Brenton Point State Park

Brenton Point State Park
Rhode Island State Park
Country	United States
State	Rhode Island
County	Newport
Town	Newport
Elevation	26 ft (8 m) [1]
Coordinates	41°27′10″N 71°21′16″W / 41.45278°N 71.35444°W / 41.45278; -71.35444Coordinates: 41°27′10″N 71°21′16″W / 41.45278°N 71.35444°W / 41.45278; -71.35444 [1]
Established	1976 [2]
Management	Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Division of Parks & Recreation
Location in Rhode Island
Website: Brenton Point State Park

Brenton Point State Park is a Rhode Island state park located on Aquidneck Island in the town of Newport. The park's location off Ocean Drive offers majestic vistas of the Atlantic Ocean as it meets Narragansett Bay.^[3]

History

The point was named after Governor William Brenton, an early settler, who owned the land as a large farm in the 17th century. Brenton originally called the area "Hammersmith" after his hometown in England.^[4] The original name survives in the name of Hammersmith Farm, an estate on the point later owned by the family of First Lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

In 1776, during the American Revolution, a battery was set up on the southwest part of Brenton Point as a coastal defense. About 1876, lawyer and businessman Theodore M. Davis built a mansion known as "The Reefs" (later "The Bells") on the property.^[5] About 1915, the Budlong family purchased the property.^[2]

During World War II, Brenton Point was also considered a strategic defense area, as it overlooks the entrance to the East Passage, which allows access to Newport and to Conanicut Island. The home was seized during the Second World War in order to erect the coastal defense battery. At war's end, the battery was dismantled and the property returned to the Budlongs, who decided to donate the land to the State of Rhode Island for a public park.

Former stables (1968)

The manor house was partially destroyed by fire in 1960, and torn down in 1963. Today, the former laundry/servants' quarters building serves as the park's visitor center, with restrooms and the park ranger's office located inside. Until the mid-1990s, the Rhode Island State Park Police maintained an office in the building. The former carriage house and stables of the mansion still stand on the property, though they have been fenced off and are routinely patrolled by park rangers. A stone tower is used by park rangers for observation and for tourists to get a view of the forest and ocean. Until 2007, there was a Japanese rock garden in the park. Park boundaries include the Newport Country Club.

Activities and amenities

The park offers picnicking facilities, hiking paths, fishing, and kite flying,^[3] and hosts the annual Newport Kite Festival which draws kite enthusiasts from around the country.^[6]

The park is managed by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Parks and Recreation, and is overseen by the staff at nearby Fort Adams State Park. Though the park is open for parking for fishermen after dusk, state park rangers are known to strictly enforce park regulations even after hours, in response to several large parties that have taken place on the property in years past.

References

A 19th-century stereoview of Brenton Point showing Winan's Fishing Bridge (defunct)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brenton Point State Park.

• Brenton Point State Park Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Division of Parks & Recreation