Which island was used as an asylum for the poor?, and more fun facts.
Newport County's own Aquidneck Island, home to the towns of Middletown and Portsmouth, and the city of Newport, originally was known as the Native American name, Pocasset. Though it is the largest island in Narragansett Bay, there are many other islands in and about Newport, Rhode Island:
√ Conanicut Island - the second largest island in Narragansett Bay and home to Newport County's Jamestown. It was once the site of the royal residence of 17th century Chief Conanicus of the Narragansett Indians. The largest Native American cemetary in New England is located here.
√ Goat Island - 26 pirates hanged in 1723 were buried on Goat Island. The site of the Naval Torpedo Station in 1869, it was purchased by the city of Newport in the 1960s, paving the way for its resort hotel, condos and marina.
√ Rose Island - Once called Conockonoquit by Native Americans, fortifications were built on this island during the Revolutionary War. Today, visitors can stay overnight if they become the lighthouse keeper during their stay, and field trips visit the island.
√ Coasters Harbor Island - This 92-acre island was used for the Newport Asylum for the Poor in the 1800s. Currently, the Navy uses the island for training and education.
√ Prudence Island - During the Revolutionary War, the British burned its homes and residents fled. It is now the home of the Narragansett Bay Research Reserve. Visitors travel to the island by ferry from Bristol. In the 1600s, children used to recite a rhyme about the islands in this area: "Prudence, Patience, Hope and Despair, and little Hog Island right over there."
√ Hog Island - Early settlers kept their pigs on this island. Hog Island Shoal Light was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. There are 100 summer homes here holding seasonal residents only, as there is no ferry or electricity.
√ Patience Island - Its only inhabitants are wildlife. Visitors have to use their own boats to get there.
√ Despair Island - This is an outcropping of rocks marked with a buoy, used by nesting birds and almost impossible to see at night.
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Trish Vasseur, Realtor© 556-6548
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