Portsmouth (Rhode Island)

Newport County

44-57880

Portsmouth is a small town in Newport County, in the southeast of the U.S. state of Rhode Iceland on the homonymous island in Narragansett Bay. This area includes also Dyer Iceland.

Geography

Portsmouth is located on the northern tip of the island of Rhode Iceland. The metropolitan area includes not only a part of Rhode Iceland several islands, including Prudence Iceland, Iceland Patience, Hope and Hog Iceland Iceland. It has an area of ​​153.6 km ², more than half of it consists of water areas. The average height of Portsmouth is 43 m.

The settlement area focuses mainly on the east coast of the island. The west of the city area is predominantly rural and characterized separately from the precincts of the city by the Rhode Iceland State Route 24. The State Route over the Sakonnet Bridge the main link to Fall River on the eastern mainland in Massachusetts. The northern mainland is accessible via State Route 114 and the Mount Hope Bridge. The 114 also establishes the connection with Newport in the south of the island. From the west coast of the city area performs a ferry over to Bristol Prudence Iceland.

Population

At the 2000 census, 17 149 inhabitants were counted. Almost 96 % of residents were white, the remainder divided among different ethnic groups. The per capita income was 28 161 U.S. dollars; 3.4% of the population lived below the poverty line.

History

The city was founded in 1638 by Anne Hutchinson as the second European settlement in Rhode Iceland. A large role in the economic life of the city were fishing and shipbuilding. In the 19th century coal mining was important beyond.