About Newport, RI

Newport is located on Aquidneck Island on the southern coast of Rhode Island.  Founded in 1639 by English settlers, Newport was already a haven for pirates and privateers, a major port for the profitable trade in slaves, molasses and the rum from it.  As a busy seaport it even surpassed New York and Boston at the time.  What the English settlers found on their arrival was hardly an empty wilderness. Native people had been in the area for at least 5,000 years, and had established sophisticated land management and fishing practices. Current evidence points to the existence of a large summer settlement in what is now downtown Newport, and the work these native people had done clearing the land was one of the factors that made this area attractive to English settlers.

By the 1760s Newport had emerged as one of the five leading ports in colonial North America, along with Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston. The economic growth spurred a building boom which included hundreds of houses and many of the internationally important landmarks that survive today, such as Trinity Church, the Colony House, the Redwood Library, and the Brick Market (now home to the Museum of Newport History).

Newport's history is remarkable in many ways, but perhaps the most unique aspect is that so much of its history is still visible on the landscape in an unparalleled concentration of preserved architecture.  Today, Newport is known as a famous summer colony for America's wealthy. Many beautiful mansions, such as the Breakers, Belcourt Castle, Chateau-sur-Mer and more dot the lovely cliffs.