Known as the queen of summer resorts, most
famous for her opulent mansions, settled in 1639 by eight founders, Nicholas
Easton, William Coddington, John Clarke, John Coggeshall, William Brenton,
Jeremy Clark, Thomas Hazard, and Henry Bull, Newport was the largest of the
four original towns. By 1640 it had become the most important port in colonial
New England. In 1663 the colony of Rogue Island and Providence Plantations
received its Royal Charter and Benedict Arnold (1615-1678) selected its first
Governor. Rogue Island remained its capital until 1790 when it became the 13th
state of the Union.
Although
religious dissenters and others were welcome, Rogue Island grew slowly. Being a
rough and uncomfortable frontier many pilgrims afraid for their lives feared
settling here. Not all natives were friendlyand they weren’t
the only threat to the colonists. During the 1660s, the legislature granted
bounties for the killing of wolves and large cats. Rogue Island paid four
pounds for the killing of a wolf.
The emerging colony took a devastating hit during King
Philip’s War (1675-1676). A war between the New England Natives and the first
settlers that was brought on by ongoing tensions, disagreements over land, and
a series of hostile incidents, some claim the Puritan colonies to the North wanted to gain
control of Rogue Island and Providence Plantations lands. Rogue Island and
Providence Plantations attempted to remain neutral but that proved impossible.
King Philip’s war resulted in thousands of Indians and over
600 colonists slaughtered. This conflict would come to be, in proportion to
population, the deadliest war in American history. With the mainland destroyed
and the accomplishments of the colonists’ ruined, the settlers were forced to
start over.
From
1650 until 1700, piracy was the major industry in Rogue Island and
Providence Plantations. For roughly 75 years pirates were embraced
as a valid source of commerce, viewed as a way to boost the local economy by
lowering unemployment among seafaring men, Governors, city leaders, port and
trade officers, sheriffs, merchants, and others all took part. These officials
would use the money and its influence to expand their power and to tighten
their control on the populace.
“Pirates Needed” would have filled the help wanted ads in the second
half of the 17th century and Rogue Island and Providence Plantations were so
welcoming that they were considered ideal places for men like William Kidd,
Blackbeard, Henry Every, and Thomas Tew to recruit, rest, and even take up
residence. These men casually walked the streets enjoying a certain amount of
celebrity. Rogue Island native Thomas Tew returned to his home here after his
legendary haul in the Red Sea. Although it was the
Governor of New York Colonel Benjamin Fletcher sold Tew the letter of marque
for his second and fatal journey to Madagascar.
By the
1690’s the Rogue Island and Providence Plantations legal system had become a
revolving door for pirates and it wasn’t long before English trade officials
were petitioning the king to remove her charter. The English Board of Trade was
referring to Rogue Island as “having become a great receptacle for pirates”.
This
caused local leaders to change their policies. Piracy began to suffer in the
late 1700’s when a larger number of merchant vessels came to Newport, a time
when shop owners had more to lose than gain.
By this time Rogue Island and Providence
Plantations were well on their way to controlling the majority of the North
American slave trade. Local merchants sponsored at least 1,000 slaving voyages
and carried over 100,000 slaves back to America. There are reports of up to 100 Million people enslaved with only 11 million surviving the journey, due to poor record keeping the truth may never be known. One thing is for certain more slave ships would
leave Rogue Island than any other American port.
In 1770, one out of every three families owned at least one slave. It is said
James De Wolf of Bristol gave his wife 2 as Christmas presents, although most
slaves were sold in the Caribbean for molasses that was used to produce rum.
Rum
also fueled the early Rogue Island economy. With twenty-two of over three dozen
distilleries, operating along the Thames St. waterfront, at one time Rogue Island produced
over 80% of the “English Guinea Rum”. Not only did Rogue Island
merchants own the local distilleries they also owned the large sugar
plantations in the West Indies that grew the sugar used to distill the rum.
Abraham
Redwood, a prominent Rogue Island merchant, inherited a large sugar plantation
in Antigua, enslaving over 200 people. Redwood used the profits from these
activities to fund the Redwood Library, America’s oldest existing lending
library. At one point the Quaker Church asked Redwood to either leave the
slave trade or leave the church, he left the church.
In 1774 the slave population of Rogue Island and Providence
Plantations was 6.3%, nearly twice that of any other New England colony. In the
late eighteenth century, several merchant families (most notably the Browns,
for whom Brown University is named) were heavily engaged in the “Triangle Trade”.
