals to be the first synagogue within the United States (see below for information on New York City’s claim), and still serving. The synagogue showcases the religious freedoms that were established by Roger Williams, as well as impressive architecture in a mix of the classic colonial and Sephardic style. The Newport Casino is a National Historic Landmark building complex that presently houses the International Tennis Hall of Fame and features an active grass-court tennis club.

Scenic Route 1A (known locally as Ocean Road) is in Narragansett. “The Towers” is also located in Narragansett featuring a large stone arch. It was once the entrance to a famous Narragansett casino that burned down in 1900. The Towers now serve as an event venue and host the local Chamber of Commerce, which operates a tourist information center. Rhode Island also has three of the nation’s tallest bridges.^]

The Newport Tower has been hypothesized to be of Viking origin, although most experts believe that it was a Colonial-era windmill.

POPULAR CULTURE

Main article: Rhode Island in popular culture

Some Rhode Islanders have second “summer homes” by the coast.

The Farrelly brothers and Seth MacFarlane depict Rhode Island in popular culture, often making comedic parodies of the state. MacFarlane’s television series Family Guy is based in a fictional Rhode Island city named Quahog, and notable local events and celebrities are regularly lampooned. Peter is seen working at the Pawtucket brewery, and other state locations are mentioned.

The movie High Society (starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra) was set in Newport, Rhode Island.

The film adaptation of The Great Gatsby from 1974 was also filmed in Newport.

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis and John F. Kennedy were married at St. Mary’s church in Newport, RI. Their reception was held at Hammersmith Farm, the Bouvier summer home in Newport.

Cartoonist Don Bousquet, a state icon, has made a career out of Rhode Island culture, drawing Rhode Island-themed gags in The Providence Journal and Yankee magazine. These cartoons have been reprinted in the Quahog series of paperbacks (I Brake for Quahogs, Beware of the Quahog, and The Quahog Walks Among Us.) Bousquet has also collaborated with humorist and Providence Journal columnist Mark Patinkin on two books: The Rhode Island Dictionary and The Rhode Island Handbook.

The 1998 film Meet Joe Black was filmed at Aldrich Mansion in the Warwick Neck area of Warwick, RI.

Body of Proof’s first season was filmed entirely in Rhode Island. The show premiered on March 29, 2011.

The 2007 Steve Carell and Dane Cook film Dan in Real Life was filmed in various coastal towns in the state. The sunset scene with the entire family on the beach takes place at Napatree Point.

Jersey Shore star Pauly D filmed part of his spin-off The Pauly D Project in his hometown of Johnston.

CULTURE

Local Accent

Beavertail State Park

Redwood Library and Athenaeum

Some Rhode Islanders speak with the distinctive, non-rhotic, traditional Rhode Island accent that many compare to a cross between the New York City and Boston accents (e.g., “water” sounds like “watuh”). Many Rhode Islanders distinguish a strong aw sound [ɔə] (i.e., do not exhibit the cot–caught merger) as one might hear in New Jersey or New York City; for example, the word coffee is pronounced [ˈkʰɔəfi] KAW-fee. This type of accent was brought to the region by early settlers from eastern England in the Puritan migration to New England in the mid-17th century.

Rhode Islanders refer to a drinking fountain as a “bubbler” (sometimes pronounced “bubahluh”) and sometimes call milkshakes “cabinets”. A foot-long, overstuffed sandwich (of whatever kind) is called a “grinder.”

Miscellaneous Local Culture

Rhode Island is nicknamed “The Ocean State”, and the nautical nature of Rhode Island’s geography pervades its culture. Newport Harbor, in particular, holds many pleasure boats. In the lobby of T. F. Green, the state’s main airport, is a large life-sized sailboat, and the state’s license plates depict an ocean wave or a sailboat.

Additionally, the large number of beaches in Washington County lures many Rhode Islanders south for summer vacation.

The state was notorious for organized crime activity from the 1950s into the 1990s when the Patriarca crime family held sway over most of New England from its Providence headquarters.

Rhode Islanders developed a unique style of architecture in the 17th century called the stone-ender.

Rhode Island is the only state to still celebrate Victory over Japan Day. It is known locally as “VJ Day” or simply “Victory Day”.

Food and Beverages

Several foods and dishes are unique to Rhode Island and some are hard to find outside of the state. Hot wieners are sometimes called gaggers, weinies, or New York System wieners, and they are smaller than a standard hot dog, served covered in a meat sauce, chopped onions, mustard, and celery salt. Famous to Rhode Island is Snail Salad, which is served at numerous restaurants throughout the state. The dish is normally prepared “family style” with over five pounds of snails mixed in with other ingredients commonly found in seafood dishes. Grinders are submarine sandwiches, with a popular version being the Italian grinder, which is made with cold cuts (usually ham, prosciutto, capicola, salami, and Provolone cheese). Linguiça or chouriço (a spicy Portuguese sausage) and peppers is also popular among the state’s large Portuguese community, eaten with hearty bread (though this is also popular in other areas of New England).

Pizza strips are prepared in Italian bakeries and sold in most supermarkets and convenience stores. They are rectangular strips of pizza without cheese. Their rich flavor comes solely from a dense, zesty tomato paste baked on a half-inch thick pan pizza crust, and may be enjoyed warm or cold. Party pizza is a box of these pizza strips. Spinach pies are similar to a calzone but filled with seasoned spinach instead of meat, sauce, and cheese. Variations can include black olives or pepperoni with the spinach.

