Rhode Island

Rhode Island, officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a in the  region of the. It is the smallest state by, and the by population. Its official name is the longest official name of any U.S. state. Rhode Island was the first of the to  from British rule, signaling the start of the ; it was also the first state that engaged in armed hostilities with British property and authorities. Rhode Island did not participate in the and was also the last of the original thirteen states to ratify the.

Despite its name, most of the state of Rhode Island lies on the n. Providence Plantations refers to the mainland, while Rhode Island was the 17th and 18th century name for (now composed of the city of, and the towns of  and ).

Rhode Island has long held the nickname of "Little Rhody", though the state has officially adopted the nickname of "the Ocean State," as nearly one tenth of Rhode Island's inland area is covered by salt water, and no part of the state is more than a 30-minute drive from the water's edge.

Name origin
In 1524, Italian navigator, was the first European to visit any part of what is now Rhode Island. He came to what is now and named it "Luisa" after,. Verrazzano described Luisa as "about the size of the Island of ". When the founders of the surveyed the land, they thought that  was the place. A mistake occurred in 1614, when Luisa was charted by the explorer, after whom Luisa was renamed by the ; however, their motives in doing so are unknown. The official explanation by the State of Rhode Island is that Adriaen Block named the area "Roodt Eylandt" meaning "red island" in reference to the red clay that lined the shore, and that the name was later anglicized when the region came under British rule.

Geography


Rhode Island covers an area of approximately 1,214 square miles (3,144 ) and is bordered on the north and east by, on the west by , and on the south by and the. It shares a water border with between  and. The mean of the state is 200  (60 ). Located within the province of the  Region, Rhode Island has two distinct natural regions. Eastern Rhode Island contains the s of the, while Western Rhode Island forms part of the New England Upland. Narragansett Bay is a major feature of the state's topography. lies approximately 12 s (19 km) off the southern coast of the mainland. Within the Bay, there are over 30 islands. The largest is Aquidneck Island, shared by the municipalities of, , and. The second-largest island is ; the third-largest is.

Nicknamed the Ocean State, Rhode Island is home to a number of oceanfront.

Rhode Island is mostly flat with no real mountains. Rhode Island's highest natural point is, only 812 feet (247 m) above sea level.

Climate
Rhode Island is an example of a warm, summer with hot, rainy summers and cold, snowy winters. The highest temperature recorded in Rhode Island was 105 ° (40 °), recorded on August 2, 1975 in. The lowest temperature in Rhode Island, -13 °F (-25 °C), was recorded on February 6, 1996 in. Monthly average temperatures range from a high of 82 °F (28 °C) to a low of 20 °F (-7 °C).

Colonial Era
In 1524, Italian navigator traversed the mid-Atlantic coast of North America, searching for an all-water route through North America to China. In March of that year, he left what is now New York harbor and headed east until he discovered what was later called. Natives guided him into what is now harbor. He remained for two weeks while his crew surveyed the bay and the surrounding mainland. In early May, 1524, Verrazzano departed to renew his search for a.

In 1614, the Dutch explorer Adriaen Block visited the island that is now called. Native American inhabitants included the, occupying most of the area, and the closely related tribe. Most of the Native Americans were decimated by introduced diseases, intertribal warfare, and the disastrous, but remnants of the Niantic merged into the Narragansett tribe, where they remain on a federally recognized reservation.

In 1636,, after being banished from the for his religious views, settled at the tip of Narragansett Bay. He called the site Providence and declared it a place of religious freedom.

The following year, was banished from Massachusetts for criticizing the clergy there. She and some others, including and, founded the town of  on. In 1639, Coddington left Portsmouth and founded Newport on Aquidneck Island.

In that same year a formal government was established for the island. William Coddington was the first governor and was the first Secretary. In 1643, founded Shawomet, which is now called. In 1644, the name of Aquidneck Island was changed to Rhode Island.

