Newport

Colony House

Government · Washington Square, Newport, RI 02840

The 1739 Colony House on Washington Square served as Rhode Island's colonial capitol and was the site of major Revolutionary events: the Declaration of Independence was read from its steps in 1776, and it served as a hospital for both British and French forces during their respective occupations. One of the oldest surviving statehouses in America, it anchors the historic district that preserves Newport's colonial-era civic character.

Fort Adams State Park

Battlefield · 90 Fort Adams Dr, Newport, RI 02840

The current masonry Fort Adams was built 1824–1857, but the site has been fortified since 1776, when Rhode Island constructed earthworks to guard the entrance to Narragansett Bay. During the Revolution, British forces used the fortified position to control harbor access throughout their 1776–1779 occupation. The site's commanding position over the East Passage explains why control of Newport's harbor was so strategically significant to both sides.

Hunter House

Historic House · 54 Washington St, Newport, RI 02840

A 1748 Georgian merchant's house that served as headquarters for French Admiral de Ternay during Rochambeau's 1780 occupation of Newport. The house is one of the finest surviving examples of colonial Newport architecture and demonstrates the domestic scale and mercantile prosperity the British occupation disrupted. Managed by the Preservation Society of Newport County as one of the few colonial-era structures open to the public.

Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House

Historic House · 17 Broadway, Newport, RI 02840

The oldest surviving house in Newport (ca. 1697), this building served as the residence of British officials during the occupation and was the site of the Stamp Act riot of 1765. Its long history from colonial tax protest to Revolutionary War occupation makes it one of the most layered historic structures in the state. Operated by the Newport Historical Society.

Redwood Library and Athenaeum

Landmark · 50 Bellevue Ave, Newport, RI 02840

The oldest continuously operating library in the United States (founded 1747), the Redwood Library was used by British officers as a clubhouse during the 1776–1779 occupation. Many of its books were carried off or damaged. The library's survival despite the occupation preserved Newport's intellectual community and served as a symbol of the town's resilience. The Palladian building is an architectural landmark of colonial America.

Touro Synagogue

Church · 85 Touro St, Newport, RI 02840

The oldest surviving synagogue in the United States, built 1759–1763. During the Revolution it served as a British officer's meeting room and later briefly as a hospital. In 1790 George Washington wrote his famous letter to the congregation assuring them that the new government "gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance." The letter, a foundational statement of American religious liberty, was inspired by a message from Newport's Jewish community to the new president. A National Historic Site.