Editing Jamestown, Rhode Island (section)

==History==

In 1524, Italian navigator [[Giovanni da Verrazzano]] and his crew visited Narragansett Bay.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ronda|first=James P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X_NjBAAAQBAJ|title="They Made Us Many Promises": The American Indian Experience 1524 to the Present|date=August 26, 2014|publisher=Harlan Davidson ([[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]])|isbn=978-1-118-82282-1|editor-last=Weeks|editor-first=Philip|pages=3–4|language=en|chapter=Black Gowns and Massachusetts Men: Indian-White Relations in New England to 1701}}</ref> [[Dutch Island (Rhode Island)|Dutch Island]] was used by fur traders {{Circa|1622}},<ref>{{cite journal|last=Parsons|first=Usher|date=February 1863|title=Indian Relics Recently Found in Charlestown, R. I. with Brief Notices of the Nyantic Tribe of Indians|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CCxAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA42|journal=The Historical Magazine|volume=7|issue=2|page=42|quote=The Dutch soon opened trading stations; one at Quotenis, or Dutch Island as it is now called … Hither were brought furs by the Indians to exchange for Dutch goods, insomuch that when in 1622 or 3 the Pilgrims of Plymouth sent to this place a small vessel laden with beads and knives, they found the Indians abundantly supplied already with these …}}</ref> and English colonists in 1638 made arrangements with the native Americans to use Conanicut Island for grazing sheep.<ref name="Buttrick, James C. 2003">Buttrick, James C., ''Images of America, Jamestown'' (2003) {{ISBN|0738511927}}</ref>
[[Image:Old Jamestown Bridge.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The original [[Jamestown Bridge]], which connected Jamestown with [[North Kingstown, Rhode Island|North Kingstown]], [[Rhode Island]] from 1940 until its demolition in 2006]]
Ferries were in operation between Conanicut Island and [[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]] by 1675. In 1678, Conanicut Island was incorporated as the town of Jamestown,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Brinley|first=Francis|date=April 1882|title=Conanicut Island|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rgEQAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA193|journal=The Newport Historical Magazine|volume=2|issue=4|page=193|quote=In 1678, Mr. Caleb Carr and Mr. Francis Brinley, on behalf of themselves and the proprietors, for Quononoqutt Island (the Indian name for Conanicut Island), petitioned to the General Assembly for an act of Incorporation, which was then granted (Nov. 4, 1678) …}}</ref> when there were about 150 residents. It was named for [[James II of England|James, Duke of York]], who became King James II in 1685.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n167 168]}}</ref>

By 1710, many of Conanicut Island's current roads were in place. In 1728, the town of Jamestown built a windmill for grinding corn,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Stevens|first=Maud Lyman|url=https://archive.org/details/jamestownwindmil00stev|title=The Jamestown Windmill|date=1916|publisher=R. Ward|location=Newport, Rhode Island|pages=7|language=en|oclc=1047470243|quote=… our first positive record [of a windmill] appears in 1728. In July of that year the proprietors and freemen at a quarterly meeting voted the erection of a windmill.}}</ref> which used the sea breeze for power since there was no source of running water to turn a waterwheel.

===American Revolution===
Two hundred British and Hessian troops, commanded by [[James Wallace (Royal Navy officer)|James Wallace]], landed at East Ferry on Conanicut Island on December 10, 1775.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hellmann|first=Paul T.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=REtEXQNWq6MC|title=Historical Gazetteer of the United States|date=February 14, 2006|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1-135-94859-7|pages=959|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=American Archives|date=1837|publisher=M. St. Clair Clarke and Peter Force|editor-last=Force|editor-first=Peter|editor-link=Peter Force|series=4th series|volume=4|location=Washington, DC|pages=230|language=en|chapter=Conanicut (Rhode Island) Plundered|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JbxSAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA229}}</ref> They then marched to West Ferry where they burned the ferry house.<ref name=":0" /> As they returned to East Ferry, they destroyed many buildings, including 14 homes, which caused more than 200 of Conanicut Island's 556 residents to flee to the mainland.

