The
Eighteenth Century
Growth
as a Colony
By 1710, many of Conanicut Island's
current roads were in place - North Main Road,
the North Ferry Road (Eldred Avenue and the John
Eldred Parkway), the Ferry Road (Narragansett
Avenue) and a road southwest to the beach
(Southwest Avenue). In 1728, the town of Jamestown
built a windmill for grinding corn, which used
the sea breeze for power since there was no
source of running water to turn a waterwheel.
Less than two miles to the east
of Jamestown, on the other side of East Passage, Newport
was blossoming into a vibrant center of maritime commerce. Aquidneck Island and nearby
areas were blessed with fertile soil; agriculture
was thriving; and the Bay offered fish in
seemingly limitless quantities. Abundance led to
the desire to transport surplus products to other
markets; and by the early 1700s, ships were being
built throughout the Narragansett Bay region - in
Providence, Newport, Warren, Bristol, East
Greenwich, and Warwick - and being sold for use
in other colonies and in Europe.
Maritime trade and shipbuilding came to
dominate the economy of Newport
as well as other towns north and east of Jamestown,
while agriculture was king on Conanicut
Island and on the mainland to the west.
By 1739, Newport merchants
operated more than 100 large ships. By 1769,
merchants throughout the Narragansett Bay area
owned 200 vessels engaged in foreign trade and
another 300 to 400 used in coastal traffic.
By some accounts, by 1774, Newport
was the fourth wealthiest city in America.
One of the factors driving the extent of trading activities
generating this wealth was Rhode Island's extremely liberal
charter of self-government, which included the right to appoint
its own customs agents. The British saw much of the trade
as smuggling, and, in late 1774, assigned the 20 gun frigate HMS
Rose, to bring smuggling to a halt.
The
War for Independence
The beginning of the Revolutionary War is marked by the events of April 19, 1775, when
British Major John Pitcairn and six light Infantry companies, who had left Boston the previous day, on a mission to
capture Sam Adams and John Hancock and seize supplies of
munitions, were met with gunfire at Lexington Green, which left
8 colonists dead, and at Concord's North Bridge, where they were
turned back. During their return march to Boston, firing
continued along the 16 miles of roadway, resulting in 273
British and 95 colonial casualties by late afternoon.
In Narragansett Bay, the Rose, under
the command of James Wallace, was making an impact. A
number of merchant ships were seized. The angry merchant
community of Newport petitioned the government in
Providence for assistance, On June 15, 1775,
June, the Rhode Island General Assembly ordered two ships to be
purchased and fit out to defend the colony’s shipping - the
sloops Katy (later renamed Providence) and Washington.
The Katy was immediately put under the command of
Captain Abraham Whipple and that day attacked a tender to the
HMS Rose, made her run aground on Conanicut Island,
and captured her.
In late July, 1775, Wallace's ships threatened to fire on Newport unless they received
provisions. When their demands were satisfied,
they left. Many residents also chose to leave Newport, believing they would be safer on
the mainland.
On December 10, 1775, 200 British and Hessian troops landed at
East Ferry on Conanicut Island
and marched to West Ferry, where they burned the
ferry house. As they returned to East Ferry, they
destroyed many buildings, including fourteen
homes; which caused more than 200 of Conanicut
Island's 556 residents to flee to the
mainland.
In December, 1776, a
British fleet arrived in Narragansett Bay and, on December 7,
occupied Newport.
The colonial militia batteries
at Fort Dumpling (now part of Fort Wetherill) and
the Conanicut Battery at Beaverneck (just south
of Fort Getty) were taken over by the British.
With the British in control of Narragansett Bay,
the Continental fleet was prevented from leaving
Providence.
An attempt was made to break the occupation of Newport in the
spring of 1778, combining a land attack from the
north with a sea attack by a French fleet. The
fleet, however, ran into a severe storm and had
to divert to Boston. Without sea support, the
land forces had to withdraw.
The British did not leave
Narragansett Bay until October 1779. As they
departed, they destroyed the fortifications they
had occupied, and burned Beavertail lighthouse as
well.
After
Independence
The extended occupation of Newport
brought hardships including disruption of
shipping and commercial activities; and these
took a toll on the city's infrastructure and
economy. As a result of the occupation, there was
a rise in importance of Providence, which
remained a safe area during the war.
By 1784, Beavertail light was
back in operation (and remained in use until the
present lighthouse was built in 1856). In 1787, Jamestown
rebuilt the windmill and Quaker Meetinghouse that
had been destroyed during the occupation. (Both
of these structures still exist.)
Following adoption of the United States
Constitution, Rhode Island was admitted to the
Union on May 29, 1790, as the 13th state.
In 1800 Fort Dumplings was
established on the site of previous Patriot and
British fortifications that overlook East
Passage. A tall stone tower atop the highest
cliff could hold eight guns. It remained a
landmark for the next hundred years.
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following link for the next installment of this
history narrative
The
Nineteenth Century
Growth
of Commerce, Industry, Transportation and Summer
Recreation
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