Narragansett Bay

 

arm of the Atlantic Ocean, 30 mi (48 km) long and from 3 to 12 mi (4.8–19 km) wide, deeply indenting the state of Rhode Island. Its many inlets provided harbors that were advantageous to colonial trade and later to resort development. At the head of the bay is Providence; at the SE corner of the northern bay portion is Newport. Conanicut Island and Prudence Island are also in Narragansett Bay, which is spanned by Newport Bridge (1969; 1,600 ft/488 m). The bridge links Newport with Jamestown.

Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound, covering 147 mi² (380 km²), and forming an expansive natural harbor as well as including a small archipelago. The three largest islands in the bay are Aquidneck Island, Conanicut Island, and Prudence Island. Bodies of water that are part of Narragansett Bay include the Sakonnet River; Mount Hope Bay; and the southern, tidal part of the Taunton River. The bay opens on Rhode Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean; Block Island lies less than 20 miles from its opening. Bridges over parts of the bay include two suspension bridges, the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge and Mount Hope Bridge, and Braga Bridge which forms the Narragansett Bay crossing of United States Interstate 195.

Populations

Providence, the Rhode Island state capital and largest city, sits on the west side of the head of the northernmost arm of the bay; the city was once home to the Narragansett Brewing Company (closed 1981, demolished 1998). Many of Providence's suburbs, including Warwick and Cranston, are also on the bay. Newport, the home of the United States Naval War College, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and a major United States Navy training center is located at the south end of Aquidneck Island, on the ocean. Fall River, Massachusetts, a city of approximately 100,000 people, is located at the confluence of the Taunton River and Mount Hope Bay, which form the northeastermost part of Narragansett Bay. Fall River is the home of Battleship Cove, a large museum of warships including the World War II era battleship USS Massachusetts The southwest side of the bay include the seaside tourist towns of Narragansett and Wickford. Quonset Point, south of Warwick, gives its name to the Quonset hut, a lightweight building kit that was manufactured at the Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center in Davisville (a village located within the town of North Kingstown, Rhode Island) near the bay. Roger Williams University is located in Bristol, Rhode Island on land overlooking the bay.

Early history

The first recorded visit by Europeans to the bay was probably in the early 16th century. At the time, the area around the bay was inhabited by two different and distinct groups of natives. The Narragansetts occupied the west side of the bay. The Wampanoag lived on the east side, occupying the land out to Cape Cod.

It is accepted by most historians that first contact by Europeans was made by Giovanni da Verrazzano, who entered the bay in his ship La Dauphine in 1524 after visiting New York Bay. Verrazzano called the bay "Refugio". The bay has several entrances, however, and the exact route of his voyage and the location where he laid anchor is still a subject of dispute among historians, leading to a corresponding uncertainty over which tribe made contact with him (see [1], [2]). He reported that he found clearings and open forests suitable for travel "even by a large army."

In 1614, the bay was later explored and mapped by the Dutch navigator Adriaen Block, after whom nearby Block Island is named.

The first recorded European settlement was in the 1630s. Roger Williams, a dissatisfied member of the Plymouth Colony, moved into the area around the year 1635. He made contact with the Narragansett and set up a trading post on the west side of the bay. At the same time, the Dutch had established a trading post approximately 12 miles to the southwest which was under the authority of New Amsterdam in New York Bay.

In 1643, Williams traveled to England and was granted a charter for the new colony of Rhode Island. He also wrote a dictionary of the Narragansett language, Keys to the Indian Language, which was published in England that same year.

The Gaspée Affair, an important naval event of the American Revolution, occurred in 1772 in the bay; it involved the capture of the HMS Gaspée, a British ship. The American victory contributed to the eventual start of the war at the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts 3 years later. The event is celebrated in Warwick as the Gaspee Days Celebration in June, which event includes a symbolic recreation of the burning of the ship.

Captain James Cook's HM Bark Endeavour is believed to have sunk in the bay after being sold in 1775 by the Royal Navy.

Rivers

• Blackstone River
• Taunton River

External links

• Narragansett Bay: A Friend's Perspective
• Narragansett Bay.Org
• Save The Bay

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