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Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
located in
Block Island Sound Block Island Sound is a strait in the open Atlantic Ocean, approximately wide, separating Block Island from the coast of mainland Rhode Island. On the west, it extends to Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island, as well as Plum Isl ...
approximately south of the mainland and east of
Montauk Point Montauk ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 4,318. The ...
,
Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18t ...
, named after Dutch explorer
Adriaen Block Adriaen (Arjan) Block (c. 1567 – buried April 27, 1627) was a Dutch private trader, privateer, and ship's captain who is best known for exploring the coastal and river valley areas between present-day New Jersey and Massachusetts during four v ...
. It is part of Washington County and shares the same area as the town of New Shoreham.
The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...
added Block Island to its list of "The Last Great Places" which consists of 12 sites in the western hemisphere, and about 40 percent of the island is set aside for conservation. It is part of the
Outer Lands The Outer Lands is the prominent terminal moraine archipelagic region off the southern coast of New England in the United States. This eight-county region of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York, comprises the peninsula of Cape Cod and th ...
region, a coastal archipelago. Block Island is a popular summer tourist destination and is known for its bicycling, hiking, sailing, fishing, and beaches. It is also the location of
Block Island North Light Block Island North Light (Lighthouse), built in 1867, is a historic lighthouse on Block Island, Rhode Island ( New Shoreham). History The first light on the site was built in 1829. The current structure at Sandy Point is the fourth lighthouse b ...
on the northern tip of the island and Block Island Southeast Light on the southeastern side, both historic lighthouses. Much of the northwestern tip of the island is an undeveloped natural area and resting stop for birds along the Atlantic flyway. Popular events include the annual Fourth of July Parade, celebration, and fireworks. The island's population can triple over the normal summer vacation crowd. As of the 2020 Census, the island's population is 1,410 living on a land area of .


History


Before 1637

Block Island was formed by the same receding glaciers that formed the
Outer Lands The Outer Lands is the prominent terminal moraine archipelagic region off the southern coast of New England in the United States. This eight-county region of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York, comprises the peninsula of Cape Cod and th ...
of
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
,
the Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one o ...
,
Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the ...
, and
Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
during the end of the last ice age thousands of years ago. The Niantic people called the island "Manisses" (meaning " Manitou's Little Island"), or just "Little Island". Archaeological sites indicate that these people lived largely by hunting deer, catching fish and shellfish, and growing corn, beans, and squash, presumably with the Three Sisters technique. They migrated from forest to coastal areas to take advantage of seasonal resources. One modern researcher has theorized that indigenous groups may have established a settlement as early as 500 BC, although there is no consensus on that idea.
Giovanni da Verrazzano Giovanni da Verrazzano ( , , often misspelled Verrazano in English; 1485–1528) was an Italian ( Florentine) explorer of North America, in the service of King Francis I of France. He is renowned as the first European to explore the Atlanti ...
sighted the island in 1524 and named it "Claudia" in honor of
Claude, Duchess of Brittany Claude of France (13 October 1499 – 20 July 1524) was List of French royal consorts, Queen of France by marriage to King Francis I of France, Francis I. She was also ruling List of rulers of Brittany, Duchess of Brittany from 1514 until her de ...
, queen consort of France and the wife of Francis I. However, several contemporaneous maps identified the same island as "Luisa," after Louise of Savoy, the Queen Mother of France and the mother of Francis I. Verrazano's ship log stated that the island was "full of hilles, covered with trees, well-peopled for we saw fires all along the coaste." Almost 100 years later, Dutch explorer Adriaen Block charted the island in 1614; he simply named it for himself,Rhode Island Office of the Secretary of State
''Rhode Island Office of the Secretary of State''; retrieved on October 23, 2007
and this was the name that stuck.


