RHODE ISLAND, one of the thirteen original
states of the American Union and one of the
New England states, the smallest of the 37 of
which the Union is now composed. It is
bounded N. and E. by Massachusetts, S. by the
Atlantic ocean, and W. by Connecticut, and
lies between lat. 41° 9' and 42° 3' N., and lon. 71° 8' and 71° 53' W.; extreme length N. and S. 47½ m., greatest breadth E. and W. 40 m.; area, 1,306 sq. m.
It is divided into five
counties: Bristol, Kent, Newport, Providence, and
Washington. These are subdivided into two
cities, Providence (pop. in 1876, 100,675) and
Newport (pop. 14,028), and 34 towns. Providence
and Pawtucket, which had 68,904 and
6,619 inhabitants respectively in 1870, have
since received territory from North Providence. The largest towns are Pawtucket (pop. in 1875, 18,464), Woonsocket (13,576), Warwick (11,614), Lincoln (11,565), Bristol (5,829), Cranston (5,688), Westerly (5,408), Burrillville (5,249), Johnston (4,999), Coventry (4,580), and South Kingstown (4,240). The population of Rhode Island in 1730 was 17,935; in 1755, 40,414; in 1770, 59,678. According to the federal enumerations, it has been as follows:
The aggregate included 19 Indians in 1860, and
154 in 1870. The gain in population from 1860
to 1870 was 24.47 per cent. Rhode Island at
the latter date had 166.43 inhabitants to a
square mile, being next to Massachusetts the
most densely populated state in the Union. The total population in 1875, according to the state census, was 258,239. Of the population in 1870, 161,957 were natives and 55,396 foreigners, 104,756 males and 112,597 females. Of the natives, 125,269 were born in the state, 18,719 in Massachusetts, 5,524 in Connecticut, 3,932 in New York, 1,875 in Maine, and 1,242 in New Hampshire. There were 45,371 persons born in the state living in other parts of the Union. Of the foreigners, 42,984 were natives of the United Kingdom (31,534 Irish, 9,291 English, and 1,948 Scotch), 10,242 of British America, and 1,201 of Germany. There were in the state 27,834 males and 27,941 females between 5 and 18 years of age, 44,377 males between 18 and 45, and 58,752 males 21 years old and upward, of whom 43,996 were citizens of the United States and 14,756 unnaturalized foreigners. There were 46,133 families, with an average of 4.7l persons to each, and 34,828 dwellings, with an average of 6.24 to each; 15,416 persons 10 years old and upward who could not read, and 21,921 who could not write, of whom 4,444 were native and 17,477 foreign born, 2,531 between 10 and 15 years of age, 2,588 between 15 and 21, and 16,802 21 and upward, of whom 6,218 were males and 10,584 females. The number of blind persons was 121; of deaf and dumb, 64; of insane, 312; of idiotic, 123. The number of paupers supported during the year ending June 1, 1870, was 1,046, at a cost of $97,702; receiving support on that date, 634, of whom 192 were foreigners; persons convicted of crimes during the year, 209; in prison on June 1, 180, of whom 55 were foreigners. Of the 88,574 (66,859 males and 21,715 females) persons 10 years old and over returned as engaged in all occupations, 11,780 were employed in agriculture, 19,679 in professional and personal services, 10,108 in trade and transportation, and 47,007 in manufactures, including 20,504 cotton and woollen mill operatives. The number of deaths, according to the census of 1870, was 2,741, of which 552 were from consumption and 169 from pneumonia. Rhode Island was formerly the abode of the Narragansett Indians, a large and powerful tribe, of which there is a small remnant. In 1709 the sachem Ninegret gave a quitclaim to the colony of all the Indian lands, except a reservation in the town of Charlestown, portions of which have from time to time been sold. Of this reservation there remains 2,685 acres, 637 of which are arable, and the remainder swamp and timber lands. The tribe now consists of fewer than 150 persons, all of whom are of mixed blood. They possess a church and a school house, and about a third of the tribe can read and write.—The surface of the state is