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Location: Newport County
Population: 5,622 (As of April 1, 2000)
Population density: 580 persons per square mile of land area. (As of April 1, 2000)
Land Distribution: Total area is 35.338 square miles, 9.694 sq. miles of land area, 25.644 sq.
miles of water area
Established in: 1639
Incorporated in:
School Information: visit www.schoolmatch.com
Form of Government: An appointed Town Administrator and a five-member Town Council headed by
the Council President
Town Hall: 93 Narragansett Avenue, Jamestown, RI 02835, fax 423-7229, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Climate: annual rainfall 41.7", annual snowfall 35.0", average humidity-January 63.5%,
july 56.3%, average temperatures- dec-feb 30o, mar-may 47o, jun-aug 70o, sep-nov 53o
History: This island community sits at the mouth of Narragansett Bay and looks out to the Atlantic
Ocean. Development on the island was earlier restricted by the ferry access, then the construction
of Jamestown Bridge connecting the island with the mainland opened the island. Today, modern bridges
connect the island to the mainland and to Newport. Jamestown is now a residential destination.
The island residents are striving to maintain the island's country atmosphere while permitting
new development.
Conanicut Island, because of its location at the mouth of Narragansett Bay, has been considered
strategically important since the first white colonists settled in Rhode Island. John Winthrop,
governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, wrote to Roger Williams asking that the island be settled
and fortified to deter any attack through the "back door of Boston". In 1656, Benedict Arnold,
William Coddigan, and several others from Newport purchased the island, whose name commemorates
the Sachem Canonicus, of the Narragansett Indians.
Jamestown was incorporated on November 4, 1678, and was renamed in honor of Pronce James, later
James II. Because it is an island, it has never been developed as a commercial area or port, but
rather as a quiet residential town. The new Newport Bridge, completed in 1969, gave Jamestown
access to both sides of Narragansett Bay. In 1940, the Jamestown Verrazano Bridge was completed
connecting Jamestown with the mainland.
The island is 9.5 square miles with a good highway system following most of its shoreline.
The south end of Beaver Tail Light is a high rocky coast projecting into the Atlantic Ocean,
where some of the best surf cast fishing in the world can be found. Narragansett Bay surrounds
the northern end of the island.
Historically, Jamestown is in the middle of the Bicentennial picture. You may walk Narragansett
Avenue where the British marched in 1775 while burning the town; Indian and colonial artifacts
from pre-historic and early settlements are displayed in the Sydney L. Wright Museum; and
Memorabilia from the 300 year old Jamestown Ferry System can be seen in the Jamestown Museum.
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©2001-2002 The Sharon Steele Group -- All Rights Reserved.
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