Newport, Rhode Island facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Newport
City
From top, left to right: Newport Harbor, The Breakers, White Horse Tavern, Cliff Walk, Old Colony House, Newport Tower
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  City by the Sea Sailing Capital of the World Queen of Summer Resort America's Society Capital
Location of Newport in Newport County, Rhode Island
Country	United States
State	Rhode Island
County	Newport
Incorporated (city)	1784
Incorporated (town)	1639
Area
• Total	11.37 sq mi (29.46 km2)
• Land	7.66 sq mi (19.83 km2)
• Water	3.72 sq mi (9.63 km2)
Elevation	26 ft (8 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	25,163
• Density	3,286.70/sq mi (1,269.03/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	02840–02841
Area code(s)	401
FIPS code	44-49960
GNIS feature ID	1217986

Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately 33 miles (53 km) southeast of Providence, 20 miles (32 km) south of Fall River, Massachusetts, 74 miles (119 km) south of Boston, and 180 miles (290 km) northeast of New York City. It is known as a New England summer resort and is famous for its historic mansions and its rich sailing history. The city has a population of about 25,000 residents.

Newport hosted the first U.S. Open tournaments in both tennis and golf, as well as every challenge to the America's Cup between 1930 and 1983. It is also the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport, which houses the United States Naval War College, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and an important Navy training center. It was a major 18th-century port city and boasts many buildings from the colonial era.

Newport is the county seat of Newport County, which has no governmental functions other than court administrative and sheriff corrections boundaries. It was known for being the location of the "Summer White Houses" during the administrations of presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy.

History

Colonial period

Newport was founded in 1639. Its eight founders and first officers were Nicholas Easton, William Coddington, John Clarke, John Coggeshall, William Brenton, Jeremy Clark, Thomas Hazard, and Henry Bull. They left Portsmouth, Rhode Island after a political fallout with Anne Hutchinson and her followers.

Newport became the most important port in colonial Rhode Island, and a public school was established in 1640.

In 1658, a group of Jews were allowed to settle in Newport who were fleeing the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal. The Newport congregation is now referred to as Congregation Jeshuat Israel and is the second-oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. It meets in Touro Synagogue, the oldest standing synagogue in the United States.

In 1663, the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations received its Royal Charter, and Benedict Arnold was elected its first Governor at Newport. Upon its completion in 1741, the Old Colony House served as a seat of Rhode Island's government at the head of what is now known as Washington Square, until the current Rhode Island State House in Providence was completed in 1904 and Providence became the state's sole capital city.

The commercial activity which raised Newport to its fame as a rich port was begun by a second wave of Portuguese Jews who settled there about the middle of the 18th century. They had been practicing Judaism in secret for three hundred years in Portugal, liable to torture and murder by the Inquisition if they were caught, and they were attracted to Rhode Island because of the freedom of worship there. They brought with them commercial experience and connections, capital, and a spirit of enterprise. Most prominent among those were Jacob Rodrigues Rivera who arrived in 1745 (died 1789), and Aaron Lopez who came in 1752. Rivera introduced into America the manufacture of sperm oil, which became one of the leading industries and made Newport rich. Newport's inhabitants who were engaged in whaling developed 17 manufactories of oil and candles and enjoyed a practical monopoly of this trade until the Revolution.

Aaron Lopez (died May 28, 1782) fled to Newport from Lisbon in 1752 and is credited with making Newport an important center of trade. "To him in a larger degree than to any one else was due the rapid commercial development which made Newport for a quarter of a century afterward the most formidable rival of New York." He induced 40 Portuguese Jewish families to settle there and, within fourteen years of Lopez's activity, Newport had 150 vessels engaged in trade. Lopez was involved in the slave trade and manufactured spermaceti candles, ships, barrels, rum, chocolate, textiles, clothes, shoes, hats, and bottles. He became the wealthiest man in Newport but was denied citizenship on religious grounds, even though British law protected the rights of Jews to become citizens. He appealed to the Rhode Island legislature for redress and was refused with this ruling: "Inasmuch as the said Aaron Lopez hath declared himself by religion a Jew, this Assembly doth not admit himself nor any other of that religion to the full freedom of this Colony. So that the said Aaron Lopez nor any other of said religion is not liable to be chosen into any office in this colony nor allowed to give vote as a free man in choosing others." Lopez persisted by applying for citizenship in Massachusetts, where it was granted.

Much of the commercial activity was centered on the area called Washington Square, which was once the center of both the commercial and civic life of the colonial city.

In the early 17th century, a large number of Quakers also settled in Newport. The Quaker meetinghouse in Newport (1699) is the oldest existing house of worship in Rhode Island. In 1727, James Franklin (brother of Benjamin) was printing in Newport; in 1732, he published the first newspaper, the Rhode Island Gazette. In 1758, his son James founded the weekly newspaper Mercury. Throughout the 18th century, the famous Goddard and Townsend furniture was made in Newport. Nowadays, Newport continues to be famous for its 19th-century mansions. It is also known for its history of the tall ships and the tall ships racing, in which teams compete from all over the country.

Throughout the 18th century, Newport suffered from an imbalance of trade with the largest colonial ports. As a result, Newport merchants were forced to develop alternatives to conventional exports.

Newport was also a major center of piracy during the late 17th and early 18th century. So many pirates used it as their base of operations that the London Board of Trade made an official complaint to the English government. Thomas Tew was the most famous pirate who made Newport his base, and he was very popular with the locals. After one of his pirating voyages, it was reported that almost the whole town came out to greet him.

In the 1720s, Colonial leaders arrested many pirates, acting under pressure from the British government. Many were hanged in Newport and were buried on Goat Island.

During the Colonial period, Newport was the center of the slave trade in New England, active in the "triangle trade" in which slave-produced sugar and molasses from the Caribbean were carried to Rhode Island and distilled into rum, which was then carried to West Africa and exchanged for captives. In 1764, Rhode Island had about 30 rum distilleries, 22 in Newport alone. Many of the great fortunes made during this period were made in the slave trade. The Common Burial Ground on Farewell Street was where most of the slaves were buried.

Sixty percent of slave-trading voyages launched from North America issued from tiny Rhode Island, in some years more than 90%, and many from Newport. Almost half were trafficked illegally, breaking a 1787 state law prohibiting residents of the state from trading in slaves. Slave traders were also breaking federal statutes of 1794 and 1800 barring Americans from carrying slaves to ports outside the United States, as well as the 1807 Congressional act abolishing the transatlantic slave trade. A few Rhode Island families made substantial fortunes in the trade. William and Samuel Vernon were Newport merchants who later played an important role in financing the creation of the United States Navy; they sponsored 30 African slaving ventures. However, it was the D’Wolfs of Bristol, Rhode Island, and most notably James De Wolf, who were the largest slave-trading family in all of North America, mounting more than 80 transatlantic voyages, most of them illegal. The Rhode Island slave trade was broadly based. Seven hundred Rhode Islanders owned or captained slave ships, including most substantial merchants, and many ordinary shopkeepers and tradesmen who purchased shares in slaving voyages.

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  Touro Synagogue, America's oldest existing synagogue

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  Some of the historic buildings in Newport, near the coast

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  Oliver Perry Monument in Eisenhower Park

American Revolutionary era

NPS map of the W3R Route

Newport was the scene of much activity during the American Revolution. William Ellery came from Newport, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He later served on the Naval Committee.

In the winter of 1775 and 1776, the Rhode Island Legislature put militia General William West in charge of rooting out loyalists in Newport, and several notable individuals were exiled to the northern part of the state, such as Joseph Wanton and Thomas Vernon. In the fall of 1776, the British saw that Newport could be used as a naval base to attack New York (which they had recently occupied), so they took over the city. The population of Newport had divided loyalties; many pro–independence Patriots left town, while loyalist Tories remained. Newport was a British stronghold for the next three years.

In the summer of 1778, the Americans began the campaign known as the Battle of Rhode Island. This was the first joint operation between the Americans and the French after the signing of the Treaty of Alliance. The Americans based in Tiverton planned a formal siege of the town. However, the French refused to take part in it, wanting a frontal assault. This weakened the American position, and the British were able to expel the Americans from the island. The following year, the British abandoned Newport, wanting to concentrate their forces in New York.

On July 10, 1780, a French expedition arrived in Narragansett Bay off Newport with an army of 450 officers and 5,300 men, sent by King Louis XVI and commanded by Rochambeau. For the rest of the war, Newport was the base of the French forces in the United States. In July 1781, Rochambeau was finally able to leave Newport for Providence to begin the decisive march to Yorktown, Virginia, along with General George Washington. The first Catholic mass in Rhode Island was said in Newport during this time. Rochambeau Monument in Kings Park on Wellington Avenue along Newport Harbor commemorates Rochambeau's contributions to the Revolutionary War and to Newport's history.

Newport's population had fallen from over 9,000 (according to the census of 1774) to fewer than 4,000 by the time that the war ended (1783). Over 200 abandoned buildings were torn down in the 1780s. Also, the war destroyed Newport's economic wealth, as years of military occupation closed the city to any form of trade. The Newport merchants moved away, some to Providence, others to Boston and New York.

It was in Newport that the Rhode Island General Assembly voted to ratify the Constitution in 1791 and become the 13th state, acting under pressure from the merchant community of Providence.

The city was the last residence of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and the birthplace of Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the Reverend William Ellery Channing.

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  Rochambeau statue in Kings park

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  Newport's City Hall

Gilded Age

Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, wealthy southern planters seeking to escape the heat began to build summer cottages on Bellevue Avenue, such as Kingscote (1839). Around the middle of the century, wealthy Yankees, such as the Wetmore family, also began constructing larger mansions, such as Chateau-sur-Mer (1852) nearby. Most of these early families made a substantial part of their fortunes in the Old China Trade.

By the turn of the 20th century, many of the nation's wealthiest families were summering in Newport, including the Vanderbilts, Astors, and the Widener family, who constructed the largest "cottages", such as The Breakers (1895) and Miramar. They resided for a brief social season in grand, gilded mansions with elaborate receiving rooms, dining rooms, music rooms, and ballrooms—but with few bedrooms, since the guests were expected to have "cottages" of their own. Many of the homes were designed by New York architect Richard Morris Hunt, who kept a house in Newport himself.

The social scene at Newport is described in Edith Wharton's novel The Age of Innocence. Wharton's own Newport "cottage" was called Land's End. Today, many mansions continue in private use. Hammersmith Farm is the mansion where Jackie Kennedy was married; it was open to tourists as a "house museum", but has since been purchased and reconverted into a private residence. Many other mansions are open to tourists; still others were converted into academic buildings for Salve Regina College in the 1930s, when the owners could no longer afford their tax bills.

In the mid-19th century, a large number of Irish immigrants settled in Newport. The Fifth Ward of Newport in the southern part of the city became a staunch Irish neighborhood for many generations. To this day, St. Patrick's Day is an important day of pride and celebration in Newport, with a large parade going down Thames Street.

The oldest Catholic parish in Rhode Island is St. Mary's, located on Spring Street—though the current building is not the original one.

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  The Breakers, 2009

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  "Hypotenuse", Newport home of architect Richard Morris Hunt

19th century

Rhode Island did not have a fixed capital during and after the colonial era, but rotated its legislative sessions among Providence, Newport, Bristol, East Greenwich, and South Kingstown. In 1854, the sessions were eliminated in the cities other than Providence and Newport, and Newport was finally dropped in 1900. A constitutional amendment that year restricted the meetings of the legislature to Providence. Connecticut was the only other state to have more than one capital at one time.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier were married in St. Mary's Church in Newport on September 12, 1953. Presidents Kennedy and Eisenhower both made Newport the sites of their "Summer White Houses" during their years in office. Eisenhower stayed at Quarters A at the Naval War College and at what became known as the Eisenhower House, while Kennedy used Hammersmith Farm next door.

In the 20th century, immigrants from Portugal and the Caribbean began settling in Newport, adding to the diversity of the city.

