Rhode Island - The Ocean State 2

Rhode Island – The Ocean State

The 50 years following the Civil War were a time of prosperity and affluence that author William G. McLoughlin calls “Rhode Island’s halcyon era.”  Rhode Island was a center of the Gilded Age and provided a home or summer home to many of the country’s most prominent industrialists.

Rhode Island - The Ocean State 3
Breakers Mansion in Newport

This was a time of growth in textile mills and manufacturing and brought an influx of immigrants to fill those jobs, bringing population growth and urbanization.  In Newport, New York’s wealthiest industrialists created a summer haven to socialize and build grand mansions.  Thousands of French-Canadian, Italian, Irish, and Portuguese immigrants arrived to fill jobs in the textile and manufacturing mills in Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Woonsocket.

Economy:

In colonial times the Rhode Island economy was based on fishing.

The Blackstone River Valley was a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution.  For a while, Rhode Island was one of the leaders in textiles.  However, with the Great Depression, most textile factories relocated to southern U.S. states.  The textile industry still constitutes a part of the Rhode Island economy but does not have the same power that it once had.

Other important industries in Rhode Island’s past included toolmaking, costume jewelry, and silverware. An interesting by-product of Rhode Island’s industrial history is the number of abandoned factories, many of them now being used for condominiums, museums, offices, and low-income and elderly housing.  Today, much of the economy of Rhode Island is based in services, particularly healthcare and education, and manufacturing to some extent.  The state’s nautical history continues in the 21st century in the form of nuclear submarine construction.

The headquarters of Citizens Financial Group is located in Providence, the 14th largest bank in the United States.  The Fortune 500 companies CVS Caremark and Textron are based in Woonsocket and Providence, respectively.  FM Global, GTECH Corporation, Hasbro, American Power Conversion, Nortek, and Amica Mutual Insurance are all Fortune 1000 companies that are based in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island - The Ocean State 4
Citizens Financial Group

Health services are Rhode Island’s largest industry. Second is tourism, supporting 39,000 jobs, with tourism-related sales at $4.56 billion in the year 2000. The third-largest industry is manufacturing.  Its industrial outputs are submarine construction, shipbuilding, costume jewelry, fabricated metal products, electrical equipment, machinery, and boatbuilding.

Rhode Island’s agricultural outputs are nursery stock, vegetables, dairy products, and eggs.

Transportation:

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) operates statewide intra- and intercity bus transport from its hubs at Kennedy Plaza in Providence, Pawtucket, and Newport.  RIPTA bus routes serve 38 of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns.

Rhode Island - The Ocean State 5
RIPTA Bus

The privately run Block Island Ferry links Block Island with Newport and Narragansett with traditional and fast-ferry service, while the Prudence Island Ferry connects Bristol with Prudence Island.  Private ferry services also link several Rhode Island communities with ports in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York.  The Vineyard Fast Ferry offers seasonal service to Martha’s Vineyard from Quonset Point with bus and train connections to Providence, Boston, and New York.  Viking Fleet offers seasonal service from Block Island to New London, Connecticut, and Montauk, New York.

Scroll to Top