Newport, Rhode Island
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Newport, Rhode Island |
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| Nickname: "City by the Sea, Queen of Summer Resorts , America's Society Capital" | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | Rhode Island |
| County | Newport |
| Mayor | John J. Trifero |
| Area | |
| - City | 11.5 sq. miles / 29.7 km² |
| - Land | 7.9 sq. miles / 20.6 km² |
| - Water | 3.5 sq. miles / 9.2 km² |
| Population | |
| - City (2000) | 26,475 |
| - Density | 3,336.3/km² |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Website: http://www.cityofnewport.com | |
Newport is a city in Newport County, Rhode Island, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Providence. It is the home of the United States Naval War College, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and a major United States Navy training center.
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[edit] History
Newport was founded in 1639 by William Coddington, John Clarke, and others, who left Portsmouth, Rhode Island after a political fallout with Anne Hutchinson and her followers. Newport soon grew to become the most important port in colonial Rhode Island. A public school was established in 1640. In the mid 1600's, a group of Jews fleeing the inquisition in Spain and Portugal were allowed to settle in Newport. The Newport congregation is the second oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. At the same time, a large number of Quakers settled in Newport. The evidence of this population can be seen today in the fact that many streets are named after trees. The Quaker meetinghouse in Newport (1699) is the oldest house of worship in Rhode Island. At the same time, a large population of Baptists settled in Newport. In 1727, James Franklin (brother of Benjamin) was printing in Newport; in 1732, he published the first newspaper, the Rhode Island Gazette. In 1758, his son James founded the Mercury, a weekly paper. Throughout the 18th century the famous Goddard and Townsend furniture was made in Newport.
Newport was also a major center of pirate activity during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. So many pirates used Newport as their base of operations that the London Board of Trade made an official complaint to the English government. The most famous pirate who made Newport his base was Thomas Tew. Tew was very popular with the locals, after one of his pirating voyages, it was reported that almost the whole town came out to greet him.
In the 1720, colonial leaders, acting under pressure from the English government, arrested many pirates. Many were hung in Newport and were buried on Goat Island.
During the colonial period, Newport was the center of the slave trade in New England. Many of the great fortunes made during this period were made in the slave trade. The Old Brick Market in Newport was the scene of many slave auctions. The Common Burial Ground on Fairwell Street was where most of the slaves were buried.
During the American Revolution, Newport was the scene of much activity. One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, William Ellery, came from Newport. He later served on the Naval Committee. In the fall of 1776, the British, seeing that Newport could be used as a naval base to attack New York (which they had recently occupied) took over the city. Because most of the population was pro independence, the British allowed them to leave. The city was repopulated with loyalists and British soldiers. For the next three years, the whole of the Narragansett Bay area became one large battlefield, with Newport being a British fortress.
In the summer of 1778, the Americans began the campaign known as the Battle of Rhode Island. This was the first joint operation between the Americans and the French after the signing of the treaty of alliance. The Americans based in Tiverton, planned a formal siege of the town. However, the French (wanting a frontal assault) refused to take part in the siege. This weakened the American position and the British were able to expel the Americans from the island. The following year, the British, wanting to concentrate their forces in New York, abandoned Newport.
In 1780, the French under Rochembeau landed in Newport and for the rest of the war Newport was the base of the French forces in the United States. The French soldiers behaved themselves so well that in gratitude, the Rhode Island General Assembly repealed an old law banning Catholics from living in Rhode Island. The first Catholic mass in Rhode Island was said in Newport during this time.
By the time the war ended (1783) Newport's poulation had fallen from over 9,000 (according to the census of 1774) to less than 4,000. Over 200 abandoned buildings were torn down in the 1780's. Also, the war destroyed Newport's economic wealth, as years of military occupation closed the city to any form of trade. The Newport merchants moved away, some to Providence, others to Boston and New York.
It was in Newport in 1791 that the Rhode Island General Assembly, acting under pressure from the merchant community of Providence, voted to ratify the Constitution and become the 13th state.
