Tides & Towns
Rhode Island · RI

Newport

Colonial seaport turned Gilded Age summer colony.

Population
25,163 (2020 census)
Founded
1639
America's Cup
Raced here 1930–1983
Tides
Two highs, two lows a day

Then

  1. 1639

    Nicholas Easton, William Coddington, John Clarke and others found Newport on Aquidneck Island.

  2. 1700s

    Newport becomes a major center of the colonial slave trade, its rum distilleries part of the triangle trade.

  3. 1776–1779

    The British occupy the city from December 8, 1776, until 1779.

  4. 1895

    The Breakers is finished for the Vanderbilt family, one of the grand summer “cottages” of the Gilded Age.

  5. 1930–1983

    Newport hosts the America's Cup races.

  6. 1953

    On September 12, John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier marry at St. Mary's Church.

  7. 1954–1965

    The Newport Jazz Festival begins in 1954 and the Folk Festival in 1959. Bob Dylan's 1965 Folk Festival set shakes up the folk world.

Now

The Gilded Age mansions are open to visitors, and the 3.5-mile Cliff Walk, a National Recreation Trail, runs along the shore behind them.

Touro Synagogue, the oldest existing synagogue in the United States, stands downtown. The Jazz and Folk festivals still run every summer, and Naval Station Newport is home to the Naval War College.

On the water

From NOAA's predictions for Newport, RI over the next 365 days. Heights are in feet above mean lower low water (MLLW).

Pattern
Two highs and two lows a day, close in size
Typical daily range
3.6 ft
Biggest swing
5.3 ft on Nov 25
Smallest swing
1.9 ft on Oct 18
Highest high
5.0 ft, Sep 30 at 8:22 AM
Lowest low
−0.8 ft, Jan 23 at 1:14 AM

17 tide stations around Newport

Show all 17 stations

Sources