Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. It is located 23 mi south of Providence, and 61 mi south of Boston. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War College, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and a major United States Navy training center. A major 18th-century port city, Newport now contains among the highest number of surviving colonial buildings of any city in the United States. The city is the county seat of Newport County (a county that no longer has any governmental functions other than court administrative and sheriff corrections boundaries). Newport was known for being the city of some of the "Summer White Houses" during the administrations of Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. The population was 24,672 at the 2010 census.

Colonial period
Newport was founded in 1639. Its eight founders and first officers were Nicholas Easton, William Coddington, John Clarke, John Coggeshall, William Brenton, Jeremy Clark, Thomas Hazard, and Henry Bull. They left Portsmouth, Rhode Island after a political fallout with Anne Hutchinson and her followers. As part of the agreement, Coddington and his followers took control of the southern side of the island. They were soon joined by Nicholas Easton, who had recently been expelled from Massachusetts for holding heretical beliefs. The settlement soon grew to be the largest of the four original towns of Rhode Island. Many of the first colonists in Newport quickly became Baptists, and in 1640 the second Baptist congregation in Rhode Island was formed under the leadership of John Clarke.

Peace did not last long in Newport, as many did not like Coddington's autocratic style. As a result, by 1650 a counter faction led by Nicholas Easton was formed. The Coddington/Easton divide would dominate Newport politics for much of the 17th century. Newport soon grew to become the most important port in colonial Rhode Island. A public school was established in 1640.

In 1658 a group of Jews fleeing the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal were allowed to settle in Newport (Jews fleeing Brazil after defending Dutch interests there against the Portuguese were denied the right to stay in then-Dutch New York until governor Peter Stuyvesant finally relented in 1655; seeking asylum in Spain and Portugal was not an option). The Newport congregation, now referred to as Congregation Jeshuat Israel, is the second oldest Jewish congregation in the United States and meets in the oldest standing synagogue in the United States, Touro Synagogue.

In 1663 the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations received its Royal Charter and Benedict Arnold (1615–1678) was elected its first Governor at Newport. Upon its completion in 1741, the Old Colony House at the head of what is now known as Washington Square served as a seat of Rhode Island's government, until the current Rhode Island State House in Providence was completed in 1904 and Providence became the state's sole capital city.

The beginning of the commercial activity which raised Newport to its fame as a rich port was begun by a second wave of Portuguese Jews who settled there about the middle of the 18th century. They had been practicing Judaism in secret for three hundred years in Portugal, liable to torture and murder by the Inquisition if they were caught, and were attracted to Rhode Island because of the freedom of worship there. They brought with them commercial experience and connections, capital and a spirit of enterprise. Most prominent among those were Jacob Rodrigues Rivera (died 1789), who arrived in 1745, and Aaron Lopez, who came in 1750. The former introduced into America the manufacture of sperm oil, which became one of the leading industries and made Newport rich. Newport, whose inhabitants were engaged in whale fishing, developed 17 manufactories of oil and candles and enjoyed a practical monopoly of this trade down to the Revolution.

Aaron Lopez (died May 28, 1782), who fled to Newport from Lisbon in 1752, is credited with making Newport an important center of trade. "To him in a larger degree than to any one else was due the rapid commercial development which made Newport for a quarter of a century afterward the most formidable rival of New York." He induced 40 Portuguese Jewish families to settle there. Within fourteen years of Lopez’ activity, Newport had 150 vessels engaged in trade. Lopez was involved in the slave trade, manufactured spermaceti candles, ships, barrels, rum, chocolate, textiles, clothes, shoes, hats, and bottles. He became the wealthiest man in Newport, but was denied citizenship on religious grounds, even though British law protected the rights of Jews to become citizens. He appealed to the Rhode Island legislature for redress and was refused with this ruling: “Inasmuch as the said Aaron Lopez hath declared himself by religion a Jew, this Assembly doth not admit himself nor any other of that religion to the full freedom of this Colony. So that the said Aaron Lopez nor any other of said religion is not liable to be chosen into any office in this colony nor allowed to give vote as a free man in choosing others.” Lopez persisted by applying for citizenship in Massachusetts, where it was granted.

