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Portsmouth Rhode Island
Portsmouth
was settled in 1638 as the second settlement in the area. With
Anne Hutchinson as leader of the settlement, Portsmouth became
the first community founded in the New World by a woman. Its
Indian name was Pocasset, and on May 12, 1649, the name of
Portsmouth was confirmed. And as original settlement, Portsmouth
became part of the original group of settlements which united to
form the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
The
history of Portsmouth, which was at one time the most populous
town in the colony, is rich with the flavor characterizing Rhode
Island's early settlements. In fact, it was in Portsmouth that
the most daring capture of the Revolutionary War was
accomplished. The British Commander-in-Chief, General Richard
Prescott, was captured by Rhode Islander, Colonel William Barton
in the Overing House, which is, today, located on West Main Road
and marked with an historical plaque.
Reflections
of Portsmouth's daring and significant past are further
evidenced by several other historical landmarks. Founders Brook
is marked as the site of the landing of the first settlers from
Boston in 1638. This group was spirited under the leadership of
John Clark and William Coddington. The Portsmouth Compact, the
first instrument for governing as a true democracy, is inscribed
on a bronze and stone marker. The little valley known as the
Hessian Hole is a reminder of the famous Battle of Rhode Island,
likewise, a memorial dedicated to those blacks that fought in
the Battle of Rhode Island as the first black regiment to fight
for the American Flag, is located in Portsmouth. Located on the
corner of East Main Road and Union Street is the Southernmost
School, the nation's oldest school, containing antique school
desks, school bells and a variety of original textbooks.
Portsmouth
is a fully-developed, fully serviced community. Among its
features are several public golf courses, a modern motor hotel,
antique shops, numerous marinas, and, the Sakonnet Times, a
weekly newspaper serving the towns of Portsmouth, Tiverton and
Little Compton.
Today,
many of the town's working population is employed in private
industry, in Portsmouth and nearby communities. The earliest
source of income for the townspeople was farming and
shipbuilding. However, boat building continues as one of the
areas major industries.
Many
areas, such as Melville, which was heavily occupied with Naval
installations prior to the massive Naval reduction in 1974, have
become the sites for the development of commercial, industrial,
and recreational facilities. At the Melville small boat basin,
for example, a 340-slip, fully serviced marina and boat building
complex has replaced what was once a Naval docking facility, and
the Navy's first PT - boat training facility.
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Rhode Island Real Estate Finder -
Portsmouth
