Rhode Island

Rhode Island (ⁱ/ˌroʊdˈaɪlənd/, officially the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States. Rhode Island is the smallest in area, the eighth least populous, and the second most densely populated (behind New Jersey) of the 50 U.S. states; its official name is also the longest of any state in the Union. Rhode Island is bordered by Connecticut to the west, Massachusetts to the north and east, and the Atlantic Ocean (via Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound) to the south.

On May 4, 1776, Rhode Island became the first of the Thirteen Colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown, and later, was the fourth to ratify—February 9, 1778—the Articles of Confederation between the newly sovereign states. It boycotted the 1787 convention that drew up the United States Constitution, and initially refused to ratify it. On May 29, 1790, Rhode Island became the thirteenth and last state to ratify the Constitution.

Rhode Island wine

Rhode Island wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Viticulture in Rhode Island began in 1663 when King Charles II of England included wine production among the land uses approved in the royal charter establishing Rhode Island as an English colony. The modern wine industry of Rhode Island began in 1975 when Sakonnet Vineyards was established near Little Compton. Located near the Atlantic Ocean, Rhode Island has one of the most moderate climates of the U.S. northeast.

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Rhode Island (disambiguation)

Rhode Island is a state in the United States, officially titled the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

Rhode Island may also refer to:

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Rhode Island Mall

Rhode Island Mall was a two-story, enclosed shopping mall located in the city of Warwick, Rhode Island, USA. It opened in October 1967 as the Midland Mall, as the first two-level mall in Warwick, RI. In 1970, Warwick Mall was opened just North of the Midland Mall, across Interstate 295. Although the two malls co-existed for several years, Rhode Island Mall began to lose stores once G. Fox, one of its anchor stores, closed in 1994.

History

The land on which the mall sits was pasture land when Homart Development Company (the mall building subsidiary of Sears) purchased it in 1963. To accommodate the mall, a hill was leveled and the course of the Pawtuxet River was altered.

The Rhode Island Mall opened in October 1967 as the Midland Mall that included 60 shops. Its anchors were Sears and Providence based Shepards department store. Homart sold the mall to MetLife in 1981 for $20 million.

It was officially renamed the "Rhode Island Mall" in March 1985.

In 1988, May Department Stores acquired Boston-based department store chain Filene's. May merged its previously owned G. Fox division into Filene's in 1993, and converted all of its stores, including the Rhode Island Mall location, to the Filene's name. Filene's closed their Rhode Island Mall location four years later, in favor of the existing store at Warwick Mall. After the closure of Filene's, nearly one-third of the mall (including both the former Filene's and the food court) was demolished for a two-level anchor, featuring Kohl's on one level and Wal-Mart on the other. When it became clear that neither store would open into the mall concourse, most of the remaining shops vacated, turning Rhode Island Mall into a dead mall.

Rhode Island, It's for Me

"Rhode Island’s It For Me" is the official state song of Rhode Island. The lyrics are by Charlie Hall, and the music was written by Maria Day. Hall, a comedian, was known for poking fun at Rhode Island in the songs composed for the comedy troupes of "Charlie Hall's Ocean State Follies." Asked at some point after 1992 if he could write something good about the state, Hall penned "Rhode Island’s It For Me." It was adopted as the state song in 1996, replacing "Rhode Island," by T. Clarke Browne, which became the official state march.

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Aquidneck Island

Aquidneck Island is an island located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, in Narragansett Bay. The total land area is 97.9 km² (37.8 sq mi), which makes it the largest island in the bay. The 2000 United States Census reported its population as 60,870.

Aquidneck Island is home to three towns, from north to south geographically: Portsmouth, Middletown and Newport.

History

English colonists first settled on present-day Aquidneck Island in 1638 in the region called by the natives "Pocasset" (meaning "where the stream widens"), the northern part of Portsmouth. At one time, Aquidneck Island was controlled by the Wampanoag, whose leader was the Sachem Massasoit. Traditionally, Massasoit greeted the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1621. Aquidneck Island was used primarily as a hunting territory although it was probably a summer residence as well.

As many as nine in ten of the Wampanoags were killed by the epidemics brought to North America by the Europeans in 1617–1619. The Narragansetts, who were unaffected by the diseases, fought for and obtained control of Aquidneck Island and other places. The Wampanoags regained control over their territories.