John Clarke was granted a Charter in 1663 for Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, which effectively united the two colonies into one. Under the terms of the charter, only landowners could vote. Before the, when most people were employed as farmers, this was considered democratic. The original charter was used as the state constitution until 1842.

The relationship between the ers and the Native Americans was strained, and caused some bloodshed. On December 19, 1675 colonist militia from Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Rhode Island massacred about 350 Narragansetts in the Battle of the Great Swamp. The largest tribes that lived near Rhode Island were the, , , and. One native named, from the Wampanoag tribe, stayed with the Pilgrims and taught them many valuable skills needed to survive in the area. He also helped greatly with the eventual peace between the colonists and the natives.

Roger Williams had kept the powerful Narragansetts on friendly terms with local white settlers. Having kept the Native Americans on friendly terms with settlers, the Narragansetts were even persuaded to form an alliance with the in 1637, carrying out an attack that nearly extinguished the warlike Pequots. This peace did not last long, however, and by 1670 even the friendly tribes who had greeted Williams and the Pilgrims became estranged from the colonists and conflicts erupted.

The most important and traumatic event in 17th century Rhode Island was, which occurred during 1675–1676. King Philip (his British nickname. His real name was ) was the chief of the Wampanoag Indians. The settlers of Portsmouth had purchased their land from his father,. King Philip rebelled against the English. The first attacks were around Narrangansett Bay, but spread throughout New England.

Revolution and industrialization: 1770–1860
Rhode Island's tradition of independence and dissent gave it a prominent role in the American Revolution. In 1772, the first bloodshed of the American Revolution took place in Rhode Island when a band of Providence residents attacked a grounded British ship for enforcing unpopular British trade regulations in the incident which would be come to known as the. Keeping with its culture of defiance, Rhode Island was the first of the original thirteen colonies to declare its independence from England and the last to ratify the Constitution (which replaced the Articles of Confederation) &mdash;doing the latter only after being threatened with having its exports taxed as a foreign nation.

As the Industrial Revolution moved large numbers of workers into the cities, a permanently landless, and therefore voteless, class developed. By 1829, 60% of the state's free white males were ineligible to vote.

Several attempts had been made to address this problem, but none passed. In 1842, drafted a liberal  which was passed by popular referendum. However, the conservative sitting governor,, opposed the people's wishes, leading to the. Although this collapsed, a modified version of the constitution was passed in November, which allowed any white male to vote that he owned land or could pay a US $1.

In addition to industrialization, Rhode Island was heavily involved in the slave trade during the post-revolution era. Slavery was extant in the state as early as 1652, and by 1774, the slave population of Rhode Island was 6.3%, nearly twice as high as any other New England Colony. In the late 18th century, several Rhode Island merchant families began actively engaging in the triangle slave trade. Notable among these was the Brown family, for whom Brown University is named, although some important Browns became prominent abolitionists. In the years after the Revolution, Rhode Island merchants controlled between 60% and 90% of the American trade in African slaves.

Civil War to Progressive Era: 1860–1929
During the Civil War, Rhode Island was the first Union state to send troops in response to President Lincoln's request for help from the states. Rhode Island furnished 25,236 fighting men, of which 1,685 died. On the home front, Rhode Island, along with the other northern states, used its industrial capacity to supply the Union Army with the materials it needed to win the war. In addition, Newport was the temporary home of the United States Naval Academy during the war. Rhode Island's continued growth and modernization led to the creation of an urban mass transit system, and improved health and sanitation programs. After the war, in 1866, Rhode Island abolished racial segregation throughout the state. Post-war immigration increased the population. From the 1860s to the 1880s, most of the immigrants were from England, Ireland, Germany, Sweden, and Quebec, Canada. Towards the end of the century, however, most immigrants were from South and Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean. At the turn of the century, Rhode Island had a booming economy, which fed the demand for immigration. In the years leading up to, Rhode Island's constitution remained reactionary, in contrast to the more progressive reforms that were occurring in the rest of the country. The state never ratified the 18th Amendment establishing national Prohibition of alcohol. During World War I, Rhode Island furnished 28,817 troops, of whom 612 died. After the war, the state was hit hard by the. In the 1920s and 30s, rural Rhode Island saw a surge in membership largely among the  population in reaction to the large waves of immigrants moving to the state. The Klan is believed to be responsible for burning the in, which was a school for  children.

