Rhode Island Trivia & Tidbits - Page 16

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

The first Baptist Church in America was established in Providence in 1638. It has been faithfully restored and features a Waterford crystal chandelier dating from 1792.

first appeared: 6/3/2001

Some believe a stone tower of unknown origin in Newport (pop. 30,000) is the oldest structure in America, speculating that it was built by Vikings around A.D. 1050.

first appeared: 5/27/2001

The Kingston (pop. 6,504) Free Library, its building erected in 1775, was originally the Washington County Courthouse where Rhode Island’s General Assembly first met.

first appeared: 5/20/2001

The Crescent Park Carousel in East Providence, with its many hand-fashioned pieces, is the state’s official symbol of folk art.

first appeared: 5/13/2001

Kingston (pop. 6,504), founded in 1674, is home to the University of Rhode Island. Until the town was renamed in 1824, it was known as “Little Rest” because of its use as a resting place for British soldiers.

first appeared: 5/6/2001

The skylight-covered Arcade, built in Providence in 1828, has been upgraded many times and still attracts thousands of visitors every day. It may be America’s oldest shopping mall.

first appeared: 4/29/2001

U.S. naval hero Commodore Matthew Perry (1794-1858), born in Kingston (pop. 3,000), negotiated a trade treaty with Japan, which was at that time closed to the West. The treaty of peace and commerce was signed at Yokohama in 1854.

first appeared: 4/22/2001

Pelham Street in Newport (pop. 29,500) was the first in the country to use gas-illuminated streetlights.

first appeared: 4/15/2001

Poet Galway Kinnell was born Feb. 1, 1927, in Providence. He won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, among many other awards.

first appeared: 4/8/2001

New England’s oldest Masonic Temple in Warren (pop. 12,000) was built in the 18th century with timbers from British frigates sunk in Newport Harbor during the Revolutionary War.

first appeared: 4/1/2001

Celebrating since 1785, Bristol (pop. 21,600) claims to have the longest running, unbroken series of July Fourth observances in the country.

first appeared: 3/25/2001

According to an old law, no store in Providence is allowed to sell a toothbrush on the Sabbath. Nothing is said, however, about the sale of toothpaste.

first appeared: 3/18/2001

Sea captain Robert Gray (1755-1806) was born in Tiverton (pop. 14,000). For three years, between 1787 and 1790, while sailing almost 42,000 miles gathering a cargo of sea otter skins, he carried the American flag around the world for the first time.

first appeared: 3/11/2001

The huge marble dome that tops the state capitol building in Providence—much copied on other government buildings around the country—was the first of its kind in the United States.

first appeared: 3/4/2001

A reproduction of the Liberty Bell in Rhode Island’s State House was donated by the U.S. Treasury Department in 1950, when Harry Truman was president (1945-1953). A realistic copy, it even has a crack similar to the original.

first appeared: 2/25/2001

Though second in command to George Washington, Nathaniel Greene (1742-1786), a Rhode Islander, was one of the most capable generals of the Revolutionary War effort. Though raised in the Society of Friends (Quakers), whose teachings shun violence, Greene and his forces were greatly feared by British Gen. Charles Cornwallis.

first appeared: 2/18/2001

The gravesite of the first girl born to colonists in New England is at Little Compton (pop. 1,500). Elizabeth was the daughter of John and Priscilla Alden. She was born in 1623 and died in 1717.

first appeared: 2/11/2001

The 1707 Old Narraganset Church in Kingston, R.I., (pop. 6,504) has an organ—still in use—dating back to 1680, the oldest in the United States.

first appeared: 2/4/2001

—Rhode Island has no county government. The state is divided into 39 municipalities, each having its own form of local government.

first appeared: 1/28/2001

Newport (pop. 23,500) became a fashionable retreat—mainly for people looking to escape the summer heat of New York City—following the Civil War. Many of their palatial, so-called “cottages” can still be visited.

first appeared: 1/21/2001

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