In the early
Nineteenth Century, Newport benefited
from the growth in maritime commerce with China.
Shipbuilding
activities once again became a major driver of
the area economy.
Whaling became an
important industry, but then became more
difficult as fewer whales were found.
As catches
declined, whaling ships were idled. Many finding
their ultimate home in California after
transporting hopefuls to the gold fields in 1849.
The final blow to the whaling industry was the
appearance of petroleum products, which displaced
whale oil.
Railroads,
Steamships and their Impacts
The establishment
and extension of steam powered ship and railroad service shaped the entire Nation in the
Nineteenth Century.
These
transportation innovations not only aided
commerce in Rhode Island, they brought visitors
who were seeking resorts and recreation. Shoreside communities and
resorts blossomed as entrepreneurs
provided facilities to meet this new demand.
In Newport the
effects of improved transportation and the
expansion of a wealthy leisured class combined in
a particularly dramatic manner. Noticeable growth
in the summertime rooming and boarding house
business began in the 1830s. Soon visitors began
to build their own summer homes. By the 1850s a
real estate boom was underway with rapid
construction of a series of ever grander summer
"cottages" by many of the nation's most
powerful families - mostly on or near Bellvue
Avenue.
For over fifty years, from the
1860s to World War I, Newport
was known throughout the world as an unparalleled
center for opulent summer social activities for
the extremely rich. To get a sense of life in
Newport in 1873, and to see a panoramic sketch of
Newport and the East Passage (as seen from
Jamestown) visit a reproduction of an August
30, 1873 Harper's Weekly article.
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In 1872, the town of
Jamestown commissioned a steam powered
ferryboat, which was built in
Newburryport, Massachusetts. In May,
1873, service was initiated between Jamestown
and Newport.
The 79-foot long
side-wheel-powered steamship Jamestown,
made five round-trips a day.
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The availability of
reliable and comfortable ferry service to
and from Newport had a significant impact
on agricultural Conanicut Island.
Jamestown became a destination for both
day trips and summer vacations.
The pace of home
construction increased. The original,
modestly sized, Bay View Hotel was built
by W. H. Knowles in 1873. The East Ferry
area rapidly evolved into the village
center.
The impact of greater
access to Jamestown can be seen in
population figures for the five years
between 1870 and 1875. The number of
residents grew by 30% - to a total of
488.
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In 1879, Rhode Island was
the third state to adopt a state flag.
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Elements of the flag's design trace
to 1647 and the original colonies of
Rhode Island and the Providence
Plantations. The anchor is symbolic of
the Cromwellian Patent of 1643 under
which Providence Plantations were
established. The flag also contains
thirteen stars, representing the original
thirteen colonies and the prominent word
"Hope".
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The
Building Boom of the Eighteen-Eighties and
Nineties
The Gardner House hotel was built
on Conanicus Avenue in 1883 with 38 rooms.
Jamestown's Town Hall was built that same year on
Narragansett Avenue.
An annex was added to the Bay
View Hotel in 1885. The Harbor View Inn was built
in 1887 on Conanicus Avenue. Prospect House, on
Green Lane, was built in 1888. In 1888, 16 rooms
were added to the Gardner (and more would follow
later).
The large Bay View House,
complete with prominent turret, was built in
1889. So was the Thorndike, with 113 guest rooms
and the Riverside, located between the Gardner
and the Bay View. (The Riverside burned in 1894
and was replaced by a row of stores and housing).
Around town, another half dozen smaller guest
homes and cottages were being erected for summer
rentals.
The most unusual building
activity to take place in 1889 was the arrival,
by barge, of the Bay Voyage Hotel.
Formerly a country house erected in the 1860s in
Middletown, the Bay Voyage initially had 10 rooms
for rent. A year later, in 1890, it added another
thirty.
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| Above: Crossing the
Bay, 1889 Right: The
Bay Voyage, 1890s
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Private home
builders were also active. Construction expanded
into the rugged southern part of Conanicut Island
near Fort Dumpling as the Ocean Highlands
Company built a number of large summer estates in
the "indigenous" Shingle and Colonial
Revival fashion. Many of these were purchased by
wealthy Philadelphia Quakers who wished to
maintain a safe distance from the flamboyance of
Newport society.
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| Ocean Highlands
Residences |
| In 1886, Conanicut Island got a
second lighthouse at its northern end.
The Conanicut or North Point light marked
the steamboat landing site built to serve
a planned (but only partly built) summer
home and hotel complex known as Conanicut
Park. It also helped to guide steamboats
traveling from Wickford and Providence to
Newport. (Decommissioned in 1932, the
lighthouse is incorporated into a private
residence.) |
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| Typical Conanicut
Park Cottages |
As a result of
steamboat travel becoming increasingly popular
between Newport and Jamestown, the steamboat Jamestown
was replaced, in 1886, with the larger Conanicut,
a 125-foot long vessel. The Jamestown
continued to serve the island, however, shuttling
between West Ferry and Saunderstown for another
ten years. In 1896, the faster and larger Beaver
Tail replaced it on that run.
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Jamestown
East Ferry harbor area, circa 1890
The Thorndike Hotel, Gardner House,
Riverside, Bay View Hotel, ferry boat
"Conanicut" and the
Bay Voyage Hotel.
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This photo complements the one above,
showing "The Three Sisters",
which are the three cottages just to the
left of the Thorndike Hotel, built by its
owner, Patrick Horgan, in 1897. Originally
rented out, they were named for his three
daughters, "Betty, Nina and
Myra", who later inheirited them.
They still stand watch over Jamestown's
harbor.
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| In 1898, Shoreby
Hill, a neighborhood of Shingle Style
and Colonial Revival houses was
established on a rise north of East
Landing, overlooking the harbor.
Homeowners were a group of wealthy St.
Louis families. |
Strengthening Narragansett Bay Defenses
In 1890, a plan was established
to improve and expand Narragansett Bay military
fortifications. The Spanish-American War, which
began in April, 1898, added emphasis to these
activities.
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installed in the cliffs overlooking
Newport. To accommodate the defenses, the
beloved stone tower at Fort
Dumpling, which had been a
welcoming landmark to sailors for a
hundred years, was demolished, along with
the top of the hill on which the tower
stood. It had been from this location
that Colonists had fired upon British
warships in 1776. In the West Passage,
work on Dutch Island's Fort Grebel began
with the addition of a new battery.
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As the Nineteenth Century Ended
Jamestown and Newport were
experiencing changes driven by greater
accessibility and growing wealth in the country.
During the last fifteen years of the nineteenth
century the population of Jamestown
continued its rapid rise - from 576 residents in
1885 to just over 700 in 1890 to almost 1,100 in
1900. In fact, the island's population had almost
tripled in less than 30 years as a result of the
availablilty of steam ferry service.
The island was prospering. Photos
of the day show the triving hotel area and many
horse-drawn carts and carriages lining up near
the ferry docks to transport goods and people.
All of the current main roads on Conanicut
Island were in place (except, of course,
for the inter-bridge highway); many currently
familiar buildings had been erected; the hotel
district was illuminated by electric street
lights; and Narragansett Street (the "ferry
road" connecting the East and West Landings)
sported a coat of macadam.
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Click the
following link for the next installment of this
history narrative
The
Twentieth Century - Part I
1900
Through the Eighties - Hotels Decline - Bridges
are Built
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Or go directly to other topics:
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