About Rhode Island

Rhode Island's official name, the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, combines two distinct origins. "Providence" was named by Roger Williams, who founded the settlement in 1636 after being banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony. Williams chose the name in gratitude for what he called "God's merciful providence" in giving him shelter with the Narragansett people during his winter flight from Massachusetts. "Rhode Island" refers to Aquidneck Island in Narragansett Bay, which Dutch explorer Adrian Block had called "Roode Eylandt" (Red Island) on a 1614 map, possibly for its red clay soil. The two settlements were united under a single royal charter in 1663. Rhode Island's full original name, the longest official state name in the country, was formally shortened by a referendum in 2020.

Rhode Island packs an extraordinary amount of American history into its 1,545 square miles. It is the smallest state in the Union by area, but it was the first to declare independence, the birthplace of American industrial manufacturing, and the origin point of religious freedom in the New World, ideas that shaped the entire American experiment.

The state's character is defined by Narragansett Bay, which cuts 28 miles inland and gives Rhode Island more coastline per square mile than almost any other state. Providence, the capital and largest city, has transformed itself from a struggling post-industrial city into a vibrant university town anchored by Brown University and RISD. Newport, at the bay's mouth, is one of the most historically layered cities in America, a colonial port, a Gilded Age playground, and a world sailing capital all in one.

Rhode Island has historically punched far above its weight, whether in revolutionary politics, industrial innovation, or the arts. Its motto, a single word, "Hope", is the most concise in the nation, and somehow perfectly captures a state that has always managed to make more out of less.