Area Served

Aquidneck Island

Aquidneck Island or as it is officially known, Rhode Island, is the largest of the islands that lie in Narragansett Bay.

It is home to three municipalities, Portsmouth, Middletown, and Newport, and more than 60,000 residents.

The majority of the island's land is devoted to residential development and open space.

At different times the home of the Wampanoag and Narragansett tribes; Aquidneck Island was first settled by Europeans in 1628 when a group led by Roger Williams came to the area from Massachusetts.

From the 1600s until the Revolutionary War, Newport was as a major Atlantic shipping port, while much of the rest of the island was devoted to agriculture.

Although, Newport is no longer a major port, the island is an international yachting center and home to Naval Station Newport, and much of the island's land remains in active agricultural use.

Until 1801 the only way to reach Aquidneck Island was by ferry, when a wooden bridge was built across the Sakonnet River. Today, three bridges, the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (1969), Mount Hope Bridge (1929), and Sakonnet River Bridge (1956) connect the island to the mainland.

Middletown is the youngest of the island municipalities. Originally a part of Newport, the town declared its independence in 1731.

Middletown, like Portsmouth, contains substantial open space, including farmland and the 342-acre Norman Bird Sanctuary.

The town's population is 16,150 (2010 Census).

Newport is the largest and most densely populated municipality on Aquidneck Island, with a population of 24,672. Once a prominent Atlantic port, the city also served as Rhode Island's capitol until 1790.

Today, Newport is a major summer tourist and marine recreation destination, and it is home the Newport Folk Festival & Jazz Festival, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and the International School of Yacht Restoration.

Portsmouth, founded in 1638, is the oldest of the three municipalities on Aquidneck Island. It has the largest land area, and with 17,389 was the only island community to grow in population between 2000 and 2010.

Its 59.3 squares miles include Prudence Island and a number of smaller islands in Narragansett Bay. .

Naval Station Newport, home to the Naval War College, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and the Officer Training Command, is located in Newport and Middletown on the west side of Aquidneck Island. The base has remained the largest employer on the island since the 1970s.

The United States Navy has had a presence on Aquidneck Island since the Civil War, but it did not become a major naval base until after World War II, when it became the home of hundreds of ships from the Navy's Atlantic Fleet.

Many of these ships were moved to other bases in the 1970s, but Naval Station Newport remains an integral part of the Aquidneck Island economy, and it is an important partner in efforts to address the issues facing the island.

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