Rhode Island

Elisabeth Hasselbeck was born in Rhode Island in 1977. She works as talk show host, an author, and an actor. She has wrote 4 books.

Forests in Rhode Island cover about three/fifths or 55.6% of the state. Rhode Island is estimated to have o.4 million acres of forests. 

Rhode Island gained its independence from Great Britain on May 4 in 1776. Rhode Island was the first colony to gain independence from New England.

Hasbro Toys started in Providence, Rhode Island in 1923. Hasbro Toys was started by Henry, Halil, and Herman Hassenfeld, brothers who came from Poland.

Adrian Block was a dutch explorer who named the state. He named it Rode Eiland which means red island in dutch. Later the name changed to Rhode Island in 1614.

The yachting museum was founded in 1979 by Elizabeth Meyer and John Mecray.

The Touro synagogue was built in 1759. The founder of the synagogue was Peter Harrison. It is the oldest synagogue in America. In 1946 it was declared a national historic site.

Rhode Island was the first colony to give up its loyalty to Great Britain in May 1776.

In 1897 a school did a survey which let students pick a flower to be the state flower. The top 10 flowers were arbutus, buttercup, Daisy, golden rod, Lily, water Lilly, Violet, pansy, pink, and the rose.In 1968 the violet was officially adopted to be the state flower.

Warwick was founded in 1642 by Samuel Gorton and is the second largest city in rode island. Nathanael Greene was born in Warwick and was a General during the revolutionary war.

Hope is the motto of Rhode Island. It was probably inspired by the biblical phrase “hope we have as an anchor in the soul.” During the revolutionary war, hope the motto was put on the flag. On May 19, 1897 the final flag was decided. 

The first circus in North America was held in Newport, Rhode Island in 1774.  It was named Ringling Bros. Circus. Christopher h. Gardner was the founder of the circus. During the first few years, they only did equestrian performances. Later on, other animals and acts were included. The very last show of this circus was held in New York on May 21, 2017 after 146 years of performing.

The quahog is a thick hard shelled clam. The quahog festival is a festival in Rhode Island that is held each year on the third weekend of July. There are crafts, art, live music, and seafood. The quahog festival was founded in 1982.

Roger Williams was born on December 21st, 1603. He was a Puritan minister, theologian, and an author. Roger Williams founded Rhode Island. He later wrote the first book about the Narragansett language.

N is for Newport International Tennis Hall of Fame

Newport international tennis hall of fame was founded by James Van Alen in 1880. The first championships at Newport International tennis hall of fame was in 1881. This event lasted from 1881-1914. It had to stop due to World War I.

King Phillips war was a conflict between English colonists and native Americans. It took place in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and in Maine. It lasted from 1675 to 1678. It is called King Philips war because king Philip, also know as Metacom was the leader of the Wampanoag tribe who led the Wampanoags, Narraganset, Nipmuck, and the Pocumtuck against the colonist, the Mohegan and the Mohawks.

Rhode Island is the 16th wealthiest state in America. The wealthiest town in Rhode Island is Jamestown. Out of 418,815 households only 6.22% are millionaires.

S is for Saint Marys Roman Catholic Church 

St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church was built in 1848. The founders are Patrick Keely, Dudely Newton, Ambrose Murphy, John F Hogan, and Milton Kenyon. The church has four main buildings:the brownstone, Gothic revival, the Parrish House, formally a school, and a convent. John F Kennedy got married in the Saint Marys Roman Catholic Church to Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953.

Gilbert Stuart was born in Rhode Island in 1775. He painted George Washington’s portrait in 1795. That painting was put on the 1$ bill.

Jewelry making is the top industry in Rhode Island for the past 200 years since two brothers, Nehemiah and Seril Dodge started the jewelry-making industry in America.

Ann Franklin was America’s first female editor. She worked for the Newport mercury in Rhode Island in 1758.

Block Island is a popular tourist spot. Block island is known for its amazing hiking and biking trails. People also go there to sail.

Roger Williams zoo was founded on June 1st, 1872 by Roger Williams. Roger Williams zoo is one of the oldest zoos in the nation. Roger Williams zoo has over 160 different species of animals. It also has many endangered animals.

Rhode Island’s official nickname is the ocean state because Rhode Island is known for its beaches and seaside colonial towns. Rhode Island is only 37 miles wide and 48 miles long but it’s shoreline runs for 400 miles!

The population in Rhode Island is 1.059 million.

Little Rhody is one of the nicknames given to Rhode Island. It is referring to the small size of Rhode Island.

Name

Safari may block some audio or video from playing automatically and ‘read to me’ will skip these. You can configure this in Safari’s preferences.