Hope Island (Rhode Island)

41°36′7.54″N 71°22′3.73″W﻿ / ﻿41.6020944°N 71.3677028°W﻿ / 41.6020944; -71.3677028

Hope Island

Hope Island is a 91-acre (0.368 km2) island located in Narragansett Bay in the State of Rhode Island. It is part of the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, along with nearby Prudence Island and Patience Island, and home to colonial wading birds during their nesting season of spring and summer.

## History

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The island was a gift from Narraganset chief Miantonomi to Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. The word "hope" is the Rhode Island motto and used on the Rhode Island State Seal with an anchor because Williams was inspired by the Biblical passage "hope is the anchor of the soul" in Hebrews 6:19.[1]

The island was transferred to a John Allen, who walked to the island in winter when the bay was frozen. One day he misjudged the ice thickness, fell in and later died. Hope Island was then sold to Hiram Aylsworth in 1873 who kept the land until it was taken by the Navy as an ammunition depot for World War I. Aylsworth's grandson, Aylsworth Brown having spent childhood summers on Hope Island, later purchased property in the Prudence Park area of Prudence where he aptly named his new home “Hopeview.”[citation needed]

There is an 18th-century farm site on the west side of Hope Island that was built probably by Hiram Aylsworth. To date, no archaeological work or documentary research has been carried out there. During World War II, the island was used by the U.S. Navy as an ammunition storage site.[citation needed] There are still ammunition bunkers and concrete roads remaining from this period.

Hope Island was acquired by the state in the early 1970s.

## References

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* Narragansett Bay Reserve
* Narragansett Bay: A Friend's Perspective

1. ^ Howard M. Chapin notes published in "Illustrations Of The Seals, Arms And Flags Of Rhode Island," (Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence: 1930) pg 4-5.

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Portsmouth, Rhode Island

Islands|

* Hog Island
* Hope Island
* Patience Island
* Prudence Island

Schools|

* Portsmouth School Dep't
* Portsmouth HS
* Portsmouth Abbey School

Landmarks|

* Battle of Rhode Island Site
* Greenvale Farm (1864)
* Green Animals Topiary Garden (1859)
* Hog Island Shoal Lighthouse (1901)
* Lawton-Almy-Hall Farm
* Mount Hope Bridge (1929)
* Oak Glen
* Portsmouth Friends Meetinghouse Parsonage and Cemetery (1699)
* Prudence Island Lighthouse (1823)
* Union Church (1720)
* Wreck Sites of H.M.S. Cerberus and H.M.S. Lark (1778)

This list is incomplete.

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Narragansett Bay

Islands|

* Aquidneck Island
* Coasters Harbor Island
* Conanicut Island
* Cornelius Island
* Despair Island
* Dutch Island
* Dyer Island
* Fox Island
* Goat Island
* Gould Island
* Greene Island
* Hog Island
* Hope Island
* Lime Rock
* Patience Island
* Prudence Island
* Rabbit Island
* Rock Island
* Rose Island
* Starvegoat Island
* Whale Rock

Major rivers|

* Blackstone River
* Pawtuxet River
* Providence River
* Sakonnet River
* Seekonk River
* Taunton River

Cities & towns|

* Barrington
* Bristol
* Cranston
* East Greenwich
* East Providence
* Jamestown
* Middletown
* Narragansett
* Newport
* North Kingstown
* Portsmouth
* Providence
* Warren
* Warwick

Bridges|

* Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge
* Jamestown Bridge
* Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge
* Mount Hope Bridge
* Sakonnet River Bridge
* Stone Bridge

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Islands and peninsulas of Rhode Island

Islands|

* Aquidneck Island
* Block Island
* Chepiwanoxet
* Coasters Harbor Island
* Conanicut Island
* Cornelius Island
* Despair Island
* Dutch Island
* Dyer Island
* Fox Island
* Goat Island
* Gould Island
* Greene Island
* Hog Island
* Hope Island
* Jonathan Island
* Lime Rock
* Patience Island
* Prudence Island
* Rabbit Island
* Rock Island
* Rose Island
* Sandy Point Island
* Spar Island
* Starvegoat Island
* Whale Rock
* West Island

Peninsulas|

* Chepiwanoxet Point
* Potowomut
* Quonset Point

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