Washington County, Rhode Island
Washington County, known locally as South County, is a county located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,839. Rhode Island counties have no governmental functions other than as court administrative boundaries, which are part of the state government. History The area today known as Washington County was part of the ancestral lands of the Narragansett Indian Tribe. During the second half of the 17th Century, about a dozen English colonists from Newport and Massachusetts colonies moved to the area to establish farms; the larger of these were known as "Narragansett Planters." By the mid-18th century, there were 25 to 30 large plantations in the county, and their owners became very wealthy. The labor for these farms came from enslaved people; it is estimated that about 15% and 25% of Washington County’s population was enslaved. Washington County was created as Kings County in 1729 within the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of Counties In Rhode Island
There are five counties in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Rhode Island is tied with Hawaii for having the second-fewest counties of any U.S. state (only Delaware has fewer, with three counties). Although Rhode Island is divided into counties, it does not have any local government at the county level. Instead, local governance is provided by the eight cities and thirty-one towns. Counties in Rhode Island have had no governmental functions since 1846 other than as court administrative and sheriff corrections boundaries which are part of state government. Within Rhode Island, Washington County is colloquially referred to as South County. The colony of Rhode Island was established in the 17th century. It was the first of the thirteen original American colonies to declare independence from British rule in 1776, during the American Revolution, and the last to ratify the Constitution. The counties were all established before the Declaration of Independence. The Federal Informa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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County (United States)
In the United States, a county or county equivalent is an Administrative division, administrative subdivision of a U.S. state, state or territories of the United States, territory, typically with defined geographic Border, boundaries and some level of governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called List of parishes in Louisiana, parishes and List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska, boroughs, respectively. Counties and other local governments in the United States, local governments exist as a matter of U.S. state law, so the specific governmental powers of counties may vary widely between the states, with many providing some level of services to civil townships, Local government in the United States, municipalities, and Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated areas. Certain municipalities are List of U.S. municipalities in multiple counties, in multiple counties. Some municip ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Newport County, Rhode Island
Newport County is one of five counties located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 85,643. It is also one of the seven regions of Rhode Island. The county was created in 1703. Like all of the counties in Rhode Island, Newport County no longer has any governmental functions (other than as court administrative and sheriff corrections boundaries). All of those functions in Rhode Island are now carried out by the state government, or by the cities and towns of Rhode Island. Newport County is included in the Providence-Warwick, RI- MA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is in turn constitutes a portion of the greater Boston- Worcester-Providence, MA-RI- NH- CT Combined Statistical Area. History Newport County was constituted on June 22, 1703, as one of the two original counties of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. As originally established, Newport County consisted of four towns: Portsmouth, Newport, Jamestown, and Ne ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The lands of the settlement were in southern New England, with initial settlements on two natural harbors and surrounding land about apart—the areas around Salem, Massachusetts, Salem and Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, north of the previously established Plymouth Colony. The territory nominally administered by the Massachusetts Bay Colony covered much of central New England, including portions of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by the owners of the Charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company, Massachusetts Bay Company, including investors in the failed Dorchester Company, which had established a short-lived settlement on Cape Ann in 1623. The colony began in 1 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Block Island
Block Island is an island of the Outer Lands coastal archipelago in New England, located approximately south of mainland Rhode Island and east of Long Island's Montauk Point. The island is coterminous with the town of New Shoreham, Rhode Island and is part of Washington County. The island is named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block, and the town was named for Shoreham, Kent, in England. Block Island is a popular summer tourist destination known for its bicycling, hiking, sailing, fishing, and beaches. It is home to the historic lighthouses Block Island North Light, on the northern tip of the island, and Block Island Southeast Light, on the southeastern coast. About 40 percent of the island is set aside for conservation, and much of the northwestern tip of the island is an undeveloped natural area and resting stop for birds along the Atlantic flyway. The Nature Conservancy includes Block Island on its list of "The Last Great Places", which consists of 12 sites in the West ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wickford, Rhode Island
Wickford is a small village in the New England town, town of North Kingstown, Rhode Island, North Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States, which is named after Wickford in Essex, England. Wickford is located on the western side of Narragansett Bay, just about a 20-minute drive across two bridges from Newport, Rhode Island. The village is built around one of the most well-protected natural harbors on the eastern seaboard, and features one of the largest collections of 18th century dwellings to be found anywhere in the Northeast. Today, the majority of the village's historic homes and buildings (most in private hands) remain largely intact upon their original foundations. History Wickford is generally said to have been settled around 1637, when theologian and Rhode Island state founder Roger Williams bought a parcel of land from sachem Canonicus and established a trading post there. Prior to European colonization of the Americas, European contact, the lands in and around Wickf ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Smith's Castle
