Newport, RI Summary

Since the late 1800s, this resort city of 28,200 residents on the island of Rhode Island (also known as Aquidneck) in Narragansett Bay has been a summer haven for the ultra-rich. Now less exclusive, the area’s history is reflected in its summer “cottages,” which are actually great estates and mansions.

There are a number of these mansions on Bellevue Avenue. Among those that are open for tours are the Astors’ Beechwood Mansion and Victorian Living History Museum (1857), Belcourt Castle (designed in 1891), The Breakers (1895), and Chateausur- Mer (1852).

Also open to the public is Hammersmith Farm (1887), the childhood home of Jacqueline Bouvier and the site of the wedding reception for her and her new husband, John F. Kennedy, who used it as a summer White House during his presidency.

Religious refugees from the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony established the town of Newport in 1639. A safe harbor for many different faiths, the town saw Quakers arriving in 1657 (the Friends Meeting House built in 1699 still stands), followed by Sephardic Jews in 1658. Newport’s Jewish heritage is preserved at Touro Synagogue National Historic Site, the oldest (1763) Jewish house of worship in the nation.

Narragansett Bay hosted the America’s Cup Race from 1930 to 1983, and boatbuilding remains an active industry here. Newport also has a large fishing industry. The bay was the principal port for the US Navy’s Atlantic Fleet in the early 1900s.

Fort Adams State Park, a military installation from 1799 to 1945, is the venue for the annual Newport Jazz Festival, held in July, and for Ben & Jerry’s Newport Folk Festival, in August. Other places of interest are the Museum of Yachting and the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum.

Newport’s naval heritage continues at the Naval War College, the Naval Education and Training Center and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center.

During the Revolutionary War, General George Washington met with the French General Comte de Rochambeau at the Old Colony House (1739) on Washington Square. The Declaration of Independence was read from its balcony in 1776. The US Constitution was ratified in the building in 1790.

Newport shared the role of state capital with Providence until 1900. The city’s attractions include the public Gooseberry and Easton’s Beaches, and nearby Sachuest and Third Beaches, which are located in Middletown. Walkers enjoy the 3-mile Cliff Walk path between Easton’s and Bailey’s Beaches (the latter is private). Harbor tours are also available.

Newport can be reached by car by Hwys 24 and 138. Ferries shuttle from Providence to Newport and Block Island.