The north facade of the Rhode Island State House in Providence
Providence is the capital of, and the most populous city in, Rhode Island, and one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the estimated third-largest city in the New England region. Despite the city proper only having an estimated population of 178,042 as of 2010, it anchors the 37th largest metropolitan population in the country. With an estimated MSA population of 1,600,856, it exceeds that of Rhode Island itself by about 60% due to its reaching into southern Massachusetts. Situated at the mouth of the Providence River, at the head of Narragansett Bay, the city's small footprint is crisscrossed by seemingly erratic streets and contains a rapidly changing demographic. Providence was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of "God's merciful Providence", which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers to settle. One of the first American cities to industrialize, Providence became noted for its jewelry and silverware industry. Today, the city's economy has shifted into the service industries, though it still retains significant manufacturing activity. (Full article...)
Image 5The MBTA Commuter Rail serves eastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, radiating from downtown Boston, with planned service to New Hampshire. The CTrail system operates the Shore Line East and Hartford Line, covering coastal Connecticut, Hartford, and Springfield, Massachusetts. (from New England)
Image 17Largest self-reported ancestry groups in New England. Americans of Irish descent form a plurality in most of Massachusetts, while Americans of English descent form a plurality in much of the central parts of Vermont and New Hampshire as well as nearly all of Maine. (from New England)
Image 40A political and geographical map of New England shows the coastal plains in the southeast, and hills, mountains and valleys in the west and the north. (from New England)
Image 41Certificate of the government of Massachusetts Bay acknowledging loan of £20 to state treasury 1777 (from History of New England)
Image 42Map of the British and French dominions in America in 1755, showing what the English considered New England (from History of New England)
... that Cora Agnes Benneson, one of the first female lawyers in New England, was rejected by Harvard Law School because "the equipments were too limited to make suitable provision for receiving women"?
... that Maine author C. J. Stevens amazed many of his readers by revealing that gold nuggets can be found by panning certain rivers?
... that although he was expelled by the Jesuit order for supporting the ordination of women, William R. Callahan insisted he was just "following the example of Jesus, who was never willing to shut up"?
... that because a car crashed through his store's window, Steve Bernard'sCape Cod Potato Chips company survived a difficult winter, after which business boomed?
Rhode Island was the first of the original Thirteen Colonies to declare independence from British rule, declaring itself independent on May 4, 1776, two months before any other colony. The State was also the last of the thirteen original colonies to ratify the United States Constitution.
Rhode Island's official nickname is "The Ocean State," a reference to the State's geography, since Rhode Island has several large bays and inlets that amount to about fourteen (14) percent of its total area. Its land area is 1,045 square miles (2706 km2), but its total area is significantly larger. (Full article...)