Pequot War

The growing tensions among the tribes of the region in this time caused the Niantics to split into two divisions: the Western Niantics, who allied with the Pequots and Mohegans, and the Eastern Niantics, who allied with the Narragansetts. In 1632, indigenous people (likely Western Niantics associated with the Pequots) killed colonial traders John Stone and Walter Norton, and the Pequots of eastern Connecticut were blamed. A Pequot delegation presented magistrates in Boston with two bushels of wampum and a bundle of sticks representing the number of beavers and otters with which they would compensate the colonists for the deaths. They sought peace with the colonies and also requested help establishing concord with the Narragansetts, who bordered them to the east. The colonial authorities, in turn, demanded the people responsible for killing Stone and Norton, a promise not to interfere with colonial settlement in Connecticut, and 400 fathoms of wampum and the pelts of 40 beavers and 30 otters.Pastore, Christopher. ''Between Land and Sea: Narragansett Bay and the Transformation of the New England Coast'' pp.1-5 In 1636, John Gallup came across the boat of trader
John Oldham John Oldham may refer to: *John Oldham (colonist) (1592–1636), early Puritan settler in Massachusetts *John Oldham (poet) (1653–1684), English poet *John Oldham (psychiatrist), American psychiatrist *John Oldham (engineer) (1779–1840), Irish ...
, a noted troublemaker. Oldham had flirted with impropriety since the day that he landed on American soil. Not long after arriving in Plymouth in 1623, he "grew very perverse and showed a spirit of great malignancy," according to Plymouth Colony Governor William Bradford. He was later accused of religious subversion and responded with impertinence, hurling invective at his accusers and even drawing a knife on Captain Myles Standish. He was banished from Plymouth and fled to Massachusetts Bay, settling first in
Nantasket Nantasket Beach is a beach in the town of Hull, Massachusetts. It is part of the Nantasket Beach Reservation, administered by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. The shore has fine, light gray sand and is one of the busiest bea ...
, then
Cape Ann Cape Ann is a rocky peninsula in northeastern Massachusetts, United States on the Atlantic Ocean. It is about northeast of Boston and marks the northern limit of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester and the towns o ...
, and finally Watertown, where he continued to indulge his penchant for mayhem. Despite his unsavory reputation, Massachusetts Bay sought his extensive knowledge of the New England coast when they asked him to retrieve a hefty ransom on the colony's behalf. It was on this mission that Oldham was murdered and
dismembered Dismemberment is the act of cutting, ripping, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise disconnecting the limbs from a living or dead being. It has been practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, especially in connection with ...
. In August, the Massachusetts authorities dispatched a
punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beh ...
of ninety men to Block Island under the command of
John Endicott John Endecott (also spelled Endicott; before 1600 – 15 March 1664/1665), regarded as one of the Fathers of New England, was the longest-serving governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He se ...
to avenge Oldham's murder. The expedition was ordered by
governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuset ...
Sir Henry Vane to "massacre all of the Native men on the island" and capture the women and children, who would then be sold into
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. Upon arriving on Block Island, the expedition burned sixty Niantic wigwams and all the cornfields on the island. The expedition also shot every dog they could find, though the Niantic fled into the woods and the colonists killed fourteen people. Deciding that this murder spree and razing was insufficient, Endicott and his men sailed over to Fort Saybrook before going after the Pequot village at the mouth of the Thames River to demand one thousand
fathom A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to , used especially for measuring the depth of water. The fathom is neither an International Standard (SI) unit, nor an internationally-accepted non-SI unit. ...
s of wampum to pay for the murder. They took some Pequot children as hostages to ensure payment, with these incidents being seen as the initial events that led to the
Pequot War The Pequot War was an armed conflict that took place between 1636 and 1638 in New England between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the colonists from the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies and their allies from the Narraga ...
.


