NEWPORT, a city of Rhode Island, U.S.A., 3o m. S. by E. of Providence, occupying the southern end of the island of Rhode Island (or Aquidneck) ; a port of entry, the county seat of New port county, a place of great historic interest, and a fashionable summer and autumn resort. It is served by the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad, motor-bus lines, various ferries and the Fall River line of steamers. Pop. (192o) 30,255; (193o) 27,612, a decrease of 8.7%.
From the harbour on the west the city rises to a gently rolling plateau with maximum elevations of about 25o feet. The climate is mild and equable throughout the greater part of the year. The "Old Town," with its narrow streets and 18th century houses, climbs the hill back of the harbour. At the head of Washington square, or the Parade, stands the old State House (or Colony House, when it was built in 1739), now used by the county court, containing a full-length portrait of Washington by Gilbert Stuart, where Washington, Adams, Jackson and other presidents have been entertained. Near by are the birthplace of Commodore Perry, and the Vernon house (built in 1758, and occupied by Rochambeau during the Revolution), which still has its beautiful mahogany balustrades, panelled chimney-pieces and Delft-tiled hearths. Trin ity church (1725) has a lovely white spire, tipped with a golden crown. At the head of Touro street (named for Isaac Touro, an early rabbi of Dutch nativity) is the Hebrew cemetery (estab lished in 1677) and farther down the street is a fine synagogue (1763) said to be the oldest in America. The old Friends' meeting house, part of which dates from 1699 (the first one built on Ameri can soil) is now a museum, and its extensive grounds are used as playfields. In Touro park, near the upper end of Bellevue avenue, is the old stone mill, frequently attributed (as by Longfellow in his Skeleton in Armor) to the Norsemen; and near by is the Red wood library, incorporated in 1747 (a development of the Philo sophical Society founded in 173o), occupying a building erected in 175o, and named for Abraham Redwood (d. 1788), a Friend who contributed £500 for books. A little farther on is the Casino, and from this point Bellevue avenue, extending south to the ocean, is bordered on both sides with the summer "cottages" of wealthy New Yorkers—palatial structures representing almost every pos sible style of architecture, set in ancient trees and modern gardens, behind high stone or brick walls or grilled fences. A horse show
has been held every year since 1896, and a dog show is also an annual event. On Conanicut island, west of Newport, is the old town of Jamestown (pop. [1925] 1,773) also a summer resort.
Newport's inner harbour, formed by a deep indentation in the western shore, has a depth of about 18 ft. and is almost land locked. It is guarded by Ft. Adams on the point forming its western boundary. On Goat island, lying in the entrance of the har bour, is Ft. Walcott, with a U.S. torpedo station; and on Coasters Harbor island, farther north, off which the old frigate "Constel lation" rides at anchor, are a training station of the U.S. navy, a Naval War college, a Naval hospital and old Ft. Greene. The traffic of the harbour (entirely domestic commerce) amounted to 146,532 tons in 1925, valued at $14,220,157.
Newport was founded in 1639 by John Clarke, William Cod dington and other Antinomians, who had been driven out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Baptist church they organized in 1640 is the oldest in the United State.% after the one in Provi dence. An independent government by judge and elders was established, but in 1647 the town united with Providence, Ports mouth and Warwick to form the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence plantations, under the charter secured by Roger Wil liams in 1644. In 1656 there was an influx of English Friends. The first newspaper was published in 1732 by James Franklin (a brother of Benjamin), whose son James in 1758 established the Mercury, still published. Between 1739 and 1760 great fortunes were made in the "triangular trade" with Africa and the Bar badoes, in which rum from Newport was exchanged for slaves in Africa, who were exchanged for sugar and molasses in the Barbadoes, which were brought back to Newport to be made into more rum. In 1770 Newport's foreign trade was greater than that of New York, but it was entirely destroyed by the Revolu tion, when the town was in the hands of the British from Dec. 1776 to Oct. 25, 1779. After the evacuation of the British it was occupied by French troops under Rochambeau, and in 1780-81 it was a station of the French fleet. Newport was chartered as a city in 1784 ; resumed the town form of government in 1787 ; was again chartered as a city in 1853 ; and secured a new charter in 1906. Until 1900 it was one of the capitals of Rhode Island. The influx of wealthy New Yorkers began after the Civil War.