Great Depression to present: 1929-
In the 20th century, the state continued to grow, though the decline in industry devastated many urban areas. These areas were impacted further, as with the rest of the country's urban areas, by construction of highways through city cores and the suburbanization caused by it and by the.

Since the Great Depression, the Rhode Island Democratic Party has dominated local politics. For years, the Speaker of the House, always a Democrat, has been one of the most powerful figures in government. The Democratic Party's core of support is in the urban areas of the state and immediate suburbs. While known for old school politics and corruption, Rhode Island also has comprehensive health insurance for low-income children, the RITE CARE program, as well as a large social safety net. Despite this, many urban areas still have a high rate of children in poverty. Due to an influx of residents from Boston, increasing housing costs have resulted in more homeless in Rhode Island (from about 3,000 individuals in 1999 to over 6,000 today), as well as a doubling of the cost of an average home.

The Republican Party, virtually non-existent in the state legislature, has successfully put forward occasional state-wide "good government" candidates who criticize the state's high taxes and the excesses of the Democratic Party. Current Governor of East Greenwich, and former Mayor  of Providence (who later became an independent, political boss, and was convicted on RICO charges) ran as Republican reform candidates.

Prominent State Democrats include House Speaker William Murphy, Senate President Joseph Montalbano, Providence Mayor David Cicilline, Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis, General Treasurer Frank Caprio, Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva-Weed, and Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts. In recent years, the former Speaker of the House John Harwood, State Senator John Celona, and State Senate President William Irons were forced to resign in scandals.

In recent history, in 2003 a in  that claimed one hundred lives caught national attention and resulted in criminal sentences.

Law and government
The of Rhode Island is. The state's current governor is (R) and its United States Senators are  (D) and  (D). Rhode Island's two United States Congressmen are (D-1) and  (D-2).

Rhode Island is one of a few states that does not have an official Governor's residence.

The is the, consisting of the 75-member state  and the 38-member. Both houses of the body are currently dominated by the.

Federally, Rhode Island is one of the most reliably states during presidential elections, regularly giving the Democratic nominees one of their best showings. In 1980, Rhode Island was one of only 6 states to vote against. In the 1984 Reagan landslide, Rhode Island provided with his 3rd best performance. Rhode Island was the Democrats' best state in 1988 and 2000 and 2nd best in 1996 and 2004. The state was devoted to until 1908, but has only strayed from the Democrats 7 times in the 24 elections that followed. In 2004, Rhode Island gave a greater than 20 percentage point margin of victory (the third highest of any state) with 59.4% of its vote. All but three of Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns voted for the Democratic candidate. The only exceptions were and, and. Rhode Island has abolished, making it one of the 12 states that have done so. Rhode Island abolished the death penalty very early, just after (first state to abolish it), and carried out its last execution in the 1840s.

Rhode Island has some of the highest taxes in the country, particularly in its property taxes, ranking seventh in local and state taxes and sixth in real estate taxes in the country, the end result of a decade's trend of increasing taxes relative to other states.

Economy
The Blackstone River Valley is known as the "Birthplace of the ". It was in, that set up  in 1793, using the waterpower of the  to power his. For a while, Rhode Island was one of the leaders in. However, with the, most textile factories relocated to the American South. The textile industry still constitutes a part of the Rhode Island economy, but does not have the same power that it once had. An interesting by-product of the textile industry is the amount of abandoned factories - many of them now being used for low-income or elderly housing or converted into offices or trendy condos. In Pawtucket and Providence, these abandoned mills are used as housing for artists. Today, much of the economy of state is based in services, particularly healthcare and education, and still to some extent, manufacturing.

