Imbrie Katherine Palmer - Explorers Guide Rhode Island ()

AN EXPLORERS GUIDE

Rhode Island

Kim Grant

AN EXPLORERS GUIDE

SIXTH EDITION

Rhode

Island

Phyllis Mras & Katherine Imbrie

Copyright 1995, 1998, 2000 by Phyllis Mras and Tom Gannon
Copyright 2004, 2008, 2012 by Phyllis Mras and Katherine Imbrie

Sixth Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages.

Interior photographs by Katherine Imbrie unless otherwise specified
Maps by Erin Greb Cartography, The Countryman Press
Book design by Bodenweber Design
Composition by PerfecType, Nashville, TN

Explorers Guide Rhode Island
978-0-88150-963-2

Published by The Countryman Press, P.O. Box 748, Woodstock, VT 05091

Distributed by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

What day is it? asked Pooh. Its today, squeaked Piglet.
My favorite day, said Pooh.

A. A. Milne

EXPLORE WITH US!

Welcome to the sixth edition of Rhode Island: An Explorers Guide, the first statewide guide to the Ocean State. As in every other book in the Explorers Guide series, all inclusionsattractions, inns, restaurantshave been chosen on the basis of personal experience, not paid advertising.

We hope you find this guide easy to read and use. Weve kept the layout fairly simple, but here are some general tips to help you find your way.

WHATS WHERE

In the beginning of the book youll find an alphabetical listing of special highlights and important information that you may want to reference quickly.

LODGING

When making reservations, especially at B&Bs and smaller inns, we suggest that you inquire in advance about policies regarding smoking, children, the use of credit cards for payment, and any minimum-stay requirements.

RESTAURANTS

In most chapters please note a distinction between Dining Out and Eating Out. Restaurants listed under Eating Out are generally inexpensive and more casual; reservations are suggested for restaurants in Dining Out.

PRICES

It is difficult to convey current prices, as changes occur frequently and, especially in popular vacation areas, rates are often adjusted to the season. As always, we suggest that you call ahead. There is a 13 percent state room tax in Rhode Island, added to a 7 percent sales tax. The prices indicated by the rating system used in this book do not include taxes or gratuity.

Lodging (double occupancy, per night): $ means under $120; $$ means $120200; $$$ means $200300; $$$$ means over $300.

Eating Out and Dining Out (price of an entre): $ means under $10; $$ means $1020; $$$ means $2030; $$$$ means over $30.

KEY TO SYMBOLS

We would appreciate your comments and corrections about places you discover or know well. Please send your letters to Explorers Guide Editor, The Countryman Press, P.O. Box 748, Woodstock, Vermont 05091.

CONTENTS

MAPS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The following people have been most generous with suggestions, information, and advice during the preparation of this book: Bob Billington and Wendy Jenks of the Blackstone Valley Tourist Authority; David de Petrillo of the Rhode Island Tourism Division; Mark Brouder of the Rhode Island Welcome Center; Albert Klyberg of the Rhode Island Historical Society; Leonard Panaggio, formerly of the Rhode Island Tourism Division; the Newport Tourism & Development Council; Deb OHara, director of Tiverton Library Services; the Preservation Society of Newport County; Ida Millman, Jean Rossi, the late Nancy Luedeman, Richard J. Walton, Leigh Diakapolous, Lois Hollingsworth, Nancy Whitcomb, Thomas D. Stevens, Jeff Stevens, Sal Laterra, the late Edwin Safford, Richard and Janet Wood, Laurinda Barrett, James Dugan; David Brussart, Donald Breed, Lynne Chaput, Channing and Bianca Gray, Ken Weber, Doug Fellow, Alan Kerr, William K. Gale, Andy Smith, Mikki Catanzaro, Gail Ciampa, Janet Butler, Donna Lee, Janina Fera, Rose Lansing, Donna McGarry, Rick Massimo, Patricia Pothier, Lars Smith, and Jim Seavor of the Providence Journal.

Thanks are also due to Brian C. Tefft of the State Division of Fish, Wildlife, and Estuarine Services; Robert and Betsy Dunley, the late Katrina Aldrich, the late Emily Cocroft, Robert Cocroft, William Cocroft, the late Thomas H. Cocroft, the late David Fowler, Frank and Esther Mauran, Mary McGovern, Joan and the late Roger Noone, and B. L. Gordon of the Watch Hill Book & Tackle Shop; Susan Capuano, Wilbur Doctor, Jim and Adelheide Dresser, Carol Hazelhurst, John C. Quinn, Leppy McCarthy, Joan Ress Reeves, Suzanne Jeffers, Caroline Vollmer, Suzanne Vollmer, Paul Carrick, the late Ann Lampson, Laura Katz, Anita Pariseau, Lorraine and Jacques Hopkins, Gregory Del Sesto, Gloria Maroni, Chet Browning, the Rhode Island Department of Economic Development;

Katherine Imbrie

SOUTH COUNTY SHOP

Evan Smith, Newport County Convention & Visitors Bureau; and Kermit Hummel, Jennifer Thompson, Lisa Sacks, Kathryn Flynn, and Melissa Dobson of The Countryman Press, for their extraordinary patience.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Ocean State. That may seem like a grand nickname for the countrys tiniest state, which measures a mere 48 miles long by 37 miles wide, but with Narragansett Bay slicing it nearly in two, theres no place within Rhode Islands borders thats more than a 20-minute drive from its 400-mile coastline. In fact, with a total of 36 islands, including Aquidneck, second largest (after Long Island) on the East Coast, Rhode Island could almost be classified as an archipelago.

Very much a New England state in many respects, Rhode Island enjoys its own distinct identityactually several identities, all of which involve a strong sense of independence. Rhode Island was founded in 1636 by religious refugees fleeing the rigid Puritanism of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and soon became a haven for outcasts of all sortsQuakers, Jews, Antinomians. Privateeringpreying on enemy shipsgrew simultaneously with the colonys shipbuilding industry and often was indistinguishable from outright piracy. All of this combined to earn the colony an earlier nickname, Rogues Island.