Smith's Castle, built in 1678, is a house museum at 55 Richard Smith Drive, near Wickford, a village in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Smith's Castle is one of the oldest houses in the state. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1993 as Cocumscussoc Archeological Site due to the artifacts and information that digs have yielded in the area. It is located just off U.S. Route 1 in Rhode Island. History Smith's Castle was built in 1678 to replace an earlier structure which the Narragansett Tribe destroyed during King Philip's War. The land on which the house was built was known as Cocumscussoc (or Cocumscossoc) and was near the original site of Roger Williams' trading post. Williams was the founder of Providence Plantations and a prominent Baptist theologian. He built the trading post on the site in 1637 to trade with the Narragansetts after receiving the land from the tribe. Eventually, he sold the trading post to Smith to finance his trip to Great Britain to se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charlestown, Rhode Island
Charlestown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 7,997 at the 2020 census. History Charlestown is named after King Charles II, and was incorporated in 1738. The area was formerly part of the town of Westerly. It was in turn divided and the part north of the Pawcatuck River became the town of Richmond in 1747. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (37.86%) is water. The town is bordered by Westerly on the west; Richmond on the north; and Hopkinton on the northwest; and South Kingstown on the east. The village of Charlestown is in the southeastern part of the town, Quonochontaug is in the southwest, and Carolina is on the northern border of the town. In 2011, Charlestown became the first municipality in the United States to pass a ban on any size or type of electricity-generating wind turbines. The sweeping prohibition applies to large commercial ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Niantic People
The Niantic ( ; Nehântick or Nehantucket) are a tribe of Algonquian-speaking American Indians who lived in the area of Connecticut and Rhode Island during the early colonial period. The tribe's name ''Nehântick'' means "of long-necked waters"; area residents believe that this refers to the "long neck" or peninsula of land known as Black Point, located in the village of Niantic, Connecticut. The Niantic people were divided into eastern and western groups due to intrusions by the more numerous and powerful Pequots. The Western Niantics were subject to the Pequots and lived just east of the mouth of the Connecticut River, while the Eastern Niantics became very close allies to the Narragansetts. It is likely that the name Nantucket is derived from the tribe's endonym, Nehantucket. The division of the Niantics became so great that the language of the eastern Niantics is classified as a dialect of Narragansett, while the language of the western Niantics is classified as Mohega ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Narragansett People
The Narragansett people are an Algonquian American Indian tribe from Rhode Island. Today, Narragansett people are enrolled in the federally recognized Narragansett Indian Tribe. They gained federal recognition in 1983. The tribe was nearly landless for most of the 20th century but acquired land in 1991 and petitioned the Department of the Interior to take the land into trust on their behalf. This would have made the newly acquired land officially recognized as part of the Narragansett Indian reservation, taking it out from under Rhode Island's legal authority. In 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled against the request in their lawsuit '' Carcieri v. Salazar'', declaring that tribes which had achieved federal recognition since the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act did not have standing to have newly acquired lands taken into federal trust and removed from state control. Reservation The Narragansett tribe was recognized by the federal government in 1983 and controls the N ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Colony Of Rhode Island And Providence Plantations
The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It became a haven for religious dissenters and was known for its commitment to religious freedom and self-governance. The colony was officially chartered by the Patent of 1643–1644, granted by the Parliament of England, English Parliament. It received a more comprehensive Rhode Island Royal Charter, Royal Charter in 1663 from King Charles II of England, Charles II, which established its government and guaranteed its religious liberties. Rhode Island continued as a self-governing colony until 1776, when it declared independence from Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain during the American Revolution, becoming the Rhode Island, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. First settlements The land was first owned by the Narragansett people, Narragansett Indian ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Narragansett Indian Tribe
The Narragansett people are an Algonquian American Indian tribe from Rhode Island. Today, Narragansett people are enrolled in the federally recognized Narragansett Indian Tribe. They gained federal recognition in 1983. The tribe was nearly landless for most of the 20th century but acquired land in 1991 and petitioned the Department of the Interior to take the land into trust on their behalf. This would have made the newly acquired land officially recognized as part of the Narragansett Indian reservation, taking it out from under Rhode Island's legal authority. In 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled against the request in their lawsuit '' Carcieri v. Salazar'', declaring that tribes which had achieved federal recognition since the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act did not have standing to have newly acquired lands taken into federal trust and removed from state control. Reservation The Narragansett tribe was recognized by the federal government in 1983 and controls the Nar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |