The first circus in the country was held in Newport in 1774.
Rhode Island has no county government. It is divided into 39 municipalities each having its own form of local government.
Judge Darius Baker imposed the first jail sentence for speeding in an automobile on August 28, 1904 in Newport.
Polo was played for the first time in the United States in 1876 near Newport.
The Flying Horse Carousel is the nation’s oldest carousel. It is located in the resort town of Watch Hill.
The first circus in the United States was in Newport in 1774.
The world’s largest bug is on the roof of New England Pest Control in Providence.
The first British troops sent from England to squash the revolution landed in Newport.
The White Horse Tavern was built in 1673 and is the oldest operating tavern in the United States.
Rhode Island founder Roger Williams established the First Baptist Church in America in 1638.
The first Afro-American regiment to fight for America made a gallant stand against the British in the Battle of Rhode Island.
Rhode Island has the longest official name of any state, the “State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.”
Rhode Island is the smallest state in the nation.
There is an island called “Rhode Island” in the state of Rhode Island
Portsmouth, RI, is the first town in America to be established by a woman – Anne Hutchinson.
The American straw hat industry was launched by 12-year-old Betsey Metcalf in 1798.
Pelham Street in Newport was the first gas-lit street in America.
A statue of the independent man stands at the top of the state building in Rhode Island.
Rhode Island has at least 21 active lighthouses along its coast.
Cap guns are illegal in Rhode Island, and playing with them is criminal.
Rhode Islander Gilbert Stuart was the artist behind the George Washington portrait featured on the dollar bill.
Due to hunting and fishing by early settlers in Rhode Island, the animal population was nearly depleted.
The state also has the oldest one-room schoolhouse in New England. It is in Portsmouth.