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- Rhode Island is the smallest state in size in the United
States. It covers an area of 1,214 square miles. Its
distances North to South are 48 miles and East to West 37
miles.
- Rhode Island was the last of the original thirteen
colonies to become a state.
- Rhode Island shares a state water border with New York.
- The Cogswell Tower in Central Falls was the site of an
Indian observation point in use during King Phillips War in
1676. The tower was built in 1904 as part of the last will
and testament of Caroline Cogswell.
- Rhode Island never ratified the 18th Amendment
prohibition.
- Judge Darius Baker imposed the first jail sentence for
speeding in an automobile on August 28, 1904 in Newport.
- Polo was played for the first time in the United States
in 1876 near Newport.
- Rhode Island was home to the first National Lawn Tennis
Championship in 1899.
- St. Mary's, Rhode Island's oldest Roman Catholic parish
was founded in 1828. The church is best known as the site of
the wedding of Jacqueline Bouvier to John Fitzgerald Kennedy
in 1953.
- The state was home to the first open golf tournament.
The event occurred in 1895.
- Rhode Island has no county government. It is divided
into 39 municipalities each having its own form of local
government.
- The Flying Horse Carousel is the nation’s oldest
carousel. It is located in the resort town of Watch Hill.
- The first circus in the United States was in Newport in
1774.
- Ann and Hope was the first discount department store in
the United States the property was opened in Rhode Island.
- Rhode Island is home to the Tennis Hall of Fame.
- Rhode Island's official state name is Rhode Island and
Providence Plantations.
- George M. Cohan was born in Providence in 1878. He
wrote, "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy," "You're a Grand Old
Flag," and a wide variety of other musical entertainment.
- Rhode Island is known for making silverware and fine
jewelry.
- The world's largest bug is on the roof of New England
Pest Control in Providence. It's a big blue termite, 58 feet
long and 928 times actual termite size.
- At the Point Judith corrosion test site material samples
sit exposed for years and are analyzed to determine the toll
taken by ocean air and the sun.
- Rhode Islanders were the first to take military action
against England by sinking one of her ships in the
Narragansett Bay located between Newport and Providence. The
English ship was called "The Gaspee".
- Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, established the
first practical working model of Democracy after he was
banished from Plymouth, Massachusetts because of his
"extreme views" concerning freedom of speech and religion.
- Thomas Jefferson and John Adams publicly acknowledged
Roger Williams, as the originator of the concepts and
principles reflected in The First Amendment. Among those
principles were freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and
freedom of public assembly.
- The era know as The Industrial Revolution started in
Rhode Island with the development and construction in 1790
of Samuel Slater's water-powered cotton mill in Pawtucket.
- The first British troops sent from England to squash the
revolution landed in Newport.
- Though second in command to George Washington, Nathaniel
Greene, a Rhode Islander, is acknowledged by many historians
as having been the most capable and significant General of
the Revolutionary effort. Cornwallis feared Greene and his
forces most. Greene ultimately defeated Cornwallis.
- Standing 11 feet tall and 278 feet above ground the
Independent Man is a gold-covered, bronze statue placed atop
the State House on December 18, 1899.
- A reproduction of the original Liberty Bell is in the
entrance hall on the south entrance to the State House. It
was donated to the people of the state by the United States
Treasury Department in 1950, when Harry S. Truman was
president. It is about 3-1/2 feet tall and the diameter of
the bell at its widest part is approximately 3-1/2 feet. It
is such a realistic copy that is even has a crack similar to
the original Liberty Bell.
- At Little Compton is home to the gravesite of the first
girl born to colonists in New England. The baby was the
daughter of pilgrims John and Priscilla Alden.
- Warwick enjoys a reputation of being Rhode Island’s
Retail Capital.
- Built in 1880 Channing Memorial Church was named for
William Ellery Channing, a leader in the Unitarian Church
and the abolitionist movement. Julia Ward Howe, author of
the "Battle Hymn of the Republic", attended this church.
- The White Horse Tavern was built in 1673 and is the
oldest operating tavern in the United States.
- Rhode Island Red Monument in Adamsville pays homage to
the world-famous poultry breed.
- Rhode Island founder Roger Williams established the
First Baptist Church in America in 1638. The existing
structure was built in 1775
- Settled in 1642 Pawtuxet Village in Warwick lays claim
to being New England’s oldest village.
- The Redwood Library and Athenaeum in Newport is the
United States' oldest library building.
- The Crescent Park Carousel in East Providence is the
official state symbol of folk art.
- New England's oldest Masonic Temple in Warren was built
in the 18th century with timbers from British frigates sunk
in Newport Harbor during the Revolutionary War.
- Nine Men's Misery monument in Cumberland is the oldest
known monument to veterans in the United States. It was
erected in memory of the colonists killed in Pierce's Fight
during King Phillips War in 1676.
- Portsmouth is home to the oldest schoolhouse in the
United States. The school was built in 1716.
- Since 1785 Bristol has the longest running, unbroken
series of 4th of July Independence Day observances in the
country.
- The Touro Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in North
America. Built in 1763 the synagogue houses the oldest torah
in North America.
- Swamp Meadow Covered Bridge in Foster is the only
remaining covered bridge in Rhode Island.
- The first Afro-American regiment to fight for America
made a gallant stand against the British in the Battle of
Rhode Island.
- The first torpedo boat "Stiletto" was built in Bristol
in 1887.
- Pelham Street in Newport was the first street in the
country to use gas-illuminated streetlights.
- Cumberlandite is the official state rock. It is dark
brown or black with white markings and found on both sides
of Narragansett Bay but not north of Cumberland.
- The Quonset hut was invented at Quonset Point a key
naval reserve base.
- Jerimoth Hill is the state's highest point at 812 feet
above sea level.
Thanks to: David C.
Weiler, Luc Beaufort, Jaisley30, Mjc02865
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