The Fortune 500 companies and  are based in  and, respectively. ,, , Nortek, and are all Fortune 1000 companies based in Rhode Island. The Corporation is headquartered in Providence.

Rhode Island's 2000 total gross state product was $33 billion, placing it 45th in the nation. Its 2000 per capita Personal Income was $29,685, 16th in the nation. Rhode Island has the lowest level of energy consumption per capita of any state.

Health services are Rhode Islands largest industry. Second is tourism, supporting 39,000 jobs, with tourism related sales at $3.26 billion in the year 2000. The third largest industry is manufacturing. Its industrial outputs are fashion jewelry, fabricated metal products, electric equipment, machinery, shipbuilding and boatbuilding. Rhode Island's agricultural outputs are nursery stock, vegetables, dairy products, and eggs.

The state's taxes are appreciably higher than neighboring states. Governor Carcieri has claimed that this higher tax rate has had an inhibitory effect on business growth in the state and is calling for reductions to increase the competitiveness of the state's business environment. Rhode Island's income tax is based on 25% of the payer's federal income tax payment.

Demographics
The of Rhode Island is located in, in the city of. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2005, Rhode Island had an estimated population of 1,076,189, which is a decrease of 3,727, or 0.3%, from the prior year and an increase of 27,870, or 2.7%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 15,220 people (that is 66,973 births minus 51,753 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 14,001 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 18,965 people, and migration within the country produced a net decrease of 4,964 people. The six largest ancestry groups in Rhode Island are: (19%),  (19%),  (17.3%),  (12%), Hispanic 11%   (8.7%).

According to the, 8.07% of the population aged 5 and over speaks at home, while 3.80% speaks , 1.96% , and 1.39%.

6.1% of Rhode Island's population were reported as under 5, 23.6% under 18, and 14.5% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 52% of the population.

Rhode Island has a higher percentage of Americans of Portuguese ancestry (who dominate Bristol County), including and, than any other state in the nation. form a large part of northern Providence County whereas have a strong presence in Newport and Kent counties. Yankees of English ancestry still have a presence in the state as well, especially in Washington county, and are often referred to as "."

Religion
The religious affiliations of the people of Rhode Island are:
 * – 87.5%
 * – 63.6%,
 * – 21.6%
 * – 6.3%
 * – 5.1%
 * Protestant - other – 3.2%,
 * Protestant, no denomination – 7%,
 * Other Christian – 2.3%
 * – 1.6%,
 * – 0.4%
 * Self-identified non-religious – 6%,
 * Other religious – 4.5%;.

Rhode Island is home to the and the.

Rhode Island has the highest percentage of in the nation mainly due to large, , , Polish and Maronite immigration in the past; recently, significant  and Hispanic communities have also been established in the state. Though it has the highest overall Catholic percentage of any state, none of Rhode Island's individual counties ranks among the ten most Catholic in the United States, as Catholics are very evenly spread throughout the state. Rhode Island and are the only two states in which a majority of the population are members of a single religious body.

Culture
Many Rhode Islanders speak with a accent that many compare to a "Brooklyn" or a cross between a New York and  ("water" becomes "wata"). Many Rhode Islanders pronounce the 'aw' sound as one might hear in New Jersey; e.g., "coffee" is pronounced "cauwwefee."

The nautical nature of Rhode Island's geography pervades its culture. harbor, in particular, holds many pleasure boats. In the lobby of the state's main airport,, is a large lifesize sailboat. The state's license plates depict an ocean wave. Additionally, the large number of beaches in (known locally as South County) lures many Rhode Islanders south for summer vacation.

The Fox show  takes place in a fictional town in Rhode Island named. That town may not be intended to have a particular real-world counterpart.

The state was notorious for organized crime activity from the 1950s into the 1990s when the held sway over most of New England from its Providence headquarters. Although the power of organized crime has greatly diminished in Rhode Island over the last 20 years, its residents are still stigmatized by popular perceptions of rampant graft and corruption that have haunted the state for decades.

