Rhode Island Trivia & Tidbits - Page 12
Looking for Rhode Island trivia? Try our list Rhode Island little know facts, tidbits and trivia.
The blizzard of Feb. 6, 1978, was the worst snowstorm in the state’s recorded history. Until local Army and National Guard units dug out Providence’s streets, they were closed, and downtown commuter traffic wasn’t allowed until Feb. 13.
first appeared: 2/16/2003
A former Soviet cruise missile submarine acquired from the Russians after its decommissioning is moored—and may be visited—at Collier Point Park in Providence. The boat was used in the 2002 movie The Widowmaker.
first appeared: 2/9/2003
The Atlantic House hotel in Newport (pop. 26,475) converted its dining room into a skating area in 1866, becoming the first roller skating rink in America open to the public.
first appeared: 2/2/2003
The Masonic Temple in Warren (pop. 11,360), one of New England’s oldest Masonic buildings, was built in the 18th century with some of its timbers taken from British frigates sunk in Newport Harbor during the Revolutionary War.
first appeared: 1/26/2003
Six native Rhode Islanders served as Civil War generals, but the one most remembered, Gen. Ambrose Burnside, was born in Indiana. He eventually became senator and governor of his adopted state.
first appeared: 1/19/2003
Mr. Potato Head, the first toy to be advertised on television, was created in 1952 at the Hasbro plant in Pawtucket.
first appeared: 1/12/2003
America’s first straw hats were made by 12-year-old Betsey Metcalf of Providence in 1798. Within a few years, straw bonnets—of braided oat straw—became all the rage in America.
first appeared: 1/5/2003
When the British revenue schooner HMS Gaspee ran aground in Narragansett Bay on June 9, 1772, while pursuing the American sloop Hannah, citizens rowed out to the sandbar and burned the ship—one of the earliest acts of open rebellion in the colonies.
first appeared: 12/29/2002
Revolutionary War naval captain Esek Hopkins (1718-1802), born in Scituate (pop. 10,324), was appointed commander in chief of the newly established Continental Navy in December 1775.
first appeared: 12/22/2002
Ann & Hope, the first discount department store in this country, opened in 1953 in Cumberland (pop. 31,840). The company offered self-service and discount prices.
first appeared: 12/15/2002
Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643) became the first woman to establish a town in America when she left Massachusetts to found Portsmouth (pop. 17,149) in 1637.
first appeared: 12/8/2002
Coaster’s Harbor Island in Narragansett Bay was once home to The Newport Asylum for the Poor. Built in 1822, the asylum was converted into the Naval War College in 1884, and the island is still used as a naval training center.
first appeared: 12/1/2002
The first European to be born in Rhode Island was Matthew Borden. He was born in Portsmouth on May 16, 1638, and died in 1708.
first appeared: 11/24/2002
The state’s first census, taken in 1708, counted a population of 7,181 souls. Its population today is just over 1 million, making it 43rd in number of residents in the 50 states.
first appeared: 11/17/2002
Native Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828), known mainly for his painting of George Washington, earned a reputation as a portraitist in England and Ireland before returning to America to paint this country’s great patriots.
first appeared: 11/10/2002
Rhode Island has more than 20 lights—but perhaps the state’s most visible is Pomham Rocks Light in the Providence River. Built in 1871, the lighthouse housed light keepers until 1974, when it was automated.
first appeared: 11/3/2002
One of this nation’s first female “doctors” was Sarah Walker Sands (1645-1726), who provided the only medical care available on Block Island. She ran a hospital from her home following her arrival there in 1660.
first appeared: 10/27/2002
Nathaniel Greene, a leader in the American Revolution, was allowed by the Colonial legislature to raise and command a 1,500-man “army of observation” just a week after the skirmishes at Concord and Lexington in 1775.
first appeared: 10/20/2002
Although much of the state is on the mainland, Rhode Island takes its name from the largest island in Narragansett Bay. The island’s largest town is Newport (pop. 26,475).
first appeared: 10/13/2002
A number of towns along the state’s southern coast have American Indian names, including Misquamicut, Weekapaug, Quonochontaug, Matunuck, and Narragansett.
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first appeared: 10/6/2002
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