Conanicut Island is the second largest island in Narragansett Bay

Narragansett Bay

Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...

, in the state of Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

. It is connected on the east to Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

, on Aquidneck Island

Aquidneck Island

Aquidneck Island, located in the state of Rhode Island, is the largest island in Narragansett Bay. The island's official name is Rhode Island, and the common use of name "Aquidneck Island" helps distinguish the island from the state. The total land area is 97.9 km²...

 by the Claiborne Pell Bridge, commonly known as the Newport Bridge

Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge

The Claiborne Pell Bridge, commonly known as the Newport Bridge, is a suspension bridge operated by the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority that spans the East Passage of the Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island , connecting the City of Newport on Aquidneck Island and the Town of Jamestown on...

, and on the west to North Kingstown, Rhode Island

North Kingstown, Rhode Island

North Kingstown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 26,486 at the 2010 census. The famous American portraitist Gilbert Stuart was born in the village of Saunderstown, located in the southern region of North Kingstown....

, on the mainland

Mainland

Mainland is a name given to a large landmass in a region , or to the largest of a group of islands in an archipelago. Sometimes its residents are called "Mainlanders"...

 by the Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge

Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge

The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge spans the West Passage of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, United States...

. The island comprises the town of Jamestown, Rhode Island

Jamestown, Rhode Island

Jamestown is a town located in Newport County, Rhode Island, in the United States. The population was 5,405 at the 2010 census. Jamestown is situated almost entirely on Conanicut Island, the second largest island in Narragansett Bay.-History:...

, Newport County, Rhode Island. The United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

 reported a land area of 24.46 km² (9.45 sq mi) and a population of 5,622 as of the 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

.

History

By 1300 B.C. Conanicut Island was home (at least on a seasonal basis) to many Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

s. The largest Native cemetery

Cemetery

A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

 in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 is located on the island; and artifacts spanning a three-thousand year period have been recovered from a site near the elementary school. The island is named for the Chief Canonicus

Canonicus

Canonicus was a Native American chief of the Narragansett. He was a firm friend of English settlers.-Biography:...

 of the Narragansett

Narragansett (tribe)

The Narragansett tribe are an Algonquian Native American tribe from Rhode Island. In 1983 they regained federal recognition as the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island. In 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled against their request that the Department of Interior take land into trust...

 tribe, who once inhabited the land and maintained his royal residence on the island.

In 1636 or 1637, Dutch fur traders paid to use the island of Quentenis

Dutch Island (Rhode Island)

Dutch Island is an island lying west of Conanicut Island at an entrance to Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, USA. The island is a part of the town of Jamestown, Rhode Island, and has a land area of 0.4156 km² . It was uninhabited as of the 2000 census.-History:Dutch Island's Indian name was...

 as a base for their activities. This island, located just west of Conanicut, is now known as Dutch Island and is part of Jamestown.

In 1638 the English

Kingdom of England

The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...

 made arrangements to use Conanicut Island for grazing sheep. One of the Narragansett sachem

Sachem

A sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...

s who gave consent was Canonicus

Canonicus

Canonicus was a Native American chief of the Narragansett. He was a firm friend of English settlers.-Biography:...

. As a result of these events, the name "Conanicut" was given to the island and the figure of a sheep is in a central position in the Jamestown seal.

Conanicut Island was a part of the island territory included in a patent given to William Coddington

William Coddington

William Coddington was an early magistrate of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and later of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving as the Judge of Portsmouth, Judge of Newport, Governor of Portsmouth and Newport, Deputy Governor of the entire colony, and then Governor of the...

 by the English in 1651.

In 1657 a consortium of about one hundred buyers purchased Conanicut, Dutch and Gould Islands. They divided Conanicut Island into roughly one dozen large plots and reserved Dutch Island and parts of Conanicut Island for common use. Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold (governor)

Benedict Arnold was president and then governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for a total of 11 years in these roles. Coming from Somerset, England, he was born and raised in the town of Ilchester, likely attending school in Limington, nearby...

, one of the purchasers and great-grandfather of his namesake

Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...

, became governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 of the colony of Rhode Island the same year.

The Native Americans and newly arrived colonists lived side-by-side in relative peace

Peace

Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...

 for almost four decades. Conflicts eventually occurred in a number of places in southern New England, leading to what is known as King Phillip's War. Although Conanicut Island remained a haven for many Native Americans, after 1676, life in the region was dominated by the colonists.

In 1725, a ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 between the island and Newport was established. A ferry to South Kingstown was established in 1748.