The
Narragansett name for the island was Chibachuweset (or Chibachuwese), and the Narragansetts originally offered it for sale to
John Oldham if he would settle there and set up a trading post. Oldham failed to meet the condition, so they sold the island to
Roger Williams and
John Winthrop in 1637, with each man retaining a one-half interest. Williams took the northern side of the island, and Winthrop took the southern side.
Williams and Winthrop hoped to farm pigs on the island. Williams named it "Prudence" and shortly afterwards purchased and named nearby
Patience Island and
Hope Island. He sold his half interest in Prudence Island while in England on behalf of the colony, and Winthrop willed his land to his son Stephen.[2][3]
In colonial times, the island was used mainly for farming. During the
American Revolution, the British forces under Captain
James Wallace raided Prudence Island for livestock and engaged in a skirmish with American forces, losing approximately a dozen soldiers. In the 20th century, farming began to decline and the island began to attract summer residents. In
World War II, the Navy established an ammunition depot on the southernmost 400 acres (1.6 km2) of the island. In 1972, the Navy turned the base over to the State of
Rhode Island, leaving bunkers, roads, and a large deep-water pier.
Prudence Island is the location of Rhode Island's last one-room schoolhouse. It is operated by the Prudence Island School Foundation in cooperation with the Portsmouth school district and educates island children from kindergarten through fourth grade.[6][7] The school has served the community on the island since 1896, with a six-year hiatus from 1982 to 1989.[8] In 2019, three students were enrolled.[9]
Summer colonies on Prudence Island
There are several different summer colonies on the island. These are in order from the south:
Prudence Park: on the west side of the island at the western end of Broadway. Development began in 1872 with the building of the Stone Wharf on the west side of the island which became a stop on the
Fall River Line steamers running from Providence and
Fall River to New York City. Most of the summer homes in this area of the island are fine examples of
Victorian and
Beaux-Arts architecture, in a similar style to those at
Oak Bluffs on
Martha's Vineyard. The Stone Wharf was severely damaged and many houses were lost in the
hurricane of 1938.[10]
Bristol Colony: on the east side of the island at the eastern end of Broadway.[10]
Sandy Point: on the eastern side of the island, along Narragansett Avenue. Site of
Prudence Island Light and the Town Dock, and a former landing point for the ferry.
Homestead: plat of summer homes along the east coast of the island, north of Pier Road, to the north of the former Homestead Casino, which was lost in the hurricane of 1938, now the site of the island's post office, general store, and ferry landing.
Warnerville: directly north of the Homestead Plat, on Warner Avenue off Narragansett Avenue.
Boystown Fly-in-Ranch: a small private airport on the northern part of the island.[11]
In popular culture
The Snow Island Trilogy tells the story of a fictionalized version of Prudence Island across two generations. The 2012 film
Moonrise Kingdom was filmed in part on Prudence.
^Letters of Roger Williams. 1632-1682. Now First Collected, Oct. 28 1637, (Providence: Printed for the Narragansett Club, 1874) pg. 70 (accessed through the Library of Congress on July 19, 2009)
[1]
^Samuel Greene Arnold, History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Volume 1, (D. Appleton, 1859) pg. 105
[2]