Naval War College

The city has long been entwined with the United States Navy. From 1952 to 1973, it hosted the Cruiser-Destroyer Force of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and subsequently it has hosted smaller numbers of warships from time to time. It held the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy during the American Civil War (1861–65), when the undergraduate officer training school was temporarily moved north from Annapolis, Maryland. Today it hosts the Naval Station Newport (NAVSTA Newport) and remains home to the U.S. Naval War College and the Naval Education and Training Command (NETC), the center for Surface Warfare Officer training, numerous other schools, and a large division of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. The decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-60) was moored in an inactive status at the docks previously used by the Cruiser-Destroyer Force, until it was towed to Brownsville, Texas in August–September 2014 to be dismantled. The USS Forrestal (CV-59) shared the pier until June 2010.

The departure of the Cruiser-Destroyer fleet from Newport and the closure of nearby Naval Air Station Quonset Point in 1973 were devastating to the local economy. The population of Newport decreased, businesses closed, and property values plummeted. However, in the late 1960s, the city began revitalizing the downtown area with the construction of America's Cup Avenue, malls of stores and condominiums, and upscale hotels. Construction was completed on the Newport Bridge. The Preservation Society of Newport County began opening Newport's historic mansions to the public, and the tourist industry became Newport's primary commercial enterprise over the subsequent years.

Geography and climate

Shoreline of the Easton Bay looking south from the cliff side at east end of Narragansett Avenue

Newport is located at 41°29′17″N 71°18′45″W / 41.48806°N 71.31250°W / 41.48806; -71.31250. It is the most populous municipality on Aquidneck Island in Narragansett Bay. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.4 square miles (29.5 km²), of which 7.7 square miles (19.9 km²) is land and 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²), or 32.64%, is water. The Newport Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in New England, connects Newport to neighboring Conanicut Island across the East Passage of the Narragansett.

Being surrounded by ocean water, Newport is often cooler in the summer than some coastal cities further north, such as Boston.

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 25,163 people, 10,898 households, and 4,982 families in Newport. The population density was 3,286.7 per square mile (1,269.0/km²). There were 13,466 housing units at an average density of 1,758.9 per square mile (679.1/km²). The racial makeup was 75.91% (19,102) white or European American (73.62% non-Hispanic white), 5.93% (1,492) black or African-American, 0.86% (217) Native American or Alaska Native, 1.76% (444) Asian, 0.06% (16) Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, 6.08% (1,530) from other races, and 9.39% (2,362) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 11.82% (2,975) of the population.

Of the 10,898 households, 18.9% had children under the age of 18; 31.0% were married couples living together; 37.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 41.8% of households consisted of individuals and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.1 and the average family size was 2.8. The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 41.0% of the population.

14.5% of the population was under the age of 18, 15.5% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 106.4 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 108.3 males.

The 2016-2020 5-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $68,201 (with a margin of error of +/- $4,880) and the median family income was $96,161 (+/- $10,800). Males had a median income of $40,018 (+/- $3,361) versus $29,535 (+/- $3,288) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $34,315 (+/- $2,816). Approximately, 12.4% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.0% of those under the age of 18 and 7.7% of those ages 65 or over.

2013 Update

As of 2013, there were 24,027 people, 10,616 households, and 4,933 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,204.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,237.1/km²). There were 13,069 housing units at an average density of 1,697.3 per square mile (655.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.5% White, 6.9% African American, 0.8% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.1% some other race, and 5.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.4% of the population (3.3% Puerto Rican, 1.2% Guatemalan, 1.1% Mexican).

There were 10,616 households, out of which: 21.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.9% were headed by married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 53.5% were non-families. 41.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05, and the average family size was 2.82.

The age distribution was 16.5% under the age of 18, 16.3% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.

For the period 2009–2011, the estimated median annual income for a household in the city was $59,388, and the median income for a family was $83,880. Male full-time workers had a median income of $52,221 versus $41,679 for females. The per capita income for the city was $35,644. About 10.7% of the population were below the poverty line.

Culture

Colonial era architecture

The Newport Historic District — one of the city's three National Historic Landmark Districts — boasts one of the highest concentrations of colonial homes in the nation. Doris Duke, heir to the tobacco fortune of her father, James B. Duke, founded the Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF) in 1968, and for the next 25 years, until her death in 1993, saved much of Newport's colonial architectural heritage. Under Duke's leadership, the NRF restored more than 80 18th- and early 19th-century buildings in Newport and neighboring Middletown, Rhode Island, most of which are still owned by the Foundation.

