Hope Island (Rhode Island)
Coordinates: 41°36′7.54″N 71°22′3.73″W / 41.6020944°N 71.3677028°W Hope Island is a 91-acre (0.368 km²) island located in Narragansett Bay in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Along with nearby Prudence Island and Patience Island, Hope Island is part of the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, home to colonial wading birds during their nesting season of spring and summer.
History
The island was a gift from Miantonomi, chief of the Narraganset tribe of North American Indians, to Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. The word "Hope" is the Rhode Island motto and used on the Rhode Island State Seal with an anchor because Williams was inspired by the Biblical passage "hope is the anchor of the soul" in Hebrews, Verse 6:19.[1]
There is an 18th-century farm site on the west side of Hope Island. To date, no archaeological work or documentary research has been carried out relating to this site. During World War II, the island was used by the U.S. Navy as an ammunition storage site. There are still ammunition bunkers and concrete roads remaining from this period.
Hope Island was acquired by the state in the early 1970s.
References
- ↑ Howard M. Chapin notes published in "Illustrations Of The Seals, Arms And Flags Of Rhode Island," (Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence: 1930) pg 4-5.
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