Patience Island lies off the northwest coast of

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 ...

in the town of

Portsmouth, Rhode Island Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,871 at the 2020 U.S. census. Portsmouth is the second-oldest municipality in Rhode Island, after Providence; it was one of the four colonies which merged ...

. It has a land area of , making it the fourth-largest island 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 ...

. Aside from a single 600-square foot house, which is disconnected from the state electrical grid, Patience Island is otherwise uninhabited.

History

The island and others nearby were named by

Roger Williams Roger Williams (21 September 1603between 27 January and 15 March 1683) was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantatio ...

and other early colonists. Colonial school children often recited the poem: "Patience, Prudence,

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

, and Despair. And the little Hog over there." Patience Island was a gift from the Narragansett Indians to Roger Williams and Arthur Steere, First Senator of Rhode Island. Arthur never lived on the Island but his descendents Earle and Clark Steere of The Warwick Cove Marina was the last to live in the farm house on the Island. Now the Island is densely overgrown with vines and brush. The island is populated by a warren of

New England cottontail The New England cottontail (''Sylvilagus transitionalis''), also called the gray rabbit, brush rabbit, wood hare, wood rabbit, or cooney, is a species of cottontail rabbit represented by fragmented populations in areas of New England, specificall ...

rabbits, which is part of a species restoration program related to the animal's candidacy for listing under the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...

. In 2021, one rabbit on the island tested positive for

tularemia Tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium ''Francisella tularensis''. Symptoms may include fever, skin ulcers, and enlarged lymph nodes. Occasionally, a form that results in pneumonia or a throat infe ...

References

Patience Island: Block 4000, Block Group 4, Census Tract 401.03, Newport County, Rhode Island
United States Census Bureau *Frederic Denlson, ''Narragansett Sea and Shore'', (J.A. & R.A. Reid, Providence, RI., 1879) *George L. Seavey, ''Rhode Island's Coastal Natural Areas.'' Islands of Newport County, Rhode Island Portsmouth, Rhode Island Islands of Narragansett Bay Islands of Rhode Island {{RhodeIsland-geo-stub