Rhode Islanders developed a unique style of architecture in the 17th century, called the.

Rhode Island is the only state to still celebrate. It is known locally as "VJ Day", or just plain "Victory Day" is more common.

Food
Rhode Island is a large per capita consumer of coffee. According to a Providence Journal article, the state features the highest number of coffee/donut shops per capita in the country, with over 225 locations in the state alone. The Official State Drink of Rhode Island is, a beverage created by mixing milk with coffee syrup. This unique syrup was invented in the state and is bottled and sold in most Rhode Island supermarkets. Interestingly, although coffee milk contains some caffeine, it is sold in school cafeterias throughout the state. Similarly, strawberry milk is also very popular. Iced coffee is very popular in both the summer and the winter, perhaps owing to the Greek imigrants. Frozen lemonade, a mixture of ice-slush, lemons and sugar is also immensely popular in the summer, especially, a company based in.

Several foods and dishes are unique to Rhode Island, and cannot be found outside of the state. "s," which are sometimes called "gaggers" or "weenies" are smaller than a standard hot dog but are covered in a meat sauce, chopped onions,, and. If you want all of these on your weiners, you don't have to ask for them separately. Just ask for one (or more) "all the way." The most common way the word is spelled on menus is "weiner." Many restaurants advertise "New York System" weiners. However, this item cannot be found in New York. Legend has it that the term was coined by Greek immigrants who wanted to increase sales of the weiners they sold. The Original New York System on Smith Street in Providence was reportedly the first in the state (look for the initials "ONYS" set in tile as you go in). The "system" is the combination of the hot dog and meat sauce. Submarine sandwiches are referred to as "grinders" in Rhode Island, with a popular version being the Italian grinder, which is made with Italian cold cuts (usually ham,, , , and ). (a spicy Portuguese sausage) and peppers, eaten with hearty bread, is also popular among the state's large Portuguese community. Another popular item is pizza strips, sold in most supermarkets - basically, they are rectangular strips of pizza without the cheese. Spinach pies, similar to a calzone but filled with seasoned spinach instead of meat, sauce and cheese, are sold in many Italian bakeries and local supermarkets. Variations can include black olives or pepperoni with the spinach, or omission of spinach entirely in favor of broccoli.

The state is also known for its johnny cakes. A colonial remnant, johnny cakes are made with corn meal and water and are pan fried, much like pancakes. During fairs and carnivals, Rhode Islanders enjoy dough boys, plate-sized disks of deep fried dough sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. While these are known as zeppolas in other states, such as New York, in Rhode Island zeppolas or zeppolis are completely different. Traditionally eaten on St. Joseph's Day (widely celebrated across the state), St. Joseph's Day zeppolis are doughnut-like pastries with exposed centers of vanilla pudding or riccota cream, topped with a cherry.

The Ocean State's tradition of seafood is one of the most celebrated in the country. is extremely popular, with clams being used in multiple ways. The quahog (whose shell is Rhode Island's state shell) is a large clam which is mixed with stuffing and spicy minced sausage and then baked in the shell to form a "Stuffie." Steamed clams are also a very popular dish. Fried squid, or "calamari," are most popular in Italian restaurants and are served tossed with spicy banana peppers and with marinara sauce on the side. It is suggested that this is the Sicilian rendition of the dish.

Rhode Island, like the rest of New England, has a long tradition of clam. While the white "New England" variety is popular and the red "Manhattan" variety is not uncommon, Rhode Island makes a clear chowder, affectionately known as "Rhode Island Clam Chowder." It is very possible that the first chowders cooked were the RI version. Fishermen used to use clams as bait and towards the end of a trip would cook the clams with water, potatoes, onion, and salt pork. The older potatoes would create a starchier broth, so that the chowder was milk free, but still thick and creamy. Ironically, Manhattan chowder is also a Rhode Island creation - Portuguese immigrants who loved chowder but were short on cream substituted something that they had a lot of - tomatoes - to create red chowder.