Settlement

Massachusetts Bay Colony claimed the island by
conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, ...
. In 1658, the colony sold the island to a group of men headed up by Endicott. In 1661, the Endicott group sold the island to a party of twelve settlers that later grew to sixteen (of whom only seven actually settled there) led by John Alcock, who are today memorialized at Settler's Rock, near Cow's Cove. In 1663, island settler Thomas Terry gave six acres of land at the island's largest fresh pond and its surrounding area to four "chief
sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...
s". Their names were recorded as Ninnecunshus, Jaguante, Tunkawatten, and Senatick, but they were known by the colonists as Mr. Willeam, Repleave (Reprive), and Soconosh. This land was given to "them being the Cheife Sachems upon the Island there Heires & Assignes Forever to plant and Improve". This land was then known as the Indian Lands. The Sachems called the Fresh Pond Tonnotounknug. In 1664, Indians on the island numbered somewhere from 1,200 to 1,500. By 1774, that number had been reduced to fifty-one. A Dutch map of 1685 clearly shows Block Island, indicated as ''Adriaen Blocks Eylant'' ("Adrian Block's Island"). In the late seventeenth century, an Englishwoman called New England's first woman doctor lived on Block Island. Her name was Sarah Sands ''née'' Walker and she has also been suggested as a very early abolitionist. She married sea captain James Sands (one of the original sixteen, as recorded by Settler's Rock) in 1645 and had possibly six children, including a daughter named Mercy, born 1663. In 1699, Scottish sailor
William Kidd William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd ( – 23 May 1701), was a Scottish sea captain who was commissioned as a privateer and had experience as a pirate. He was tried and executed in London in 1701 for murder a ...
visited Block Island, shortly before he was hanged for piracy. At Block Island, he was supplied by Mercy Sands (then Mrs. Raymond). The story has it that, for her hospitality, Kidd bade Mrs. Raymond to hold out her apron, into which he threw gold and jewels until it was full. After her husband Joshua Raymond died, Mercy moved with her family to what would become the Raymond-Bradford Homestead in northern
New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...
(later Montville) where she bought much land. The Raymond family was thus said to have been "enriched by the apron". Block Island was incorporated by the Rhode Island general assembly in 1672, and the island government adopted the name "New Shoreham."


Since Colonial times

During the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...
, the island was briefly occupied by the British Navy under the command of Sir Thomas Hardy. British vessels included HMS Dispatch,
HMS Terror Nine ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Terror'': * was a 4-gun bomb vessel launched in 1696, and captured and burnt by the French in 1704. * was a 14-gun bomb vessel launched in 1741 and sold in 1754. * was an 8-gun bomb ketc ...
, HMS Nimrod, HMS Pactolus, and HMS Ramillies. Hardy took the fleet to Block Island in search of food and to establish a strategic position at the mouth of
Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
. The British were enraged to discover that nearly all Block Island livestock and food stores had been transferred to
Stonington, Connecticut The town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Lords Point, and Wequetequock, and the eastern halves of the villages of ...
in advance of their arrival. On August 9, 1814, Hardy and his fleet departed Block Island for Stonington Harbor in part to lay claim to the Block Island food stores and livestock. Hardy's pre-dawn raid on August 10 was repulsed with damage to his fleet in a battle that has since become known as the Battle of Stonington. The original North Lighthouse was built in 1829, but it was replaced in 1837 after the original was washed out to sea. The ocean claimed the replacement lighthouse also, and the lighthouse that can be seen today was constructed in 1867. Construction began on Block Island's Southeast Lighthouse a few years later in 1873. Block Island has no natural harbors; breakwaters were constructed in 1870 to form Old Harbor. New Harbor was created in 1895 when a channel was dug to connect the
Great Salt Pond The Great Salt Pond is the largest lake within Saint Kitts and Nevis, a country in the Lesser Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean. Geography It is located on Saint Kitts island, near the point of the Southeast Peninsula and to the north of ...
to the ocean through the northwestern side of the island. The Island Free Library was established in 1875 and is Block Island's only
public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundamen ...
. Isaac Church was the Island's last recorded full-blooded Manisses Indian; he died in 1886 at age 100. He was survived by one son and one daughter whose descendants still reside in Rhode Island today. The landmark Isaac's Corner is named in honor of him, located at the intersection of Center Road, Lakeside Drive, and Cooneymus Road. Isaac is buried to the east of the four corners in the Historical Indian Burial Ground. In 2011, the Block Island Historical Society dedicated the Block Island Manissean Ancestral Stone. In attendance at the unveiling ceremony were descendants of the Manisses Indians, with Tiondra White Rapids Martinez, a direct descendant of Isaac Church, opening the ceremony in their native tongue. During World War II, several artillery spotters were located on the island to direct fire from the heavy gun batteries at Fort Greene in
Point Judith Point Judith is a village and a small cape, on the coast of Narragansett, Rhode Island, on the western side of Narragansett Bay where it opens out onto Rhode Island Sound. It is the location for the year-round ferry service that connects Block Is ...
which protected the entrance to
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. Sm ...
. Lookout positions for the spotters were built to look like houses. The US government offered to evacuate the island, as it could not be effectively defended from enemy invasion, but the islanders chose to stay. Days before the war ended against Germany, the
Battle of Point Judith The Battle of Point Judith is the popular name for a naval engagement fought between the United States and Nazi Germany during World War II on May 5 and 6, 1945 - with Germany on the verge of total defeat and surrender, and Hitler having alrea ...
took place seven miles to the northeast of the island. The island's
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
(KBID) was opened in 1950 and remains open today as a
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
airport. In 1972, the Block Island Conservancy was founded. The Conservancy and other environmental organizations are responsible for protecting over 40% of the island from development.The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island - Block Island
; ''The Nature Conservancy''; retrieved on October 30, 2007
In 1974, Old Harbor Historic District was declared a National Register historic district. More information can be found in the following books concerning Block Island's old buildings, islanders, history, and ongoing efforts to conserve the land, together with a collection of 800 period photographs of the island spanning the 1870s to the 1980s and all by historian Robert M. Downie: *''Block Island—The Sea'' *''Block Island—The Land'' *''The Block Island History of Photography'', 2 volumes


