Bold Point is an area of

East Providence, Rhode Island East Providence is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 47,139 at the 2020 census, making it the fifth-largest city in the state. Geography East Providence is located between the Providence and Seeko ...

protruding into the

Providence River The Providence River is a tidal river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 8 miles (13 km). There are no dams along the river's length, although the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier is located south of downtown to protect ...

. It was home to Providence Dry Dock and Marine Railway Co. around the turn of the 20th century, and today is home to Bold Point Park.

History

Bold Point is located in the Watchemoket area of East Providence. The

Wampanoag The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and forme ...

s used the shallow water by Bold Point as a ford across the

Seekonk River The Seekonk River is a tidal extension of the Providence River in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 5 km (3 mi). The name may be derived from an Algonquian word for skunk or for black goose. The river is home to ...

. India Point, on the other side of the river, was

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

's first port, which remained active from 1680 until the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

in the early 20th century. Its success was in part due to the large trading businesses of

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

and his partner, John Francis, who set up in Providence in 1787. Brown built the first Washington Bridge between India Point and Watchemoket in 1793, while the latter was still part of

Rehoboth, Massachusetts Rehoboth is a historic town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1643, Rehoboth is one of the oldest towns in Massachusetts. The population was 12,502 at the 2020 census. Rehoboth is a mostly rural community with many ...

. Bold Point was home to maritime businesses including Providence Dry Dock and Marine Railway Co., which operated two

patent slip A patent slip or marine railway is an inclined plane extending from shoreline into water, featuring a "cradle" onto which a ship is first floated, and a mechanism to haul the ship, attached to the cradle, out of the water onto a slip. The mar ...

s and the first floating

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. S ...

. According to ''

The Providence Journal ''The Providence Journal'', colloquially known as the ''ProJo'', is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, the largest newspaper in Rhode Island, US. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspaper had won four ...

'', from 1884 to 1919, it functioned as "the main ship repair facility in Providence." The body of water between Bold Point and India Point,

Green Jacket Shoal Green Jacket Shoal is a shoal and ship graveyard in Providence River, between the cities of East Providence and Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It contains a large amount of debris from a century of abandoned and wrecked ships, destro ...

, is now

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

's largest

ship graveyard A ship graveyard, ship cemetery or breaking yard is a location where the hulls of scrapped ships are left to decay and disintegrate, or left in reserve. Such a practice is now less common due to waste regulations and so some dry docks wh ...

, largely due to the businesses on Bold Point.

Bold Point Park

Bold Point is now a public park, Bold Point Park, owned by the City of East Providence. It is home to a boat launch and fishing area. In 2017, the City leased the area to

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational Entertainment industry, entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Live Nation (events promoter), Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It ...

and RI Waterfront Events to hold concerts there, starting in summer 2017. It is the state's largest outdoor concert venue, with the capacity for about 4,000 attendees.

References

{{Coord, 41.815, -71.391, display=title Narragansett Bay East Providence, Rhode Island Parks in Rhode Island Music venues in Rhode Island