Perhaps the most unusual culinary tradition in Rhode Island is the "." The clam cake is a deep fried ball of buttery dough with chopped bits of clam inside. They are sold in most seafood restaurants around the state, and usually come by the half-dozen or dozen. The quintessential summer meal in Rhode Island is "clam cakes and chowder."

It is also said that Clams Casino originated in Rhode Island after being "invented" by Julius Keller, the maitre d' in the original Casino next to the seaside Towers in Narragansett. Clams Casino resemble the beloved stuffed quahog but are generally made with the smaller littleneck or cherrystone clam and are unique in their use of bacon as a topping.

Rhode Island also has a couple of local happy hour treats. Sakonnet Vineyards in Little Compton, Greenvale Vineyards in Portsmouth and Newport Vineyards in Middletown produce several varieties of red and white wine. Narragansett Beer was originally brewed in Providence. It is currently brewed outside of the state, but the old brewery sign can still be found in Rhode Island, welcoming visitors to the town of the same name. Newport Storm Brewing Co. is located in Newport and makes a beer of the same name and distills Tew rum, named after a famous.

Sports
The won the first World Championship in baseball history in 1884. The team played their home games at the old Messer Street Field in Providence. The Grays played in the National League from 1878 to 1885. They defeated the New York Metropolitans of the American Association in a best of five game series at the Polo Grounds in New York. Providence won three straight games to become the first champions in major league baseball history.
 * , affiliate of the
 * , (minor league hockey) affiliate of the
 * , (New England Collegiate Baseball League)
 * , Division 1 NCAA Basketball Team of Providence College
 * , Division 1 NCAA Basketball Team of the University of Rhode Island

played for the minor league Providence Grays of 1914 and hit his only official minor league home run for that team before being recalled by the Grays parent club, the.

A now defunct professional football team, the won the 1928 NFL title. They used to play in a 10,000 person stadium called the.

A team by a similar name, the, played in the , which would become the.

From 1930 to 1983, races were sailed off Newport, Rhode Island.

Landmarks
The state capitol building is made of white Georgian marble. On top is the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. It houses the Rhode Island Charter of 1663 and other state treasures.

Providence is home to the, the oldest church in the , which was founded by Roger Williams in 1638. Providence is the home of the first fully automated post office in the country. The seaside city of is home to many famous mansions, including,  and. It is also home to the, dedicated on , the first synagogue within the United States, and still serving. The synagogue showcases the religious freedoms that were established by Roger Williams as well as impressive architecture in a mix of the classic colonial and Sephardic style. The is a  building complex that presently houses the  and features an active grass-court tennis club.

Rhode Island is home to the famous roadside attraction, the world's largest.

, on Narragansett Bay, was the setting for the finish of Eco-Challenge 1995.

(known locally as Ocean Road)in is home to "The Towers",  a large stone arch. It was once the entrance to the famous Narragansett casino that burned down in 1900. The towers now serve as a tourist information center and also a banquet hall for events like weddings and birthday parties.

State items

 * Hope
 * (A of )
 * Red
 * State fruit: Rhode Island greening
 * The Ocean State, Little Rhody, The Littlest State, The Thirteenth State
 * State mineral: Bowenite (a variety of )
 * State shellfish:
 * State drink:
 * State song:
 * State shellfish:
 * State drink:
 * State song:

Popular culture

 * The -winning film  ( - in a Lead Role). A film, written by famed attorney, who, in real life defended the wealthy yet eccentric  for the attempted murder of his wife, Sunny, in ,.
 * The -winning 1974 film  based on the classic American novel written by and starring, , , and  was filmed in Newport, RI at the Rosecliff Mansion on Bellevue Ave.
 * The critically-acclaimed 2007 film , which featured an ensemble cast starring, , , , , , and . The main story of the film was set in idyllic and affluent filmed mostly at Gooseberry Beach.
 * The series  is set in, Rhode Island.
 * The  (1999 – 2002; 2005 – present) is set in the fictional town of.
 *  (Movie, 1999), Directed by Michael Corrente, starring Alec Baldwin.
 *  (Movie 1998), Directed by the Farrelly brothers, starring Cameron Diaz and Ben Stiller, romantic comedy partially set in Providence, Cumberland and Barrington
 * , a TV series originally seen on the NBC network
 * , a 1991 American/Canadian movie with Keanu Reeves
 *  (Movie)
 * Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (sequel to Dumb and Dumber)
 *  (Movie, 2000), Directed by the Farrelly brothers, starring Jim Carrey who plays a Rhode Island State Trooper with multiple personalities.
 *  (TV series set in Providence, 1989–1991)
 *  (Movie, 2004), starring Alec Baldwin and Mathew Broderick
 *  (Movie, 2003)
 *  (Movie, 1994)
 *  (Movie, 1987) Directed by George Miller, starring, , , . Set in the fictional town of Eastwick, Rhode Island.
 * On FOX's popular  (1993 – 2001) TV series, character 's family lives in Chepachet, a small town in the Northern area of the state. His mother retires to Quonochontaug, an even smaller community in South County.
 * The 's first headquarters was depicted in the comic books as being in a cave in the fictional district of, in Rhode Island.
 * The massively multiplayer online game  is set in the fictional city of Paragon City, Rhode Island, on the state's coast overlooking the Atlantic. An expansion to the game also features another fictional Rhode Island town, Salamanca.
 * The popular videogame Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem is focused around the happenings in a mansion in Rhode Island.
 * 's dark-fantasy novel  is set primarily in Providence, but also features such other Rhode Island locales as and Kingston.
 * Guitar virtuoso has a song on his solo album named "Rhode Island Shred"

Famous firsts in Rhode Island

 * Rhode Island enacted the first prohibiting  in  on,.
 * in Pawtucket was the first commercially successful cotton-spinning mill with a fully mechanized power system in America and was the birth place of the Industrial Revulotion.
 * The oldest Fourth of July Parade in the country is still held annually in Bristol, RI.
 * The first in  was founded in  in 1638.
 * of the Newport Mercury was the first woman newspaper editor in America
 * Touro Synagogue, the first in America, was founded in  in 1763.
 * The first armed act of rebellion in America against the was the boarding and burning of the Revenue Schooner  in  on,.
 * The idea of a was first proposed at a town meeting in  on, . Rhode Island elected the first delegates ( and ) to the  on ,.
 * The created the first standing  in the  (1,500 men) on,.
 * On, , the first engagement of the  occurred between a Colonial Sloop commanded by Capt.  and an armed tender of the  Frigate Rose. The tender was chased aground and captured. Later in June, the  created the first  when it commissioned the Sloops Katy and , armed with 24  and commanded by , who was promoted to.
 * Rhode Island was the first to declare  from  on,.
 * Pelham Street in was the first in America to be illuminated by gaslight in 1806.
 * The first in the  in which women participated occurred in  in 1824.
 * has the nation’s oldest that has been in continuous operation since 1850.
 * The machine (a machine showing animated pictures) was  in  on,.
 * The first lunch wagon in America was introduced in in 1872.
 * The first nine hole in America was completed in  in 1890.
 * The first state health laboratory was established in on ,
 * The was the first building with an all- dome to be built in the  (1895–1901)
 * The first race on a track was held in  on,.
 * The first parade was held in  on,  on the grounds of.

Cities and towns
There are 39 cities and towns in Rhode Island.

The cities are, , , , , , and.

The towns are, , ,, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and.

In common with many other New England states, some Rhode Island cities and towns are further partitioned into villages that reflect historic townships which were later combined for administrative purposes. Notable villages include Kingston, in the town of South Kingstown, which houses the University of Rhode Island, and Wickford, in North Kingstown, the site of an annual international art festival.

Colleges and universities
Rhode Island has several colleges and universities