Much of the commercial activity was centered on the area called Washington Square, which was once the center of both the commercial and civic life of the colonial city.

In the early 17th century, a large number of Quakers also settled in Newport. The evidence of this population can be seen today in the fact that many streets in the oldest part of town known as "The Point", are named after trees. The Quaker meetinghouse in Newport (1699) is the oldest house of worship in Rhode Island. 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. Nowadays Newport is partially famous for the "Newport Mansions" which were 18th century mansions. They are also famous for its history of the tall ships and the tall ships racing which is a race from teams from all over the country which competed to see who was the best teams in the world. These races used to bring lots of tourists to Newport and had great publicity.

Throughout the 18th century, Newport suffered from an imbalance of trade with the largest colonial ports. As a result, Newport merchants were forced to develop alternatives to conventional exports.

Newport was also a major center of pirate activity during the late 17th and early 18th century. 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 1720s, colonial leaders, acting under pressure from the British government, arrested many pirates. Many were hanged in Newport and were buried on Goat Island.

During the colonial period, Newport was the center of the slave trade in New England. Newport was active in the “triangle trade,” in which slave-produced sugar and molasses from the Caribbean were carried to Rhode Island and distilled into rum, which was then carried to West Africa and exchanged for captives. In 1764, Rhode Island had about 30 rum distilleries, 22 in Newport alone. Many of the great fortunes made during this period were made in the slave trade. The Common Burial Ground on Farewell Street was where most of the slaves were buried. Sixty percent of slave trading voyages launched from North America – in some years more than 90% – issued from tiny Rhode Island, many from Newport. Almost half were trafficked illegally, breaking a 1787 state law prohibiting residents of the state from trading in slaves. Slave traders were also breaking federal statutes of 1794 and 1800 barring Americans from carrying slaves to ports outside the United States, and the 1807 Congressional act abolishing the transatlantic slave trade. A few Rhode Island families made substantial fortunes in the trade. William and Samuel Vernon, Newport merchants who later played an important role in financing the creation of the United States Navy, sponsored thirty African slaving ventures. However, it was the D’Wolfs of Bristol, RI, and most notably James De Wolf, who were the largest slave trading family in all of North America, mounting more than eighty transatlantic voyages, most illegal. The Rhode Island slave trade was broadly based. Seven hundred Rhode Islanders owned or captained slave ships, including most substantial merchants, and many ordinary shopkeepers and tradesmen, who purchased shares in slaving voyages,

American Revolutionary era
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 winter of 1775 and 1776, the Rhode Island Legislature put militia General William West in charge of rooting out loyalists in Newport, and several notable individuals such as Joseph Wanton and Thomas Vernon were exiled to the northern part of the state. 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. The population of Newport had divided loyalties and many pro independence "Patriots" left town while loyalist "Tories" remained. For the next three years Newport was a British stronghold.

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.

On July 10, 1780, a French expedition sent by King Louis XVI commanded by Rochambeau arrived with an army of 450 officers and 5,300 men in Narragansett Bay off Newport. For the rest of the war Newport was the base of the French forces in the United States. In July 1781, Rochambeau was finally able to leave Newport for Providence to begin the decisive march to Yorktown, Virginia along with General George Washington. The first Catholic mass in Rhode Island was said in Newport during this time. Rochambeau Monument in Kings Park on Wellington Avenue along Newport Harbor commemorates Rochambeau's contributions to the Revolutionary War and to Newport's history.

By the time the war ended (1783) Newport's population 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 1780s. 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.

Gilded Age
Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, wealthy southern planters seeking to escape the heat began to build summer cottages on Bellevue Avenue such as Kingscote (1839). Around the middle of the century, wealthy Yankees such as the Wetmore family also began constructing larger mansions such as Chateau-sur-Mer (1852) nearby. Most of these early families made a substantial part of their fortunes in the Old China Trade.