The Brown family was one of the first of the Rogue Island
and Providence Plantations merchant families to enter into the slave trade.
James Brown, the father first ventured into the trade in 1736. James died in
1739 leaving his four sons in the care of his younger brother Obidiah. In 1762
Nicholas, John, Joseph and Moses “The Four Brothers” started a candle
works and established the firm, Nicholas Brown & Company.
In
1764 John Brown convinced his brothers to enter the slave trade with Esek
Hopkins, (The First Commander in Chief of the United States Navy) as master of
their brig “Sally”. Nicholas Brown & Company left the slave trade in 1767.
Although brother John remained a member of the firm he continued in the trade
into the early 1800s.
Several
of Rogue Island and Providence Plantations most historically significant colonial
buildings were constructed using slave labor. On Rogue Island these
include the Old Colony House, Redwood Library, Brick Market, and Touro
Synagogue.
In
Providence, Brown University benefited from the profits generated by the trade
and the industries that depended on slavery. The John Brown House located in
Providence lists at least two workers as “Negros”.
In
1774 Stephen Hopkins introduced a bill in the Rogue Island and Providence
Plantations Assembly that prohibited the importation of slaves. This became one
of the first anti-slavery laws in the new world. In February 1784 the Rogue
Island and Providence Plantations legislature passed a measure for gradual
emancipation of slaves.
All
children of slaves born after March 1 were to be “apprentices,” the
girls to become free at 18, the boys at 21. Rogue Island and Providence
Plantations abolished racial segregation throughout the state in 1866. Many
historians believe that without slave labor, the industrialization of New
England and the enriching of Europe would not have been possible.
Rogue
Island and Providence Plantations also had a long tradition of evading the
navigation acts. Beginning with opposition to “The Sugar Act” (1764), and its restrictions on the molasses trade.
In June of 1772, Lieutenant William Duddington, of Her Majesty’s Ship “Gaspee”,
was on patrol for the crown in the waters of Narragansett Bay. Duddington had a
reputation as an overzealous enforcer of “The Stamp Act” . Known
for detaining and boarding merchant
vessels often confiscating their cargoes without recourse for the merchants.
On
June 9, 1772, a vessel out of Rogue Island was under way to Providence when its
captain baited the HMS “Gaspee” leading Lt. Duddington and crew into
shallow waters near what is known today as Warwick causing the “Gaspee” to run aground at Namquid
Point. News of this grounding spread quickly.
The
firm of Nicholas Brown & Co. under Nicholas’ and John’s guidance often
engaged as privateers against British ships. Upon hearing this news John
convened a party of fifty five men and planned an attack on the “Gaspee”.
The following evening they rowed out in eight long boats with muffled oars,
surrounded and boarded the vessel. After wounding Lt. Duddington a
reputed 5” below his belly button they captured his crew, hauled everyone
ashore, and abandoned them. The “Gaspee” was then looted and burned. The
crown offered a 5,000 pound reward for the leader and 2,500 pds. for any of the
men who accompanied him. No one came forward even though everyone
in the state must have known, these men were never prosecuted.
Rogue
Island and Providence Plantations engaged in open defiance against the crown,
with such rebellious acts as the scuttling and torching of the British sloop “Liberty”
in July 1769, the burning of the revenue schooner “Gaspee” in 1772,
and Providence’s own “Tea Party”
in March 1775.
On May
17, 1774, after passage of the “Coercive Acts” the Providence Town
Meeting became the first governmental assembly to call for a general congress
of colonies to resist British policy.
A
leader in the American Revolution, having enjoyed self-rule since her founding,
Rogue Island and Providence Plantations had the most to lose from England’s
efforts to increase supervision and control over her American colonies.
During
the Revolutionary War, Rogue Island and Providence Plantations supplied its
share of men, ships, and money “Volunteers”
included Negro and Indian slaves, who would gain distinction as the “Black Regiment,” a detachment of the
First Rhode Island Regiment. Esek Hopkins (brother of Stephen, a signer of the
Declaration of Independence) became the first commander in chief of the
Continental navy, a force which Rogue Island and Providence Plantations helped
create. Nathanael Greene alsoa Rogue Islander became Washington’s second-in-command and chief of the
Continental army in the South.
When
the British began their occupation of Rogue Island in December 1776, the long
siege to evict them culminated in August 1778 with the inconclusive “Battle of Rhode Island” this act was the first combined effort of the
Americans and their French allies.
The
British voluntarily left Newport in October 1779. In July 1780 the French army
under Comte de Rochambeau made the port town its base of operations. It was
from Rogue Island encampments that the French began their march to Yorktown in
1781.
The Revolution was another blow from
which Rogue Island would recover slowly. The British occupation adversely
affected both its population and its prosperity. In 1774 its population was
9,209, by 1782 it dwindled to 5,532.
Meanwhile the Brown family of Providence
rose to new financial, commercial, and industrial heights, surpassing in
stature, Aaron Lopez, Joseph Wanton, and Christopher Champlin of Rogue Island
and James De Wolf of Bristol.
The
resourceful Brown brothers Nicholas (1729-91), Joseph (1733-85), John
(1736-1803), and Moses (1738-1836) guided by uncles Obadiah (1712-62) and
Elisha (1717-1802), laid the groundwork in this turbulent age for remarkable
commercial and industrial advances.
Rogue Island and Providence Plantations had
a good supply of water courses needed to power mills. With advances in
technology textile production would become the next industry to shape the state
and its communities.
Samuel
Slater (June 9, 1768 – April 21, 1835) an early American industrialist
popularly known as the “Father of the
American Industrial Revolution” or the “Father
of the American Factory System” brought British textile technology to
America. In 1789 Slater violated a British immigration law prohibiting the
spread of British technology to other nations. Slater was the first person in
America who knew how to build as well as operate textile machines. He worked in
nearby Massachusetts as well as Rogue Island and Providence Plantations replicating
British textile equipment until he eventually received backing to design and
build the first water-powered cotton mill in the United States. Hoping to make
his fortune in America’s infant textile industry he sold his knowledge to
American industrialist Moses Brown, who used the plan to generate significant
profits.
Samuel
Slater would open Slater mill in 1793. Enlisting entire families, including
children, to work his mill, these families were often housed in company owned
housing located near the mills, shopped at the company stores, attended company
schools and churches. His methods became known as “The Rhode Island
System.” Wages were low and the
hours were long but this system of labor worked, and by the 1820s it was firmly
established in American industry.
By
1815 there were 167 textile mills producing goods from cotton. Although these
early mills were generally small, they became the center of the community, with
many villages forming around them. In 1832 an estimated 40 percent of all
factory workers were between the ages of seven and sixteen. The families hired
by Slater often relocated to be near the factories, giving rise to mill towns.
By the late 1830s, factory conditions in New England deteriorated. Increased
competition in the industry forced factory owners to cut wages and lengthen
hours to stay profitable and keep up with production demands. As the textiles
industry grew, the supply of labor did not.
The Civil War (1861–1865) disrupted cotton
exports due to a combination of blockades and attempts to use the commodity as
a bargaining tool for foreign support.
Europe sought cotton elsewhere, while in
Rogue Island and Providence Plantations demand remained high.
Despite strenuous
Confederate efforts to prevent cotton from falling into enemy hands, large
amounts were smuggled north keeping the Yankee mills working.
Fortunes of the
textile mills and their communities fluctuated along with cotton prices.
Another textile boom was created with World War I, but it was to be the last.
By the
turn of the century, the Rogue Island and Providence Plantations economy was
booming which increased the demand for immigration. Post-war immigration
increased Rogue Island and Providence Plantations population from the 1860s to
the 1880s, most of the immigrants were coming from England, Ireland, Germany,
Sweden, and Quebec. Towards the end of
the century most immigrants were coming from Southern and Eastern Europe, and
the Mediterranean.
While women and children made up the
majority of the labor force mill owners turned to this steady stream of
immigrants to supplement them. By the second half of the 1800s, Labor systems,
such as Rogue Island’s were no longer necessary. Competition, new fabrics, and a general slowdown in world
economies all contributed to depressing the textile industry. Efforts to reduce
production brought discontent and labor disputes which further hastened the
industrial decline. The industrial boom began to wane in the mid-1920s when
textiles began shutting down. By 1930 over 25% of Rogue Island’s textile mill
workers were unemployed and the latter part of the 19th Century saw an
increased awareness of social issues involving these mill operations.
Conditions were very poor with children working 54-hour weeks while failing to
receive a proper education. As farming moved west, it became even more difficult to
recruit mill hands from the resident population.
The Depression hit the state hard. Rogue
Island and Providence Plantations received a brief boost from World War II that
ended with the war. Further decline came as a result of nation-wide trends,
along with the construction of highways and increased suburbanization. Over the
next thirty years the population of Rogue Island and Providence Plantations
dropped by 38%. At one time Rogue Island and Providence Plantations hosted some
of the largest manufacturing plants in the country, to include Brown &
Sharpe, Nicholson File, and Gorham Silverware, industries that attracted
immigrants from Ireland, French Canada, Germany, Sweden, Portugal, England, Cape
Verde, and Italy.
From the 1950s to the 1980s, Rogue Island and
Providence Plantations was a notorious bastion of organized crime. The area and
gang members operating here were considered by law enforcement officials (LEO)
to be part of the Boston crime family. There is not much verifiable information
about organized crime in New England. What little is available often
contradicts itself.
Vincent Teresa in “My Life in the Mafia,” discusses Frank “Butsey” Morelli, one of five brothers who moved into New England
from Brooklyn during World War I. Allegedly controlling their criminal
operations from Rogue Island and Providence Plantations, it is also alleged
Butsey controlled parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Morelli
is said to have maintained control of this area from 1917 to 1947 when he died
of cancer.
In the mid-1950s LEO (Law Enforcement
Officials) claim Raymond L.S. Patriarca took over “the family” and ran
operations out of Providence. This alleged criminal organization began to be
referred to as the “New England Crime Family”.
Raymond Salvatore Loreda Patriarca was
born on St. Patrick’s Day 1908 in Worcester, Massachusetts. When he was three
years old his family moved to Providence. At the age of seventeen, Patriarca
was arrested and convicted of breaking prohibition laws in Connecticut.
His
arrests include failing to stop for a policeman, breaking and entering, white
slavery, and masterminding a jail-break in which a prison guard along with a
trusty were killed. Over the years Patriarca was arrested or indicted 28 times,
convicted seven, imprisoned four, and served eleven years in prison. The
majority of his prison time was for a murder conspiracy charge during the
1960s.
LEO
believes that Patriarca served his apprenticeship in Providence, first as an
associate and later as a member of the New York Mafia involved with
prostitution and hijacking. In 1938 he participated in the robbery of a
Massachusetts jewelry store. Convicted
of carrying a gun without a permit, possession of burglar’s tools, and armed
robbery Patriarca was sentenced from 3 to 5 years. He was paroled in less than
three months setting off a political corruption storm. The investigation lasted
three years and in 1941 Daniel H. Coakley, a Massachusetts Governor’s Councilor,
was impeached and removed from office. After being released from prison
Patriarca returned to Providence where his influence and power increased during
the 1940s. It is said that Patriarca was the driving force behind, and heir
apparent to, what would become the “New England Crime Family”.
By the
early 1950s, it was impossible to be a major crime figure and not have to deal
with Patriarca. As the alleged crime boss of New England, Patriarca is believed to have formed strong
relationships with New York crime families, who supposedly controlled organized
crime in Providence before he moved in.
In
addition to having close ties to the powerful New York mafia, Patriarca was
also said to have been on the Mafia’s ruling commission with investments in Las Vegas casinos.
One of Patriarca’s under bosses was Gennaro “Jerry” Angiulo. Angiulo who was
involved in the numbers racket in Boston,
was being shaken down by rival mobsters because he was not a “made”
member. Jerry supposedly solved this
problem by paying Patriarca $50,000 plus an additional $100,000 a year to
become a made member. Based in Boston Angiulo gained complete control of
gambling in the city, however, Angiulo’s
office at 98 Prince St was bugged by the FBI, who persuaded Vincent Teresa to
testify against the family. Angiulo tried to have Teresa’s wife and daughter
hurt or killed. But because Teresa was not a “made guy”, this was
a serious violation of the Mafia code. Instead, Ilario “Larry” Zannino,
Angiulo’s number two man, withheld millions from Teresa and never helped out
Teresa’s family. As a result Vincent Teresa testified against them and others,
eventually writing a book about his life in the Mafia.
In
1957, more than 60 of the most powerful crime bosses met in Appalachian, a small
upstate New York town. This meeting was attended by reputed powerful organized
crime figures such as Joe Bonanno, Carlo Gambino, and Vito Genovese. Raymond
Patriarca was also there and subsequently arrested with the other attendees.
The Apalachin Meeting drew a lot of attention from the press, the public, and
law enforcement.
The
situation became worse in 1961, when Robert Kennedy became Attorney General and
began an assault on organized crime. Law enforcement agencies worked to develop
informants within the mob and finally succeeded with Joe Barboza in 1966, a hit
man for the Patriarca family who claimed to have killed 26 people. Arrested on
a concealed weapons charge Barboza became concerned when Patriarca did not post
bail and two of his friends were killed for trying to do so. Barboza turned
informant and in 1967 Patriarca and Enrico Tameleo were indicted for the murder
of Providence bookmaker, Willie Marfeo. While Patriarca was in prison, Angiulo
served as acting boss. When Patriarca was released in 1974 he resumed control
of the family.
Patriarca
would be plagued by law enforcement for the rest of his life. LEO charged him
numerous times for a variety of crimes until his death. These charges included
the murder of Raymond Curcio in 1983, and again in 1984 for the murder of
Robert Candos, whom Patriarca believed, was an informant. On July 11, 1984
Raymond “il Patrone” Patriarca died of a heart attack at the age of 76.
In
1986 Rogue Island and Providence Plantations would see it’s Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court, Joseph A. Bevilacqua resign after an investigation of his
activities revealed his misuse of public funds and employees, along with other
behavior unbefitting a judge. Had he not resigned voluntarily he would have
been impeached.
In 1991 Superior Court Judge Antonio Almeida was arrested for
soliciting bribes, convicted and sent to prison. Two years later a second Chief
Justice, Thomas F. Fay, resigned in the face of unethical conduct charges and
the prospect of impeachment.
Also in 1991 a massive embezzlement by banker
Joseph Mollicone led to the collapse of 45 credit unions denying 350,000
people, a third of the population without access to their money. On New Year’s
Day 1991 the newly elected Governor Bruce Sundlun announced that Rogue Island
and Providence Plantations banks and credit unions would be closed.
The Rhode Island Share and Deposit Indemnity
Corporation, the private fund that insured the deposits collapsed. $1 billion
dollars, belonging to more than 150,000 depositors, were frozen. Joe Mollicone
fled the state.
By
bankrupting RISDIC Mollicone exposed the insurer as a sham. There was nothing
backing up the more than $1 billion in deposits.
Under Governor Sundlun’s plan,
depositors with up to $100,000 were to get back all their money. Those with
more than $100,000 were given no guarantees. Depositors didn’t receive their
money until June 1992, 18 months later. Bankruptcy filings increased 62% and
needless to say many businesses didn’t survive.
When
the facts came out about the corrupt politics and inside deals that caused this
collapse the state exploded. Rogue Island and Providence Plantations became a
national laughingstock, depicted in the media as a Third World state, a corrupt
backwater run by crooked politicians and mobbed backed bankers.
While depositors worried about paying their
bills, those “connected” lived the life of the idle rich. Robert
Barbato, an alleged associate of mob boss Raymond J. “Junior” Patriarca
walked off with more than $2 million. Questionable transactions enabled him to
buy a $200,000 Rolls-Royce convertible and $60,000 worth of Boston Red Sox
luxury skyboxes. At the RISDIC Commission hearings, Robert Barbato invoked his
Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, others involved did the same.
There
were plenty of people to blame. From bankers to the General Assembly yet the
main focus was placed on two men, Mollicone, the banker, and former governor
Edward DiPrete.
Ed
DiPrete served three terms as governor, had an audience with Pope John Paul II
at the Vatican, hung out with Presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and rubbed
elbows with the jet set, had known since 1986 that the system was ripe for
disaster. The commission investigating this financial fiasco concluded that
DiPrete failed in his duty to protect Rogue Island and Providence Plantations
depositors.
On
December 11, 1998 despite having vowed never to speak the words Ed DiPrete
professed “GUILTY Your Honor”
In
2009 Governor Carcieri audited the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation
who ran the state landfill “as their own personal playground.” The audit
revealed at least $75 million had been wasted during the eight-year period
between 1999 and 2007. Rogue Island State Police, working with the auditors,
conducted their own inquiry. Due to
obstacles such as a lack of cooperation from witnesses and statute of
limitation concerns no criminal charges were filed.
It’s
difficult to imagine this “nest of
pestilential heretics” as a 5 star resort destination but alas this “City by the Sea” with her awe-inspiring
architecture, bustling downtown waterfront, and welcoming hospitality, is
considered by many to be a shining gem that epitomizes the ambiguities of the
proverbial “American Dream”.
Cotton Mather disagreed believing
Rogue Island to be “the sewer of New
England”
Regardless
of opinion Rogue Island and Providence Plantations provide the options of
interesting activities, distinctive stories, and enticing photo opportunities
for millions of people drawn by the allure of Amercana.
To
explore this Rogue Island simply follow the vicious circle, starting with town center
the Old Colony House, where titles were obtained, brothers committed, and
magistrates bought. Out to the parade where Brick market awaits, merchants
still ply their wares brought from far away lands or perhaps created by a local
craftsman, food and beverage are in abundance, no longer for sale outright,
slaves are now rented by the hour or task.
Meandering
down Thames Street reveals resort living at its finest. With priceless harbor
views and often raved about restaurants serving everything from animals to
zucchini to customer satisfaction, not to mention the many varieties of “English Guinea” available. This short stretch of Newport sets
the standard for a life of leisure.
Near the
end of Thames Street is Wellington Avenue, which locals consider the start of the world famous “Ocean Drive”
a breathing taking excursion from beginning to end. Literally…
Waste
water empties into the harbor here and the land on the corner
was/is a toxic waste dump before becoming the luxurious resort it is
today. The stench isn't quite as bad as the odorless treatment plant to the north BUT...
Beginning with King’s Park the
home of the Ida Lewis Yacht Club ending near the home
of the late Senator Claiborne Pell (Pelican Lodge) this portion of Newport is a
fabulous recreational treasure of public parks with miles of accessible
shoreline, ranked as one of the most popular drives in the country.
“Swiss Village” built in 1916 by Arthur Curtiss James modeled on a Swiss Village from the
Italian region of Switzerland, which recently underwent renovations that were
completed in 2002 when the “SVF Foundation” commenced its preservation program
for endangered breeds of livestock, the former home of JFK, that is literally
across the street from one of America’s first golf courses are only a few of
the amazing sites to be seen on this Ocean Drive.
The east wall of Hammersmith Farm, originally owned by William
Brenton who named the region after his former home later the childhood home of Jacqueline Kennedy, known as the Summer White House while JFK held office marks the entrance to
Fort Adam state park once the largest coastal fortification in the United
States, now a playground for all to enjoy. Fort Adams offers not only wonderful panoramas, but also
areas for picnics and aquatic activities.
Every summer the park plays host to the Newport Jazz
Festival and the Newport Folk Festival.
Sail Newport, the Museum of Yachting,
the Eisenhower House and the Block Island ferry are just a few of the many
organizations that call Fort Adams home today.
Three athletic fields, The Joseph "Jay"
Kirwin Memorial Rugby Pitch, home field of the Newport Rugby Football Club,
where the annual Newport Rugby Sevens Tournament is held each summer. In
addition to the dedicated Kirwin rugby there are two soccer fields/rugby
pitches all of which are shared with Salve Regina University.
The wedding reception of Jacqueline Lee Bouvier and John
Fitzgerald Kennedy was held at Hammersmith Farm on September 12, 1953. During
his presidency, Kennedy spent so much time at Hammersmith that it was referred
to as the "Summer White House." The estate features a large 28-room mansion built in 1887
that was opened for public tours in the late 1970s. In November 1999 the property was
sold off as a private residence for a reported $8 million and closed to the public today it is owned by the SVF.
President Kennedy often golfed across Harrison Avenue at
the Newport Country Club. An average length course with personality, where the
greens undulate on the short holes and are slightly sloped on the long holes,
the narrow fairways require accurate shot placement to make birdie or par.
Originally founded in 1894 NCC is listed by the USGA as one of the first 100
clubs established in the U.S.
Castle
Hill light sits on the westernmost point of Rogue Island. A 34-foot tall
granite lighthouse built in May 1890. Originally housing a fifth order Fresnel
lens that flashed a red light visible for 10 nautical miles. The light was
automated in 1957 and a modern optic lens replaced the fifth-order lens.
Castle
Hill received worldwide attention June of 1989, when the “World Prodigy”
a Greek oil tanker ran aground on Brenton Reef, spilling about
7000 barrels (294,000 gals.) of fuel oil.
Located at the southern tip of Rogue Island, with an ever
changing view of the Narragansett Bay meeting the Atlantic Ocean is Brenton
Point State Park, a Memorial to the lost, a playground to the living, a place
of wonder to all. With the vast Atlantic in one direction, a nature trail
through the past in another, Brenton Point is truly unique.
The story of Brenton Point begins with the start of Rogue
Island’s earliest history, named for colonial Governor, William Brenton
(1600-1674). Its commanding view of the ocean and its rugged topography made it
an ideal location for early settlement. The original farm encompassed the state park Castle Hill, Hammersmith Farm, and Fort Adams.
Further along Ocean Avenue is King’s Beach, a rugged patch of coastline with a sandy cove nestled inside rough rock
outcroppings. The sandy cove is preferred by casual bathers, the more
adventurous prefer the rocks, and both settings provide easy access to the
Atlantic.
Ocean Avenue spans the spillway at Green Bridge a true splendor of
nature where the salt water of the Atlantic merges with the fresh water of the
island.
Hazard, Goose Berry & Spouting Rock
beaches can be found on the eastern end of this splendid drive while many new
and a few older summer homes dot the surrounding landscape.
Ocean Avenue
empties onto Bellevue Avenue this is where the ocean portion of “Ocean
Drive” ends and the museums begin.
The late Senator Pells home “Pelican Lodge” is
located along the eastern cliff of Spouting Rock (Bailey’s) Beach, on Ledge
road. This house is a front row seat to natures fury situated directly across
from “Spouting Rock”, a crevice in the opposing cliff that during
turbulent water shoots plumes high into the air that turn to mist.
A Stroll down “The Avenue” brings the commoner to
the gates of Rogue Island royalty. Today after paying a fee one can enter
through the front doors. In the days of yore commoners were paid to use the
back door, some things do change. Bellevue Avenue North flows into Touro
Street, home to America’s oldest synagogue.
In or
around 1658, Rogue Island's first Jewish community “Sephardic Jews” arrived
from Spain and Portugal. At first they held services in private homes and
rented buildings. In 1677 they bought a cemetery and the ground was broken for Touro
synagogue in 1759 although the structure wasn’t completed until 1763.
Peter Harrison, designer of King's Chapel in
Boston and Christ Church in Cambridge, volunteered his services and designed
the building. Ground was broke in 1759. Completed for Chanukah in 1763 it is
located on what was originally called Griffin Street.
The
founding Newport congregation known as "Yeshuat Israel" or Salvation
of Israel didn’t name the synagogue Touro. It was named in recognition of
Abraham Touro’s generous gifts to restore the building, street, and boundary
walls in the mid-19th century.
Under the Bimah there’s a trap door that was
used to hide slaves as part of the Underground Railroad.
The
trap door also represents the Marrano tradition of remembering the perils of
Jews living in Spain and Portugal during the Inquisition.
"It [Touro] is not
only the oldest Synagogue in America but also one of the oldest symbols of
liberty. No better tradition exists than the history of Touro Synagogue's
great contribution to the goals of freedom and justice for all."
President John F.
Kennedy, September 15, 1963
Down
the street from Touro synagogue, directly across from the Ambassador John L.
Loeb, Jr. Visitors Center sits the Old Colony House resting quietly. No
longer, the hub of Rogue Island government, now simply a lure
for the tourist and a gathering spot for historians.
Today Rogue Island Justice
is served at the Florence K. Murray Judicial Complex sitting majestically atop
Washington Square. Which marks the beginning and end of the vicious circle of life on this rock.
Visitors are cautioned to act responsibly while imbibing in
the Guinea, G*D forbid, they find themselves before the Judge.
Now days Rogue Island tries to keep its criminals confined to public office but citizens
should be aware scoundrels of all sorts are known to frequent this Isle of
Peace.
“We are a commune of
inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile,
traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many
interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education
(or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the
dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and
none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive
neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-
gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.” Maggie (from the internet)
This is a brief synopsis of the history and layout of this nest of pestilential heretics I was born onto. An isle full of fascinating and intriguing tales of vampires, witches, and the Illuminati that I a simple native wish to share with this blog.
Thank You for visiting, be sure to check back often as I can't say how frequently I'll be posting.
What can I say?
Sometimes life gets in the way of the plan.
Until next time PEACE from this isle of miscreants
ALL comments and feedback are WELCOME