The White Horse Tavern was built prior to 1673 and is one of the oldest taverns in the US. Newport is also home to the Touro Synagogue, one of the oldest Jewish houses of worship in the Western hemisphere. Newport also has the nation's oldest lending libraries, the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.

Gilded Age mansions

In addition to colonial architecture, the city is known for its many Gilded Age mansions — summer "cottages" built in varying styles copied from the royal palaces of Europe—mostly built between 1870 through 1915 by wealthy American families. Many of these mansions, including The Breakers (Vanderbilt family), Marble House (William Kissam Vanderbilt), Chateau-sur-Mer, (William Shepard Wetmore), Rosecliff (Theresa Fair Oelrichs), and Rough Point (Doris Duke) are open to the public as museums.

Music

Newport Music Festivals

Jazz Festival

Folk Festival

Newport is the hometown of The Cowsills, a pop group formed by the members of the Cowsill family, which had success in the late 1960s. The alternative rock band Throwing Muses was founded in Newport in the 1980s by step-sisters Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly. Belly, an alternative band formed by Donnelly in the 1990s, was also based in Newport.

Fort Adams State Park hosts both the Newport Folk Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival. The Jazz Festival was established in 1954 by local socialite Elaine Lorillard and music promoter George Wein. It was held annually until 1971, and was re-established in Newport in 1981. In 1959, George Wein, folk singer Pete Seeger, and music manager Albert Grossman established the Newport Folk Festival as a counterpart to the Jazz Festival. It was held in Newport through 1969, returned to the city in 1985, and has been held annually at Fort Adams since. The Folk Festival was the venue for a controversial performance by singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in July 1965 that proved influential on the folk rock genre. Both festivals were held at other venues in Newport before moving to Fort Adams when they were revived in the 1980s.

Film

The Jane Pickens Theater, a single-screen arthouse movie theater, is located on Touro Street in downtown Newport. The theater was built as a church in 1834, and was converted into a movie theater in 1922. The theater was renamed after singer Jane Pickens in 1974. The Jane Pickens Theater became the only movie theater on Aquidneck Island after a multiplex theater in Middletown closed in January 2024.

Newport was a filming location for several motion pictures, including High Society (1956), The Great Gatsby (1974), Mr. North (1988), Wind (1992), True Lies (1994), Amistad (1997), Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Dan in Real Life (2007), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), and Hocus Pocus 2 (2022).

Aquarium

The Hamilton Family Aquarium, operated by the non-profit Save the Bay, opened at the Gateway Center on America's Cup Avenue in March 2024. Save the Bay had previously operated an aquarium at Easton's Beach until October 2023.

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  Newport Public Library

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  Redwood Library and Athenaeum

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  Marble House, owned and operated by the Preservation Society

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  Jane Pickens Theater

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  Former location of the Save The Bay Exploration Center and Aquarium at Easton's Beach

Sports and recreation

Because of its history as a summer playground for the wealthy, Newport has played a major role in the history and development of several sports. The League of American Wheelmen was formed in Newport in 1880. The first U.S. national tennis championships were held in 1881 on grass courts at the Newport Casino. The first U.S. Open golf tournament was played in 1895 at the Newport Country Club. The America's Cup sailing races were held in Newport from 1930 to 1983.

Sailing

John. F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis watch the 1962 America's Cup races off Newport

Newport is sometimes referred to as the "Sailing Capital of the World". The city was chosen as the new home of the National Sailing Hall of Fame which moved from Annapolis, Maryland in 2019. Several sailing clubs are based in the city, including the New York Yacht Club and the Ida Lewis Yacht Club.

Newport was the site of the America's Cup sailing races from 1930 to 1983, and it remains the starting point of the biannual 635 nautical-mile Newport Bermuda Race.

Tennis

Newport Casino was the site of the earliest American lawn tennis championships. Since 1954 it has housed the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The Newport Casino also hosted the first Newport Jazz Festival in 1954. The Hall of Fame Open has been held every July since 1976, during the week following Wimbledon. The week also includes annual inductions into the Hall of Fame.