By the turn of the 20th century, many of the nation's wealthiest families were summering in Newport, including the Vanderbilts, Astors and Widener family who constructed the largest "cottages", such as The Breakers (1895) and Miramar. They came for a brief social season to grand, gilded mansions with elaborate receiving, dining, music and ballrooms, but with few bedrooms, since the guests were expected to have cottages of their own. Many of the homes were designed by the New York architect Richard Morris Hunt, who himself kept a house in Newport.

The social scene at Newport is described in Edith Wharton's novel The Age of Innocence. Wharton's own Newport cottage was called Land's End. Today, many mansions continue in private use. Hammersmith Farm, the mansion from which Jackie Kennedy was married, was open to tourists as a 'house museum,' but has been purchased and reconverted into a private residence. Many other mansion remain open to tourists. Still others were converted into academic buildings for Salve Regina College in the 1930s when the owners could no longer afford their tax bills.

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.

Current era
Since the colonial era, Rhode Island would rotate its legislative sessions between Providence, Newport, Bristol, East Greenwich and Kingston and did not have a fixed capital. In 1854 the sessions in the cities other than Providence and Newport were eliminated and finally in 1900, Newport was dropped. A constitutional amendment that year restricted the meetings of the legislature to Providence. 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.

Presidents Kennedy and Eisenhower both made Newport the sites of their "Summer White Houses" during their years in office. Eisenhower stayed at Quarters A at the Naval War College and at what became known as the Eisenhower House, while Kennedy used Hammersmith Farm next door.

In the 20th century, immigrants from Portugal and the Caribbean began settling in Newport, adding to the rich diversity of the city.

The city has long been entwined with the United States Navy. From 1952 to 1973, 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 American Civil War (1861–65), 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 Command (NETC), the center of Surface Warfare Officer training, and a large division of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. The decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-60) is moored in an inactive status at the docks previously used by the Cruiser-Destroyer Force. The USS Forrestal (CV-59) shared the pier until June 2010.

The departure of the Cruiser-Destroyer fleet from Newport and the closure of nearby Naval Air Station Quonset Point in 1973 was devastating to the local economy. The population of Newport decreased, businesses closed, and property values plummeted. However, in the late 1960s, the city had begun revitalizing the downtown area with the construction of America's Cup Avenue, malls of stores and condominiums, and upscale hotels. Construction was completed on the Newport Bridge. The Preservation Society of Newport County began opening Newport's historic mansions to the public, and the tourist industry became Newport's primary commercial enterprise over the subsequent years.

Geography
Newport is located at 41.48806°N, -71.3125°W. 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 29.5 km2, of which 19.9 km2 is land and 9.6 km2, or 32.64%, 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.

Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 24,672 people, 10,616 households, and 4,933 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,204.2 people per square mile (1,239.8/km²). There were 13,069 housing units at an average density of 1,697.3 per square mile (656.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.5% White, 6.9% African American, 0.8% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.1% some other race, and 5.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.4% of the population.

There were 10,616 households, out of which 21.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.9% were headed by married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 53.5% were non-families. 41.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05, and the average family size was 2.82.

The age distribution was 16.5% under the age of 18, 16.3% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.4 years. For every 100 females there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.

For the period 2009-11, the estimated median annual income for a household in the city was $59,388, and the median income for a family was $83,880. Male full-time workers had a median income of $52,221 versus $41,679 for females. The per capita income for the city was $35,644. About 10.7% of the population were below the poverty line.

Fire Department
The city of Newport is protected 24/7, 365 by the 98 paid, professional firefighters of the city of Newport Fire Department(NFD). The Newport Fire Department currently operates out of 3 Fire Stations, located throughout the city, and operates a fire apparatus fleet of 3 Engines, 2 Aerial Ladder Trucks, 2 Rescue Ambulances, and numerous other special, support, and reserve units. There are currently 4 shifts or platoons of 23 firefighters each, divided amongst the 3 Fire Stations. This includes a Deputy Chief, 1 Captain, 2 Lieutenants, and 17 Firefighter/EMT's.

Below is a complete listing of all fire station and apparatus locations in the city of Newport.