The city is the site of the last residence of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the birthplace of Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the Reverend William Ellery Channing.
In the mid 19th century, a large number of Irish immigrants settled in Newport. The Fifth Ward of Newport (in the southern part of the city) became a staunch Irish neighborhood for many generations. To this day, St. Patrick's Day is an important day of pride and celebration in Newport, with a large parade going down Thames Street.
The oldest Catholic parish in Rhode Island, St. Mary's is located on Spring Street, though the current building is not the original one.
Until 1900, Newport was one of two capitals of Rhode Island, the other being Providence. The state legislature would alternate its sessions between the two cities. Connecticut was the only other state to have more than one capital at one time.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier were married in St. Mary's Church in Newport on September 12, 1953.[1]
Presidents Kennedy and Eisenhower both made Newport the sites of their "summer White Houses" during their years in office. Eisenhower stayed at Fort Adams, while Kennedy used Hammersmith Farm.
In the 20th century, immigrants from Portugal and the Caribbean began settling in Newport, adding to the rich diversity of the city.
In 1900, 22,204 people lived in Newport, Rhode Island; in 1910, 27,149; in 1920, 30,255; and in 1940, 30,532. The city has long been entwined with the U.S. Navy. Until 1971, it hosted the Cruiser-Destroyer Force of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and subsequently it has from time to time hosted smaller numbers of warships. It held the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy during the Civil War, when the undergraduate officer training school was temporarily moved north from Annapolis, Maryland. It remains home to the U.S. Naval War College and the Naval Education and Training Center (NETC), the center of Surface Warfare Officer training.
[edit] Geography
Newport is located at . It is the largest city on Aquidneck Island in Narragansett Bay. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 29.7 km² (11.5 mi²). 20.6 km² (7.9 mi²) of it is land and 9.2 km² (3.5 mi²) of it (30.86%) is water. The Newport Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in New England, connects Newport to neighboring Conanicut Island across the East Passage of the Narragansett Bay.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 26,475 people, 11,566 households, and 5,644 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,287.4/km² (3,336.3/mi²). There were 13,226 housing units at an average density of 643.1/km² (1,666.7/mi²).
The racial makeup of the city was 84.12% White, 7.75% African American, 0.85% Native American, 1.33% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 2.41% from other races, and 3.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.54% of the population.
There were 11,566 households out of which 22.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.3% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.2% were non-families. 39.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city the population was spread out with 19.6% under the age of 18, 14.6% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,669, and the median income for a family was $54,116. Males had a median income of $37,780 versus $27,492 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,441. About 12.9% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.8% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Culture
Newport has the largest number of colonial homes in the nation. Many of them were restored in the late 20th century through grants made by Doris Duke. Newport is one of the very few places in the nation where one can walk down a street that has been unchanged for over 200 years. One can get a sense of what Boston, New York, and other old east coast cities would had looked like during the Revolutionary period.
Newport is the home of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, where important tennis players are commemorated, as well as a number of mansions dating back to the Gilded Age, including The Breakers, Belcourt Castle, Chateau-sur-Mer, The Elms, Marble House, Rosecliff, and Rough Point. Some of these are open for guided tours. The nearby Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum has a fine collection of trees and plants, including the largest sequoia on the East Coast.
With coastlines on the west, south and east, Newport is a maritime city. Its harbors teem with commercial fishing boats, power and sail pleasure craft. It is known as the sailing capitol of the United States. Many defenses by the New York Yacht Club of the America's Cup yachting prize took place here. Newport Country Club was one of the five founding clubs of the United States Golf Association; it hosted the first U.S. Open and the first US Amateur, both held in 1895. In June 2006, the city hosted the U.S. Women's Open.
Newport is also home to the Newport Tower, Salve Regina University, Hammersmith Farm, Prescott Farm, and the Touro Synagogue, the oldest Jewish house of worship in the United States, as well as Redwood Library and Athenaeum, the nation's oldest lending library.
