Aquidneck Island highlighted in red |
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Aquidneck Island (Rhode Island)
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Narragansett Bay |
| Area | 37.8 sq mi (97.9 km2) |
| Length | 15 mi (24 km) |
| Width | 5 mi (8 km) |
| Highest elevation | 260 ft (79 m) |
| Highest point | Slate Hill |
| Country | |
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United States
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| State | Rhode Island |
| County | Newport County |
| Largest city | Newport (pop. 26,475) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 60,870 (as of 2000) |
| Density | 621.12 /km2 (1,608.69 /sq mi) |
Aquidneck Island, located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, is the largest island in Narragansett Bay. The island's official name is Rhode Island, and the common use of name "Aquidneck Island" helps distinguish the island from the state. The total land area is 97.9 km² (37.8 sq mi). The 2000 United States Census reported its population as 60,870.
Aquidneck Island is home to three townships, from North to South geographically; Portsmouth, Middletown and Newport.
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English colonists first settled on present-day Aquidneck Island in 1638 in the region called by the Natives “Pocasset” (meaning “where the stream widens”), the northern part of Portsmouth. At one time, Aquidneck Island was controlled by the Wampanoag, whose leader was the Sachem Massasoit. Traditionally, Massasoit greeted the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. Aquidneck Island was used primarily as a hunting territory although it was probably a summer residence as well.
As many as nine in ten of the Wampanoags were killed by the epidemics brought to North America by the Europeans in 1617–1619. The Narragansetts, who were unaffected by the diseases, fought for and obtained control of Aquidneck Island and other places. The Wampanoags regained control over their territories.
A group of European settlers engaged Roger Williams in 1638 to negotiate the terms of their purchase of the island from a sachem named Miantonomi. These settlers included William Coddington, Anne and William Hutchinson, William Dyer, John Coggeshall, Nicholas Easton, William Brenton, John Clarke, and Richard Maxson (Maggsen).[1] Aquidneck Island, at the time, was the royal seat of Miantonomi. The terms of the sale were a swap: the settlers could have the island in exchange for forty fathoms of white peage, twenty hoes, ten coats for the resident Natives and five more fathoms of wampum for the local sachem.[2] It is recorded that the Narragansett Sachems, Canonicus and his nephew, Miantonomi, who were in control of the island at the time, signed a “deed” for Aquidneck Island. These first settlers founded Pocasset, but the following spring, in 1639, William Coddington chose Newport, with its excellent harbor, for a new settlement, and some of the settlers followed him there.
A careful reading of the Records of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in New England (Vol. I, 1636–1663) will show a letter written by Roger Williams later in his life in which he attributes the kindness and generosity of the Wampanoag Massasoit years before for the gifts of Providence, all of Aquidneck Island, and Wappewassick (Prudence Island). Massasoit gifted Roger Williams with Aquidneck Island, Providence and Prudence Island for his friendship and love of Natives. Massasoit received no payment for these lands, and did not want any. Roger Williams said he was indebted to the Wampanoag Sachem until the day he died. Thus, Aquidneck Island may be one of the few places in the United States that is truly in keeping with Native traditions.[3]
During the American Revolution Aquidneck Island was occupied by the British from 1776 to 1779. The Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778 was an unsuccessful attempt by the Continental Army under command of Major General John Sullivan to drive out the British and retake the strategic port city of Newport.
The island is home to Salve Regina University, the Naval War College, the Newport campus of the Community College of Rhode Island, and International Yacht Restoration School.
It is also home to several private boarding schools, including St. George's School and Portsmouth Abbey. The island also contains numerous public and private primary and secondary schools as a part of the school systems of Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth.
The Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (1969) connects Aquidneck Island to Jamestown on nearby Conanicut Island in Narragansett Bay, and subsequently to the mainland on the western side of the bay.
The Mount Hope Bridge (1929), adjacent to Bristol Ferry and Common Fence Point, connects the northern side of Aquidneck Island in Portsmouth to the mainland at Bristol. The Sakonnet River Bridge (1956) in Portsmouth, adjacent to Common Fence Point, connects the northeastern side of the island to the mainland at Tiverton over the Sakonnet River, a narrow saltwater strait. South of the Sakonnet River Bridge, in the area known as The Hummocks and Island Park, is the site of the Stone Bridge, built in 1907 on the site of an earlier wooden bridge and destroyed by Hurricane Carol in 1954. The bridges replaced long-running ferries to the mainland and other Narragansett Bay islands.
"Aquidneck" is derived from the Narragansett name for the island, aquidnet.[4] The word literally means “floating-mass-at” or simply “at the island”. Other sources claim Aquidneck is a Native word meaning "Isle of Peace."[5]
It is unclear how Aquidneck Island came to be known as Rhode Island. In 1524, the explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano noted the presence of an island near the mouth of Narragansett Bay, which he likened to the Greek island of Rhodes. Although it is unclear to which island Verrazzano was referring, the pilgrims who later colonized the area decided to apply the moniker "Rhode Island" to Aquidneck Island. The earliest known use of the name "Rode Island" was in 1637 by Roger Williams. The name was officially applied to the island in 1644 with these words: "Aquethneck shall be henceforth called the Ile of Rods or Rhod-Island." The name "Isle of Rodes" is found used in a legal document as late as 1646.[6][7]
Another popular origin theory is based on the fact that Adriaen Block, during his 1614 expedition, passed by Aquidneck Island, described in a 1625 account of his travels as "an island of reddish appearance" (in 17th century Dutch, "een rodlich Eylande").[8] Dutch maps from as early as 1659 call the island "Roode Eylant", or Red Island. Historians have theorized that the island was named by the Dutch (possibly by Adriaen Block himself) for either the red autumn foliage or red clay on portions of the shore.[9][10]
In 1644, the colonies of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations combined to form the colony, and eventually the State, of "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations". The entire State is now commonly referred to as "Rhode Island", and the term "Aquidneck Island" is used commonly to refer to the island, even though the official name of Aquidneck is still "Rhode Island". The U.S. Board on Geographic Names addressed the issue in 1930 by using both names of the island on its maps. By 1964, the board decided that having two names was confusing, and "Rhode Island", the official name of the island, was used exclusively. Attempts to change the official name to "Aquidneck Island" have been made as recently as 2004, but all of these attempts have failed.[11]
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