As in colonial times, johnnycakes are made with corn meal and water, then pan-fried much like pancakes. During fairs and carnivals, Rhode Islanders enjoy dough boys, plate-sized disks of fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar (or pizza sauce). Zeppoles are Italian doughnut-like pastries traditionally eaten on Saint Joseph’s Day, often made with exposed centers of vanilla pudding, cream filling, or ricotta cream, and sometimes topped with a cherry.

Waterplace Park in Providence

As in many coastal states, seafood is readily available. Shellfish is extremely popular, with clams being used in multiple ways. The quahog is a large local clam usually used in a chowder. (The word quahog comes from the Narragansett Indian word “poquauhock”; see A Key into the Language of America by Roger Williams 1643.) It is also ground and mixed with stuffing (and sometimes spicy minced sausage) and then baked in its shell to form a stuffie. Steamed clams are also a very popular dish. Calamari (squid) is sliced into rings and fried and is served as an appetizer in most Italian restaurants, typically Sicilian-style (i.e., tossed with sliced banana peppers and with marinara sauce on the side).

Rhode Island, like the rest of New England, has a tradition of clam chowder. Both the white New England variety and the red Manhattan variety are popular, but there is also a unique clear-broth chowder known as Rhode Island Clam Chowder available in many restaurants. According to Good Eats, the addition of tomatoes in place of milk was initially the work of Portuguese immigrants in Rhode Island, as tomato-based stews were already a traditional part of Portuguese cuisine, and milk was costlier than tomatoes. Scornful New Englanders called this modified version “Manhattan-style” clam chowder because, in their view, calling someone a New Yorker was an insult.

A culinary tradition in Rhode Island is the clam cake (also known as a clam fritter outside of Rhode Island), a deep fried ball of buttery dough with chopped bits of clam inside. They are sold by the half-dozen or dozen in most seafood restaurants around the state. The quintessential summer meal in Rhode Island is chowder and clam cakes.

Clams Casino originated in Rhode Island after being invented by Julius Keller, the maitre d’ in the original Casino next to the seaside Towers in Narragansett. Clams Casino resemble the beloved stuffed quahog but are generally made with the smaller littleneck or cherrystone clam and are unique in their use of bacon as a topping.

According to a Providence Journal article, the state features both the highest number and highest density of coffee/doughnut shops per capita in the country, with 342 coffee/doughnut shops in the state. At one point, Dunkin’ Donuts alone had over 225 locations; as of December 2013, there are still more than 175 Dunkin’ Donuts shops within the state.

The official state drink of Rhode Island is coffee milk, a beverage created by mixing milk with coffee syrup. This unique syrup was invented in the state and is sold in almost all Rhode Island supermarkets, as well as border states. Coffee milk contains some caffeine, yet it is sold in school cafeterias throughout the state. Strawberry milk is also as popular as chocolate milk.

SPORTS

McCoy Stadium where the Pawtucket Red Sox play baseball

Bryant University’s Bulldogs Stadium

University of Rhode Island’s Meade Stadium and Ryan Center

1884 Baseball Champion Providence Grays

Professional

Rhode Island has two professional sports teams, both of which are top-level minor league affiliates for teams in Boston. The Pawtucket Red Sox baseball team of the Triple-A International League are an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. They play at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket and have won four league titles, the Governors’ Cup, in 1973, 1984, 2012, and 2014. McCoy Stadium also has the distinction of being home to the longest professional baseball game ever played – 33 innings.

The other professional minor league team is the Providence Bruins ice hockey team of the American Hockey League, who are an affiliate of the Boston Bruins. They play in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence and won the AHL’s Calder Cup during the 1998–99 AHL season.

The Providence Reds were a hockey team that played in the Canadian-American Hockey League (CAHL) between 1926 and 1936 and the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1936 to 1977, the last season of which they played as the Rhode Island Reds. The team won the Calder Cup in 1938, 1940, 1949, and 1956. The Reds played at the Rhode Island Auditorium, located on North Main Street in Providence, Rhode Island from 1926 through 1972, when the team affiliated with the New York Rangers and moved into the newly built Providence Civic Center. The team name came from the rooster known as the Rhode Island Red. They moved to New York in 1977 and, after multiple name changes, are now called the Hartford Wolf Pack.

The Reds are the oldest continuously operating minor-league hockey franchise in North America, having fielded a team in one form or another since 1926 in the CAHL. It is also the only AHL franchise to have never missed a season. The AHL returned to Providence in 1992 in the form of the Providence Bruins.

Before the great expansion of athletic teams all over the country, Providence and Rhode Island in general played a great role in supporting teams. The Providence Grays won the first World Championship in baseball history in 1884. The team played their home games at the old Messer Street Field in Providence. The Grays played in the National League from 1878 to 1885. They defeated the New York Metropolitans of the American Association in a best of five game series at the Polo Grounds in New York. Providence won three straight games to become the first champions in major league baseball history. Babe Ruth played for the minor league Providence Grays of 1914 and hit his only official minor league home run for that team before being recalled by the Grays’ parent club, the Boston Red Stockings.

The now-defunct professional football team the Providence Steam Roller won the 1928 NFL title. They played in a 10,000 person stadium called the Cycledrome. The Providence Steamrollers played in the Basketball Association of America which became the National Basketball Association.

Rhode Island is home to one top level non-minor league team, the Rhode Island Rebellion rugby league team, a Semi-Professional Rugby League team that competes in the USA Rugby League, the Top Competition in the United States for the Sport of Rugby League. The Rebellion play their home games at Classical High School in Providence.