Rhode Island History

Ironically, the smallest state in the nation has the longest official name: the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Settled by English colonists seeking religious freedom, beginning with Roger Williams who fled Massachusetts in 1636, Rhode Island can claim the oldest Baptist church and oldest synagogue in the U.S., as well as the highest percentage of Catholics.

Rhode Island Economy and Real Estate Information

Too small for large-scale agriculture, forestry or mining, Rhode Island's economy has relied on manufacturing and trade since the 1700s. The state boasts more than 1,000 jewelry manufacturers, and other leading products include silverware and metals, machinery, and electronics. RI is also the home of pharmacy giant CVS and toy behemoth Hasbro, whose beloved Mr. Potato Head graces a fundraising license plate.

With its economy diversifying to emphasize services as well as manufacturing and tourism, Rhode Island is flourishing in the 21st century. It still draws from its neighbor Massachusetts -- the state has recruited small businesses to locate in RI, bringing employees pleased to find affordable real estate, a mild climate (relative to New England) and cosmopolitan culture of its resurgent capital city, Providence. Many others commute to jobs in Massachusetts or Connecticut but live in the Ocean State, so-named because no point in this tiny state is further than a 30-minute drive from the sea.

The housing market offers something for any lifestyle, ranging from single-family homes in Colonial and Victorian styles, to condominium communities and apartments. The median home value in 2006 was $218,756, while the median household income was $50,318.

Rhode Island Culture and Tourism

Rhode Island's popularity among residents of neighboring states is nothing new. Historic Newport, situated on Aquidneck Island in beautiful Narragansett Bay, is famed for its stately mansions built in the 1800s as "summer cottages" by the Vanderbilts, Astors, and other wealthy industrialist families of the Northeast. The summer sophistication of Newport is also attributable to its two acclaimed musical gatherings held every August, the Jazz Festival and the Folk Festival, where Bob Dylan notoriously shocked the audience in 1965 by performing on an electric guitar.

Rhode Island Character

Newport may be cultured, but Rhode Island has a long history of organized crime: the Patriarca family has run its New England enterprise from Providence since the 1950s.

In a lighter vein, Rhode Island reportedly boasts the most per capita coffee and donut shops in the U.S., including more than 100 Dunkin Donuts locations - no wonder the Dunkin Donuts Arena is in downtown Providence. Indeed, the state's official drink is coffee milk, a mixture of milk with coffee-flavored syrup, a unique caffeinated concoction that is widely served in the public schools.

Rhode Island Demographics

As of the 2000 census, the population of Rhode Island was 1,048,319. 86% were White; 5% were Black, and 10% were Hispanic.