Climate

Block Island's weather is greatly influenced by the surrounding ocean and prevailing winds that generally blow offshore. The climate is oceanic ( Köppen ''Cfb''), a rarity on an east coast island in the northern hemisphere. The climate borders on a humid continental (Dfa/b) or humid subtropical (Cfa) climate. The ocean stays cold during the spring and summer months, so Block Island stays cooler than the mainland during this period. July and August average in the mid- to upper-70s instead of low- to mid-80s that New York and southern New England experience. Block Island's record high temperature is on August 26 and 27, 1948 and the record low is on January 16, 1994. The lowest high temperature on record was on December 31, 1962 and January 8, 1968, and the highest low temperature on record was on August 2, 1979. Block Island stays warmer than the mainland during the fall and winter months when the ocean remains relatively warmer than the mainland. The
hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
is 7a.


Arts and culture


Annual events

One of the most popular celebrations on the island is the Fourth of July Parade. Anybody can enter a float into the parade, as long as it coordinates with the theme of that respective year. For example, the theme in 2016 was sports and recreation. In addition to the parade, there is a fireworks display on the beach on the night of July 3. The parade is on the fourth and is judged by officials who give out prizes in three categories: family floats, company floats, and overall floats. They also give out one extra prize for the overall category which is the grand prize, consisting of $500. Every summer, the island hosts Block Island Race Week, a competitive, week-long sailboat race. On odd years, the event is held by the Storm Trysail Club, and on even years by the Block Island Race Week. Yachts compete in various classes, sailing courses in Block Island Sound and circumnavigating the island.


Tourist attractions

Southeast Lighthouse is located at the southeast corner of the island on the Mohegan Trail. The lighthouse was constructed in 1875Block Island South East Lighthouse National Historic Landmark Nomination
''National Park Service Maritime Heritage Program''; retrieved on October 23, 2007
and remains to this day an active
US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...
navigational aid. The lighthouse was moved in 1993, in danger of falling off the bluffs due to erosion. In addition to offering tours of the tower, the lighthouse has a museum that is open during the summer season.Daytripper's Guide: Block Island
; ''
University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...
Sea Grant''; retrieved on October 22, 2007
The Mohegan Bluffs are located a short distance to the west of Southeast Lighthouse. The bluffs are the site of a pre-colonial battle between the invading Mohegan, and the native Niantic in which the Mohegan were driven off the edge of the tall cliffs to their deaths on the beach below. A staircase of 141 steps leads to the bottom of these clay cliffs and looks out over the Atlantic. On clear days,
Montauk, New York Montauk ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 4,318. The ...
can be seen in the distance from the southern and western sides of the island. Rodman's Hollow is a glacial outwash basin, near the southern shore of the island. The hollow has several walking trails. North Lighthouse is located at Sandy Point on the northern tip of Block Island. The North Lighthouse warns boaters of a sandbar extending from this end of the island. The surrounding dunes are part of the Block Island National Wildlife Refuge, home to many species, including the
piping plover The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized wader, shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band across the forehead ...
and
American burying beetle ''Nicrophorus americanus'', also known as the American burying beetle or giant carrion beetle, is a critically endangered species of beetle endemic to North America. It belongs to the order Coleoptera and the family Silphidae. The carrion b ...
. A short walk away from the North Lighthouse lies the tip of the island, with ocean on both sides of a thin strip of land. The Block Island Historical Society Museum is located near the downtown area and contains a broad array of Block Island artifacts. is a
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
wreck east of the island, lying in of water. Recreational divers frequently visit the wreck, though at least three have died there. The Block Island Wind Farm, the first offshore
wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...
built in the United States, is located from south-east of the island. The five turbines, each high, commenced commercial operation in December 2016. The island has at least 40 restaurants, but most are closed outside of tourist season; mainland restaurants use New England Airlines to deliver food to the island.


