Isn't it a bit odd that the three states of Southern New England ( Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island ) have had state institutions of university status only in the very recent past, these institutions having previously been A & M colleges??

Is it not ironical that Roger Williams's state, Rhode Island, should have been the very last of the forty-eight to establish a state university??

Since Rhode Island at that time did not have such sanction, his opinion was not popular.

This town should not be confused with Pawtucket, just north of Providence, or Pawcatuck, Connecticut, on the Pawcatuck River, opposite Westerly, Rhode Island.

East Greenwich was one of the first Rhode Island towns to enter into contract agreement with the Rhode Island Development Council for planning services we could not provide for ourselves.

It is difficult to pinpoint the time of origin of the state purchasing automobiles for use of employees in Rhode Island.

The Rhode Island property tax

Taxation of tangible movable property in Rhode Island has been generally of a `` hands off '' nature due possibly to several reasons: ( 1 ) local assessors, in the main, are not well paid and have inadequate office staffs, ( 2 ) the numerous categories of this component of personal property make locating extremely difficult, and ( 3 ) the inexperience of the majority of assessors in evaluating this type of property.

These problems are not local to Rhode Island, but are recognized as common to all states.

Rhode Island law specifies that all real estate is taxable in the town in which it is situated.

This accounts for the wide variance in assessment practices of movable tangible property in the various municipalities in Rhode Island.

The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council in its publication once commented: ``

The resulting setup, it was declared, `` would be similar to that which is in successful operation in a number of metropolitan counties as large or larger than Rhode Island ''.

Practices in Rhode Island.

To determine the practice and attitude of municipal governments concerning tangible movable property, a questionnaire was sent to all local government assessors or boards of assessors in Rhode Island.

To summarize, it may be said that there is no one prevailing practice in Rhode Island with respect to the taxation of movable property, that assessors would like to see an improvement, and of those who have an opinion, that assessment by the town of location is preferred on the basis of their present knowledge.

Assessors in Rhode Island are charged not only with placing a valuation upon real and personal property, but they also have the responsibility to raise by a tax `` a sum not less than nor more than '' a specified amount as ordered by a city council or financial town meeting.

Through their professional organization, the Rhode Island Tax Officials Association the question of taxing boats long has been debated and discussed.

It has been estimated that the value of boats in Rhode Island waters is something in excess of fifty million dollars, excluding commercial boats.

Local industry's investment in Rhode Island was the big story in 1960's industrial development effort.

With minor exceptions, this expansion was instituted either by firms based in Rhode Island or out-of-state manufacturers already operating here.

What made these new location figures particularly impressive was the fact that although 1960 was a year of mild business recession throughout the nation, Rhode Island scored marked progress in new industry, new plants, and new jobs.

It commemorates the 185th anniversary of Rhode Island's Independence when, upon May 4, 1776, the General Assembly, by its action, established the first free republic in the New World.

In July 1780, 5, 000 veteran French troops led by General Comte Donatien de Rochambeau arrived at Newport, Rhode Island to aid in the war effort.

* Composite HMMWV-A prototype developed by TPI Composites of Rhode Island and AM General.

During King Philip's War ( 1675 – 1676 ), a force of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Plymouth militia under General Josiah Winslow invaded and destroyed the fortified Narragansett Indian village in the Great Swamp in what is now South Kingstown, Rhode Island, on December 19, 1675.

The celebrated march of 1781 to Yorktown, Virginia that ended with the defeat of the British at the Siege of Yorktown and the Battle of the Chesapeake began in Newport, Rhode Island under the joint command of General George Washington who led American troops and the Comte de Rochambeau who led French soldiers sent by King Louis XVI.

* May 29 – The Rhode Island General Assembly drafts a constitution that separates church and state, and permits public referendums and initiatives on legislation.

General Ambrose Burnside ( a former Rhode Island gunsmith ) lamented of his Civil War recruits: " Out of ten soldiers who are perfect in drill and the manual of arms, only one knows the purpose of the sights on his gun or can hit the broad side of a barn.

In the winter of 1775 and 1776, the Rhode Island Legislature put militia General William West in charge of rooting out loyalists in Newport, and several notable individuals such as Joseph Wanton and Thomas Vernon were exiled to the northern part of the state.

It was in Newport in 1791 that the Rhode Island General Assembly, acting under pressure from the merchant community of Providence, voted to ratify the Constitution and become the 13th state.

Its name is in honor of Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island.

The county is named for Major General Nathanael Greene ( 1742-1786 ), a major general in the Continental Army from Rhode Island.

* Brown University 1764-as College of Rhode Island by Letters Patent from The Governor and General Assembly of the English Colony of Rhode Island

* Charles Hewitt, an enlisted man, was part of a 40-member raiding party that during the night of July 10, 1777 captured at his home in Newport General Prescott, the British commander of a large occupation force of Hessian soldiers in Newport, Rhode Island.

However, by 1741, enough farmers ( about 100 families ) had settled in the area that they petitioned the General Assembly of Rhode Island to create their own town.

Lieutenant Colonel William Barton of Rhode Island captured the British Commander at Rhode Island, General Richard Prescott there.

During the Battle of Rhode Island the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, which comprised mostly African-American soldiers, served in the army of General John Sullivan.

It was incorporated as an independent municipality on November 17, 1806 when the Rhode Island General Assembly authorized the residents of then North Glocester to elect its own officers.

This town was named for 19th century United States senator James Burrill, Jr. who was then the Rhode Island Attorney General.

The village of Greenville is named after Revolutionary War General, Nathanael Greene, who was born in Rhode Island in 1742.

In May 1669, the General Assembly of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations organized King ’ s County into the town of Westerly.

The Rhode Island General Assembly gave their approval on May 20, 2009, and the Charter took effect on May 28, 2009 when Governor Donald Carcieri allowed it to become law without his signature.

The French fleet arrived in America on July 8, 1778, under Admiral d ' Estaing, with whom General Washington planned to attack Newport, Rhode Island.