In December 1776, a British fleet arrived in Narragansett Bay and occupied Newport.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Neimeyer|first=Charles P.|date=2010|title=The British Occupation of Newport Rhode Island 1776–1779|journal=Army History|issue=74|pages=30–45|issn=1546-5330|jstor=26296027|jstor-access=free}}</ref> The British took over the colonial militia batteries at [[Fort Dumpling]] (now part of [[Fort Wetherill]]) and the Conanicut Battery at Beavertail, just south of Fort Getty at the end of Battery Lane. They left Narragansett Bay in October 1779; as they departed, they destroyed the fortifications which they had occupied and burned down the [[Beavertail Lighthouse]].<ref name=":1" />

===18th and 19th centuries===
Beavertail Lighthouse was back in operation by 1784, and Jamestown rebuilt the [[Jamestown Windmill]] and [[Friends Meetinghouse (Jamestown, Rhode Island)|Quaker Meetinghouse]] in 1787 that had been destroyed during the occupation.

In 1800, [[Fort Dumpling]] was established on the site of previous fortifications overlooking East Passage. A tall stone tower atop the highest cliff could hold eight guns.

The town of Jamestown commissioned a steam-powered ferryboat in 1872 and initiated service between Jamestown and Newport in May 1873. The availability of reliable and comfortable ferry service to and from Newport had a significant impact on agricultural Conanicut Island, and Jamestown became a destination for both day trips and summer vacations.

The 1880s and 1890s saw a construction boom, with hotels, private summer homes, and municipal buildings going up. The island's population tripled between 1870 and 1900.

===20th century to the present===
There was a burst of military fortification activity from 1890 to the end of [[World War I]]. The [[Spanish–American War]] was a catalyst, beginning in 1898, and work began on [[Dutch Island (Rhode Island)|Dutch Island]]'s Fort Greble. The War Department bought {{convert|31|acre|m2}} for [[Fort Getty]], and fortifications were quickly erected. Summer homes were condemned near [[Fort Dumpling]] to establish [[Fort Wetherill]]. More land was acquired at Prospect Hill near the Conanicut Battery site for an observation and fire control station, and the government established a torpedo station and test facility on [[Gould Island (Rhode Island)|Gould Island]]. Then, at the end of the First World War, the Conanicut Island fortifications fell into disuse. [[World War II]] brought establishment or reactivation of military bases around Narragansett Bay, including [[Fort Getty|Forts Getty]], [[Fort Burnside|Burnside]], and Wetherill on Conanicut Island, [[Fort Greble (Rhode Island)|Fort Greble]] on Dutch Island, a torpedo factory on [[Goat Island (Rhode Island)|Goat Island]], and a [[Naval Torpedo Station|torpedo station]] on [[Gould Island (Rhode Island)|Gould Island]].<ref name="Buttrick, James C. 2003"/>

[[File:Jamestown Verrazano Bridge 2007.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The [[Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge]], constructed in 1992, connects Jamestown with mainland Rhode Island]]

Jamestown was a bustling summer destination in the early 1900s, and it had nine hotels in 1903. The golden age of large resort hotels was brief, however, in Jamestown and elsewhere, and patronage rapidly declined in the 1920s. The Thorndike Hotel was demolished in 1938. The Gardner House was one of the larger hotels, but it was taken down in 1941 after being idle for several years, and a USO building was built on its site. After the war, the town purchased the building and it is now known as the community center. It was extensively landscaped and remodeled in 2002. The Bay View Hotel closed in the 1960s, the last of the very large hotels. The building was demolished in 1985, and the Bay View Condominiums opened for occupancy four years later. The building exterior was designed to resemble the hotel. The Bay Voyage Hotel is the only survivor of the many hotels that once lined Jamestown's eastern harbor, now operating as a time share resort.<ref name="Buttrick, James C. 2003"/>

In 1938, a major hurricane caused much property damage and the loss of more than 300 lives in the Narragansett Bay region. It swept away much of the sand from the Mackerel Cove beach, destroyed its popular beach pavilion, and destroyed the West Ferry docks—which actually speeded approvals for a bridge to Saunderstown.<ref>Lippencott, Bertram, ''Jamestown Sampler'' (1980)</ref> The first [[Jamestown Bridge]] opened in the summer of 1940, replacing West Ferry service with a continuously available link to the west.
[[File:Jamestown Bridge demolition2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Demolition of the original Jamestown Bridge in 2006]]

In 1969, the [[Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge]] was completed, establishing [[Route 138 (Rhode Island)|Route 138]] as a continuous highway from South County to Newport. With its completion, traditional ferry service was eliminated. The bridge is pictured on the 2001 Rhode Island state quarter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usmint.gov/coins/coin-medal-programs/50-state-quarters/rhode-island|title = Rhode Island State Quarter &#124; U.S. Mint}}</ref> In 1992, the [[Jamestown Bridge|Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge]] replaced the narrow steel bridge erected in 1940. It was accompanied by construction of a new western-end access road and a cross-Conanicut Island highway.