Parks and recreation

There are 17 miles of beach on Block Island. Crescent Beach can be viewed from the Pt. Judith Ferry and the New London Express Ferry on the way to the island. It contains five smaller beaches: Fred Benson Town Beach (popularly known as State Beach), Surf Beach, Scotch Beach, Rouse's Beach, and Mansion Beach, all of which are located on Corn Neck Road. North of Mansion Beach are Clayhead and Pots & Kettles. Clayhead is a set of cliffs which can be seen from the ferry in from Point Judith or New London. This area is rocky and contains iron-rich clay deposits, and is a popular area for shell and rock hunting. Cow Cove, Settler's Rock, and Sandy Point make up the northernmost point of Block Island where the North Lighthouse is located. Settler's Rock is located at Cow Cove, where the settlers landed and swam to shore bringing with them the island's first cows, which they pushed off the boats and forced ashore. Attached to the rock is a plaque naming the original settlers of Block Island. Coastguard Beach (or "the channel") is situated between the Great Salt Pond and the ocean on the north west side of the island. Ballard's Beach is on the south side of the Block Island Ferry Dock and jetty. Bluffs Beach (or Vail) is set at the bottom of Mohegan Bluffs. Block Island also hosts an office of
The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...
. The Conservancy named Block Island as one of its top 12 sites in the Western Hemisphere, and a large portion of the island is legally protected and set aside for conservation.


Industry

The island is known for participating in the commercial
aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...
and
kelp Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwa ...
farming sectors.


Transportation

The island is connected year-round by a ferry to
Point Judith Point Judith is a village and a small cape, on the coast of Narragansett, Rhode Island, on the western side of Narragansett Bay where it opens out onto Rhode Island Sound. It is the location for the year-round ferry service that connects Block Is ...
, and in summer to
New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...
;
Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of '' Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...
and
Montauk, New York Montauk ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 4,318. The ...
; and
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...
, with the latter service also offering an extended route to
Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census, making it the List of municipaliti ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
. The traditional ferry takes about an hour to reach the island from Point Judith and is the only way to bring a car to the island as it is able to carry them. A high-speed ferry on the same route takes 35 minutes but cannot take cars, and another high-speed ferry from New London takes just over an hour. Bikes are a popular form of transportation on the island, as cars are generally discouraged.
New England Airlines New England Airlines is a regional airline based in Westerly, Rhode Island, USA. With a main base at Westerly State Airport, it provides scheduled service to Block Island and operates charters to other airports along the Northeast coast. Hist ...
offers regularly scheduled 12-minute flights to
Block Island State Airport Block Island State Airport is a public use airport located on Block Island, in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The airport is owned by the State of Rhode Island. It is primarily a general aviation airport, but there is also sc ...
from Westerly, Rhode Island. The island airport is officially called Block Island State (code: BID) and the terminal is about one mile from the town center.


Incidents


Air crashes

On August 26, 1995, a Cessna 185 seaplane carrying four people crashed while attempting to land in the waters off Old Harbor Beach, an area not normally used for seaplane landings. The plane cleared a dune but hit a power line, causing it to crash into a restaurant and hit a car at the island's only gas station. All four people on the plane perished, as well as a woman who was sitting in her car as it was being fueled. The restaurant was destroyed by the impact of the plane and resulting fire. On July 5, 2006, a plane carrying three people crashed ½ mile (800 m) west of the airport during bad weather. The aircraft had just taken off and was on its way to White Plains, New York.


