Newport, Rhode Island (pop. 25,163), is best known as a summer resort. The city lies on Narragansett Bay. Today, Newport is also a tourist and convention center. Its attractions include more than 300 buildings from colonial days. One of them, the Colony House, was built in 1739 and served as one of Rhode Island’s capitols until 1900. Another historic landmark is the Touro Synagogue. Built in 1763, this synagogue is the oldest Jewish house of worship in the United States. The city hosts the annual Newport Music Festival.
Newport was founded in 1639 by nine families from the Massachusetts Bay Colony who sought religious freedom. Before the Revolutionary War in America (1775-1783), Newport rivaled Boston and New York City as a shipping center. The city won fame in the late 1800’s as the summer home of wealthy railroad and banking families. Newport is the home of the U.S. Naval War College and Salve Regina University. It has a council-manager government.
