Miantonomi Memorial Park is a public park between Hillside Avenue and Girard Avenue in
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
.
The Narragansett Indians used the area around the park for hundreds of years and the park (and the hill it is on) is named after Sachem, or 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 he ...
. This hill was Miantonomi's seat of power until it was purchased by English colonists in 1637. The settlers used the hill as a lookout and in 1667 built a
beacon
A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...
on the hill. During the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
fortifications were built on the hill, fragments of which still survive. In 1921, the City of Newport received the property from the local Stokes family.
Miantonomi Memorial Park's became part of the Aquidneck Land Trust through an easement in 200
Tower
The Park Commission built a stone tower in 1929 as a
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
memorial
A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...
.
On September 27, 2017, the Miantonomi Memorial Park Tower was named an official WWI Centennial memorial and will receive grant funds towards restoration and maintenance.
Image:Miantonomi Memorial Park World War I memorial in Newport RI.jpg, World War I memorial
Image:Miantonomi Memorial Park in Newport RI view of Narragansett Bay.jpg, view of Narragansett Bay from the hill
See also
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References
External links
Park Information
Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island
Parks in Rhode Island
Buildings and structures in Newport, Rhode Island
National Register of Historic Places in Newport, Rhode Island
1637 establishments in Rhode Island
Geography of Newport, Rhode Island
Tourist attractions in Newport, Rhode Island
Protected areas of Newport County, Rhode Island
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