Rhode Island Trivia & Tidbits - Page 10

Looking for Rhode Island trivia? Try our list Rhode Island little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

The endangered American burying beetle is only found in Rhode Island and several Midwest locations. Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence is captive breeding the carrion-eating beetle to reintroduce it to its former haunts.

first appeared: 9/21/2003

Motorists traveling Interstate 95 through Providence may spy Nibbles, a 58-foot-long blue termite, atop the roof of a local pest control company. Built in 1980, the bug is 928 times larger than an actual termite.

first appeared: 9/14/2003

Selectively bred from English and Dutch horses, Rhode Island’s Narragansett pacer was the first American-bred horse of the Colonial era. It was a Narragansett pacer that carried Paul Revere on his famous ride.

first appeared: 9/7/2003

The coastal pond at Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, once part of the Charlestown Naval Air Station, was created from glacial runoff 14,000 years ago. More than 30 percent of the state’s endangered species can be found there.

first appeared: 8/31/2003

The Portsmouth Compact of 1638, said to be the country’s first authentic guarantee of civil and religious freedom, was written by the founders of Portsmouth (pop. 17,149). The original document is housed at the Statehouse in Providence.

first appeared: 8/24/2003

The Herreshoff Museum in Bristol (pop. 22,469) is home to the America’s Cup Hall of Fame. The Herreshoff family constructed eight consecutive defenders of the America’s Cup from 1893 to 1934.

first appeared: 8/17/2003

When the improvements Zachariah Allen made to his Providence mill in 1835 failed to convince insurers to lower his premiums, he decided to form Manufacturer’s Mutual Fire Insurance Co. Today, the company is known as Factory Mutual Global.

first appeared: 8/10/2003

Visitors to Providence’s Waterplace Park can catch one of the periodic Waterfire displays as 97 bonfires are set ablaze in metal braziers along the middle of the Providence River.

first appeared: 8/3/2003

Designed and built by native Dane Charles Looff in 1895, the Looff Carousel in Crescent Park still functions on its original site in East Providence (pop. 48,688).

first appeared: 7/27/2003

The United States National Lawn Tennis Association was formed in 1881 in New York City. That same year, the first National Lawn Tennis Championships were held at the Newport Casino in Newport (pop. 26,475).

first appeared: 7/20/2003

Benjamin Franklin, using the pen name Silence Dogood, frequently contributed letters to the New England Courant, his brother James’ newspaper in Newport (pop. 26,475).

first appeared: 7/13/2003

The sloop Providence, a replica of the ship commanded by John Paul Jones, is used to educate students about Rhode Island and the ship’s heroic role in the American Revolution.

first appeared: 7/6/2003

The Towers, once an integral component of the Narragansett Pier Casino, are all that remain of the resort destroyed by fire in 1900. Fires also have claimed most of the grand hotels in Narragansett, (pop. 16,361) although many grand “cottages” remain.

first appeared: 6/29/2003

Rhode Island reportedly enacted the nation’s first law prohibiting slavery on May 18, 1652.

first appeared: 6/22/2003

Westerly (pop. 22,966) was known by American Indians as Misquamicut, or “a place for taking salmon.” In later times, however, the town became known for its granite, used in monuments around the country.

first appeared: 6/15/2003

Writer H.P. Lovecraft immortalized the town of Glocester (pop. 9,948) in verse following his 1923 visit. The town also is known for its annual Ancients and Horribles Parade, which draws 10,000 spectators.

first appeared: 6/8/2003

From 1789 to 1979, five generations of one family owned and operated Watson Farm in Jamestown (pop. 5,622). It remains a working farm where livestock, vegetables, and hay are produced for market.

first appeared: 6/1/2003

The Newport Polo Club at Glen Farm in Portsmouth (pop. 17,149) is host to the Newport International Polo Series, reportedly the only forum in the world primarily dedicated to international polo competition.

first appeared: 5/25/2003

Gilbert Stuart, famous for his portraits of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe, was born in North Kingston (pop. 26,326) in 1755.

first appeared: 5/18/2003

On Block Island (pop. 1,000) archaeologists unearthed the remains of a year-round American Indian village dating from 2000 B.C., believed to be the oldest such village in southern New England.

first appeared: 5/11/2003

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