Town of Portsmouth

Updated Demographic and Economic Characteristics

* Annual information for 2000-2008 is available by downloading this Excel file

Government

Town Hall
2200 East Main Rd.
Portsmouth, RI 02871
Fax: 401-683-6804
Hours: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

Census 2000 Data

A summary profile of Census 2000 characteristics is available from the RI Office of Statewide Planning at: http://www.planning.ri.gov/census/citytown.htm

Community Links

Hyperlinks provided by the Office of Municipal Affairs, Rhode Island Department of Administration.

History

Portsmouth was settled in 1638 as the second settlement in the area. With Anne Hutchinson as leader of the settlement, Portsmouth became the first community founded in the New World by a woman. The history of Portsmouth, which was at one time the most populous town in the colony, is rich with the flavor characterizing Rhode Island's early settlements. In fact, it was in Portsmouth that the most daring capture of the Revolutionary War was accomplished. The British Commander-in-Chief, General Richard Prescott, was captured by Rhode Islander Colonel William Barton in the Overing House, now located on West Main Road and marked with an historical plaque.  Reflections of Portsmouth's daring and significant past are further evidenced by several other historical landmarks.

Founders Brook is marked as the site of the landing of the first settlers from Boston in 1638. This group was spirited under the leadership of John Clark and William Coddington. The Portsmouth Compact, the first instrument for governing as a true democracy, is inscribed on a bronze and stone marker. The little valley known as the Hessian Hole is a reminder of the famous Battle of Rhode Island. Located on the corner of East Main Road and Union Street is the Southernmost School, the nation's oldest school, containing antique school desks, school bells and a variety of original textbooks.
Portsmouth is a fully-developed, fully-serviced community. Among its features are several public golf courses, a modern motor hotel, antique shops, numerous marinas and the Sakonnet Times, a weekly newspaper serving the towns of Portsmouth, Tiverton and Little Compton. Today, many of the town's working population are employed in private industry, in Portsmouth and nearby communities. The earliest source of income for the townspeople was farming and shipbuilding. However, boat building continues as one of the areas major industries. Many areas, such as Melville, which was heavily occupied with Naval installations prior to the massive Naval reduction in 1974, have become the sites for the development of commercial, industrial and recreational facilities. At the Melville small boat basin, for example, a 340-slip, fully-serviced marina and boat building complex has replaced what was once a Naval docking facility, and the Navy's first PT-boat training facility.


Contact Information