Hope Island is a 91-acre (0.368 km²)

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

located in

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sm ...

in the State of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. It is part of the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, along with nearby

Prudence Island Prudence Island is the third-largest island in Narragansett Bay in the state of Rhode Island and part of the town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, United States. It is located near the geographic center of the bay. It is defined by the United Sta ...

and

Patience Island Patience Island lies off the northwest coast of Prudence Island in the town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. It has a land area of , making it the fourth-largest island in Narragansett Bay. Aside from a single 600-square foot house, which is disconnec ...

, and home to colonial wading birds during their nesting season of spring and summer.

History

The island was a gift from Narraganset chief

Miantonomi Miantonomoh (1600? – August 1643), also spelled Miantonomo, Miantonomah or Miantonomi, was a chief of the Narragansett people of New England Indians. Biography He was a nephew of the Narragansett grand sachem, Canonicus (died 1647), with whom h ...

to Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. The word "hope" is the Rhode Island motto and used on the Rhode Island State Seal with an anchor because Williams was inspired by the Biblical passage "hope is the anchor of the soul" in Hebrews 6:19.Howard M. Chapin notes published in "Illustrations Of The Seals, Arms And Flags Of Rhode Island," (

Rhode Island Historical Society The Rhode Island Historical Society is a privately endowed membership organization, founded in 1822, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the history of Rhode Island. Its offices are located in Providence, Rhode Island. History Found ...

, Providence: 1930) pg 4-5. The island was transferred to a Mr Rivers, who walked to the island in winter when the bay was frozen. One day he misjudged the ice thickness, fell in and later died. Hope Island was then (circa 1880s) sold to Hiram Aylsworth who kept the land until it was taken by the Navy as an ammunition depot for World War I. Aylsworth’s grandson, Aylsworth Brown having spent childhood summers on Hope Island, later purchased property in the Prudence Park area of Prudence where he aptly named his new home “Hopeview.” There is an 18th-century farm site on the west side of Hope Island. To date, no archaeological work or documentary research has been carried out there. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the island was used by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

as an ammunition storage site. There are still ammunition bunkers and concrete roads remaining from this period. Hope Island was acquired by the state in the early 1970s.

References

Narragansett Bay Reserve

Islands of Newport County, Rhode Island Islands of Narragansett Bay Nature reserves in Rhode Island Protected areas of Newport County, Rhode Island Islands of Rhode Island {{RhodeIsland-geo-stub