Culture
Newport has one of the highest concentrations of colonial homes in the nation, in the downtown Newport Historic District, one of three National Historic Landmark Districts in the city. Many of these homes were restored in the late 20th century through grants made by Newport resident Doris Duke, as well as other local efforts such as Operation Clapboard. As a result, Newport's colonial heritage is well preserved and documented at the Newport Historical Society. In addition to the colonial architecture, the city is known for its Gilded Age mansions, which have also received extensive restoration from both private owners and non-profits such as the Preservation Society of Newport County.

Another National Historic Landmark District, Bellevue Avenue, 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, Rough Point, and the William Watts Sherman House. Some of these are open for guided tours.

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 capital 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 U.S. Amateur, both held in 1895. The Newport Country Club hosted the 1995 U.S. Amateur Championship, made notable by Tiger Woods' second of three consecutive wins of said event. In June 2006, the city hosted the U.S. Women's Open. In July, it hosts the annual Hall of Fame Tennis Championships as part of the ATP Tour (it is traditionally the last grass court event of the season). Each August the International Tennis Hall of Fame Champions Cup is held; this event is part of the Outback Champions Series.

In 2001, Newport became the new home of the Newport Gulls baseball team of the NECBL. The city hosted the 2005 NECBL All-Star Game at Cardines Field, which, originally built in 1908, is one of the oldest active baseball parks in the country. The Gulls, the historic Sunset League, and other teams attract thousands of fans to Cardines weekly throughout the summer. Directly up West Marlborough Street from the ballpark is the White Horse Tavern, built prior to 1673, and considered to be one of the oldest surviving taverns in the US.

Newport is also home to the Newport Tower, Salve Regina University, Hammersmith Farm, Prescott Farm, and the Touro Synagogue, one of the oldest Jewish houses of worship in the Western hemisphere, as well as the Newport Public Library, Redwood Library and Athenaeum, one of the nation's oldest lending libraries. George Washington had given a speech at the Touro Synagogue extolling the virtues of freedom of worship and that the Jews were allowed to live and worship freely in the United States. This speech has often been referenced by American Jews to show gratitude and admiration for living in the United States.

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 infamously "went electric" in 1965), the Newport International Film Festival, and the Newport International Boat Show.

Outdoor activities
Aquidneck Island is home to many beaches, public and private. In Newport, the largest public beach, Easton's beach, or First Beach, has a view of the famed Cliff Walk. Sachuest Beach, or Second Beach, in Middletown is the second largest beach in the area. Gooseberry Beach is a private beach but is open to the public on certain days throughout the year, and is located on Ocean Drive, along with Newport's two other private beaches, Bailey's Beach (Spouting Rock Beach Association), and Hazard's Beach.

The Newport Cliff Walk is considered one of the most popular attractions in the city. It is a 3.5 mi public access walkway bordering the shoreline, and has been designated a National Recreation Trail.

Brenton Point State Park is home to the annual Brenton Point Kite Festival. Newport is also home to the Newport Country Club. The historical club has played host to the 2007 Women's US Open and the 1995 Men's US Amateurs. Fort Adams, an historical fort dating back to the War of 1812 houses the Museum of Yachting and hosts both the Newport Folk Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival annually.

For many years Newport was home to the series of yacht races for the America's Cup.

As of October 15, 2013, Newport has been designated a nationally recognized Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. It is the first official Bicycle Friendly Community in the state of Rhode Island.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame is also located in Newport. The Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, a men's ATP Tour event, is held every year in early July, the week following Wimbledon. The week also includes annual enshrinements into the Hall of Fame.

Schools

 * Elementary schools: Pell Elementary School, St Michael's Country Day School, St. Joseph of Cluny Sisters' School.
 * Secondary schools: Portsmouth Abbey School (Portsmouth), St. George's School (Middletown), 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, Community College of Rhode Island Newport Campus.

Sister cities

 * 🇯🇵 Japan: Shimoda
 * 🇮🇪 Ireland: Kinsale
 * 🇵🇹 Portugal: Ponta Delgada
 * 🇮🇹 Italy: Imperia
 * 🇬🇷 Greece: Skiathos
 * 🇨🇦 Canada: Saint John, New Brunswick
 * 🇸🇪 Sweden: Malmö