Shipwrecks

The area around Block Island has been the site of numerous shipwrecks, including the Steamer ''Larchmont'' in 1907. The 1738 wreck of the ''Princess Augusta'' (also known as the Palatine ship) was later immortalized by
John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...
in his 1867 poem "The Wreck of the Palatine." In 1877, the freighter ''Achilles'' struck a submerged rock off the island and ran aground. In 1992, the
Cunard Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Ber ...
liner ''
Queen Elizabeth 2 ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' (''QE2'') is a retired British ocean liner converted into a floating hotel. Originally built for the Cunard Line, the ship, named as the second ship named ''Queen Elizabeth'', was operated by Cunard as both a transatlant ...
'' struck a submerged rock. Two submarines also sank off Block Island: in 1925,The Block Island Times
''The Block Island Times''; retrieved on October 30, 2007
and in 1945.
''Northern Maritime Research''; retrieved on October 30, 2007


Notable people

*
Kenneth Bacon Kenneth Hogate Bacon (November 21, 1944 – August 15, 2009) was an American journalist who served as a spokesman for the Department of Defense during the Presidency of Bill Clinton, and later as president of Refugees International, an organizatio ...
(1944–2009), Department of Defense spokesman who served as president of
Refugees International Refugees International (RI) is an independent humanitarian organization that advocates for better support for displaced people (including refugees and internally displaced people) and stateless people. It does not accept any United Nations or gove ...
* Tad Devine (b. 1955), American political consultant. Senior adviser in Al Gore's 2000, John Kerry's 2004, and Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaigns. * Elizabeth Dickens (1877–1963), "the Bird Lady of Block Island", writer, and naturalist * Richard Parsons (b. 1948), an American business executive, former chairman of
Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi ( stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomera ...
, and the former chairman and CEO of
Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...
. *
Jens Risom Jens Risom ( ; 8 May 1916 – 9 December 2016) was a Danish American furniture designer. An exemplar of Mid-Century modern design, Risom was one of the first designers to introduce Scandinavian design in the United States. Biography Risom was bo ...
(1916–2016), Danish-American furniture designer *
William Stringfellow Frank William Stringfellow (1928–1985) was an American lay theologian, lawyer and social activist. He was active mostly during the 1960s and 1970s. Life and career Early life and education Born in Johnston, Rhode Island, on April 26, 1928, h ...
(1928–1985), attorney and radical
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...
theologian


Gallery

Swimmers at Block Island IMG 1078.JPG, Swimmers in smooth waters at Block Island Settler's Rock on Block Island IMG 1082.JPG, Settler's Rock is the most northerly part of Block Island accessible to motorists Mohegan Bluff's at Block Island IMG 1094.JPG, Steep bluffs at Block Island Atlantic Ocean Block Island 2014.jpg, View of the Atlantic Ocean from a cliff on Block Island Former Weather Bureau station on Block Island IMG 1084.JPG, This house was formerly the US Weather Bureau Station on Block Island File:Photo of the Week - Long-finned Pilot Whales (RI) (6892801246).jpg,
Long-finned Pilot Whales The long-finned pilot whale (''Globicephala melas'') is a large species of oceanic dolphin. It shares the genus '' Globicephala'' with the short-finned pilot whale (''Globicephala macrorhynchus''). Long-finned pilot whales are known as such bec ...
off southeast of Block Island


See also

* Block Island Wind Farm * '' The Block Island Sound'', 2020 film set and shot on Block Island


References


External links


Block Island.com

Block Island Times Newspaper

Block Island Chamber of Commerce

Block Island Tourism Council

Block Island Ferry
*
Ratification of the United States Constitution: New Shoreham
from the Rhode Island State Archives {{authority control .01 Islands of Washington County, Rhode Island Pre-statehood history of Rhode Island New Netherland Surfing locations in the United States Islands of Rhode Island Coastal islands of Rhode Island Pequot War