Newport plays host to a number of festivals during the summer months, including the Newport Jazz Festival, the Sunset Music Festival, the Newport Folk Festival (where Bob Dylan shocked the crowd by playing an electric guitar), the Newport International Film Festival, and the Newport International Boat Show. In the winter the festival area transforms into an outdoor ice skating rink.
[edit] Outdoor Activities
Aquidneck Island is home to many beautiful beaches, most public and a few private. In Newport, the largest public beach, Easton's beach or First Beach, has a view of the famed Cliff Walk. Second Beach, straddling Newport and neighboring Middeltown, is a fantastic beach for waves, with a surfer's beach abutting. Gooseberry Beach, located on Ocean Drive, is a good family beach. There are two private beaches, both highly exclusive in Newport, Bailey's Beach (Spouting Rock Beach Association) and Hazard's Beach, both located on Ocean Drive. It is reported that one must have seven recommendation letters from current members to join Bailey's Beach.
Brenton Point State Park is also an excellent spot for the family, with exquisite vistas, and is home to the annual Brenton Point Kite Festival.
Fort Adams, an historical fort dating back to the War of 1812 houses the Museum of Yachting and hosts the Newport Folk Festival annually. It too has spectacular views of Narragansett Bay, and is a perfect location for family picnics.
Since Newport has a strong maritime heritage, water based recreation is a primary attraction. Options include sailing, sea kayaking, and windsurfing. For many years Newport was home to the series of yacht races for the America's Cup. One can charter 12-Meter yachts that have raced in the America's Cup for a pleasure cruise on Narragansett Bay.
[edit] Schools
- Elementary Schools: Carey School, Coggeshall School, Cranston- Calvert School, Sheffield School. Sullivan School, Underwood School, St Michael's Country Day School, St. Joseph of Cluny Sisters' School.
- Secondary Schools: St. George's School, Thompson Middle School, Rogers High School, Newport Area Career and Technical Center, Aquidneck Island Adult Learning Center.
- Post Secondary Schools: U.S. Naval Academy Prep School, Salve Regina University, Naval War College, International Yacht Restoration School.
[edit] Sister cities
Shimoda, Japan
Kinsale, Ireland
Ponta Delgada, Azores
Imperia, Italy
Skiathos, Greece
St. John (New Brunswick), Canada
[edit] Notable people born in Newport
- Frank Corridon, who pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals and is known for inventing the now illegal pitch, the spitball.
- Mena Suvari, actress, known best for her role as the vampish cheerleader with whom Kevin Spacey's character is obsessed in the 1999 film American Beauty.
- Tanya Donelly, musician, vocalist for Rhode Island-based bands Belly and Throwing Muses, as well as guitarist for the band The Breeders.
- Van Johnson, actor, known best for "all-American" roles in MGM films during World War II.
- Ida Lewis, lighthouse keeper credited with saving 18 lives in Newport Harbor throughout the nineteenth century; she received national attention and numerous honors.
- Matthew C. Perry, Commodore of the U.S. Navy who forced the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854, under the threat of military force.
- William Ellery Channing, one of the foremost Unitarian preachers of the nineteenth century.
- Oliver Hazard Perry, commander of the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.
Johnny Walker: 2nd ward legend
[edit] Notable people that lived in Newport
- Admiral Jeremy Michael Boorda, 25th Chief of Naval Operations
- Admiral Oliver Hazard Perry, Hero of the War of 1812
- Edith B. Price, writer and illustrator
[edit] Further reading
- S. G. Arnold, History of the State of Rhode Island, (two volumes, New York, (1859-60)
- G. W. Mason, Reminiscences of Rhode Island, (Newport, 1884)
- E. M. Stone, Our French Allies, (Providence, 1884)
[edit] External links
- Newport (Rhode Island) travel guide from Wikitravel
- City of Newport homepage
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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