Golf

Newport is home to the Newport Country Club, which hosted both the first U.S. Amateur Championship and the first U.S. Open in 1895. More recently, the Newport Country Club hosted the 1995 Men's US Amateurs and the 2006 U.S. Women's Open.

Bicycling

A memorial in Newport's Touro Park commemorates the centennial of the founding of the League of American Wheelmen

In the late nineteenth century, Newport became the center of an emerging pastime for young, athletic, upper-class men: bicycling. On May 29, 1880, representatives of 31 cycling clubs convened in Newport to hold a parade and meeting, and formed the League of American Wheelmen, the first national bicycling organization. The League was instrumental in establishing the Good Roads Movement.

In fall 2013, Newport was designated a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists.

Other sports

Brenton Point State Park is the site of the annual Brenton Point Kite Festival.

The annual Citizens Bank Pell Bridge Run is held every Fall to raise money for local charities.

Beaches and parks

Newport Parks

Brenton Point State Park

Easton's Beach

King Park

Touro Park

Aquidneck Island has several beaches, both public and private. The largest public beach is Easton's beach or First Beach, which has a view of the Newport Cliff Walk. The Cliff Walk is one of the most popular attractions in the city. It is a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) public access walkway bordering the shoreline and has been designated a National Recreation Trail. Sachuest Beach or Second Beach in Middletown is the second-largest beach in the area. Gooseberry Beach is private but is open to the public on certain days of the year. It is located on Ocean Drive, along with the private beaches, Bailey's Beach and Hazard's Beach. In 2014 Maya Lin, the architect who designed the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., completed a $3.5 million renovation of Queen Anne Square Park, titled "The Meeting Room".

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Newport Public Schools operates public schools for the area including Claiborne Pell Elementary School, Thompson Middle School, Rogers High School, Newport Area Career and Technical Center, and the Aquidneck Island Adult Learning Center. Prior to 2013, multiple small public elementary schools served the Newport community; the Pell School, a consolidation of those schools, opened in 2013.

St. Michael's Country Day School is the only private elementary school in the city. Nearby private primary schools include All Saints Academy in Middletown, The Pennfield School in Portsmouth, and St. Philomena School in Portsmouth. Nearby private secondary schools include Portsmouth Abbey School in Portsmouth and St. George's School in Middletown.

St. Joseph of Cluny School was formerly located in Newport, on property given by the estate of Arthur Curtiss James to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence in 1941. Military families from Fort Adams requested a Catholic school, so St. Joseph of Cluny opened in September 1957 as a kindergarten and added grades until 1965, when the first eighth-grade graduation was held. Later on, the overall population of Newport declined along with the concentration of middle class families. Much of the housing became too expensive for families with young children, and there were relatively few houses sold to new residents. In addition, many families previously going to the school instead sent their children to the Portsmouth School Department. From 2014 to 2017, the enrollment decreased by a quarter. The school administration stated that this decline and the general competition among private schools in the Newport area meant the operation of the school was no longer viable. It closed in 2017. Betsy Sherman Walker of Newport This Week described the closure as a "curveball," unexpected by the community.

Tertiary education

Post-secondary schools include the Naval Academy Preparatory School, Salve Regina University, Naval War College, International Yacht Restoration School, and the Community College of Rhode Island Newport Campus.

Economy

Shopping on Thames Street

While technology and defense are the largest employment sectors in the region, seasonal tourism is a major economic engine of the city of Newport, including hotels, restaurants, and retail. As of 2013, 89.64% of all private employment in the city of Newport was in the service sector. Retail trade was the third largest sector, with 1,341 jobs. Retail and restaurant employment can swell by as many as 1,500 jobs during the peak summer season.

Principal employers

According to Newport's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the principal employers in the city are:

Notable people

Sister cities

Newport's sister cities are:

• Imperia, Italy
• Kinsale, Ireland
• Ponta Delgada, Portugal
• Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
• Shimoda, Japan
• Skiathos, Greece

See also

In Spanish: Newport (Rhode Island) para niños