You never forget your first. As we celebrate Valentine’s Day, let’s remember The Ocean State’s noteworthy “firsts” (and a few “onlys”). Many historic events and unique designations belong to Rhode Island. In between whispering sweet nothings this holiday, pepper in some of this lovely local trivia.
Photo credit: Lea Khreiss on Unsplash
The nation’s first
gas-illuminated street lamps
The only thing more romantic than candlelight is gas light ‒ and Newport is where it all began. A pewterer and manufacturer of housewares named David Melville began experimenting with hydrogenous gas made from burning coal and wood. In 1805, he illuminated his house and sidewalk on the corner of Thames and Pelham Streets with this gas, giving birth to gas lighting in America. By 1810 he had secured a U.S. Patent.
Source: https://newporthistory.org/history-bytes-gas-lighting-in-newport/
Photo credit: Michael McCann
The nation’s first
public roller-skating rink
Date nights have been rolling smoothly for over a century thanks to the modern skating rink. The very first public roller rink in the nation also belongs to Newport. Roller-skating developed in the parlors of European aristocracy and was imported to America by James. L. Plimpton of New York in 1863. The Atlantic House Hotel on the corner of Bellevue Avenue and Pelham Street, long demolished, is now the site of the Newport Elks Lodge. In July 1866, after the U.S. Naval Academy left, having used the hotel during the Civil War, it sought new guests and activities for the summer, and contacted Plimpton to provide rooms for the New York Skating Association to introduce roller-skating to Newport.
Sources: https://newporthistory.org/history-bytes-roller-skating-in-newport/
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/nyregion/the-history-of-roller-skates.html
Photo credit: Michael McCann
Baseball’s first
World Series champions
There’s no crying in baseball ‒ and with any luck, none on Valentine’s Day either. On October 23 to 25, 1884, three games were played in the first postseason, interleague series intended to create a baseball “Championship of America” or a “World’s Championship.” Although most baseball fans cite 1903 as the earliest World Series, many baseball historians recognize this event as the true first.
The Providence Grays beat the Metropolitans of New York in the first two games, with the third still played but called early due to weather conditions. Unfortunately, the following season was Providence’s last as a major-league city.
Source: https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/october-23-25-1884-the-first-world-series/
Photo credit: Mike Bowman on Unsplash
The nation’s first
automobile driver jailed for speeding
While not a crime of passion, this historic automotive first is an infamous part of Rhode Island’s past. Judge Darius Baker imposed the first jail sentence for speeding in an automobile on August 28, 1904 in Newport ‒ apparently at a blazing 15 miles per hour.
Sources: https://www.ri.gov/facts/trivia.php
https://www.boston.com/culture/new-england-travel/2012/09/26/fun-facts-about-new-england
Photo credit: Grant Durr on Unsplash
The world’s first
installation of ChemGrass (AstroTurf®)
Van Morrison’s timeless love song “Brown Eyed Girl” spoke of, “making love in the green grass behind the stadium.” In 1964, a stadium at Providence’s Moses Brown School was the site of the very first installation of artificial grass. Originally called “ChemGrass,” this synthetic surface was developed by the Chemstrand Company, a subsidiary of Monsanto Industries, and later developed for Houston’s Astrodome into what we now know as AstroTurf® (perhaps we should be known as The Surf and Turf State). Read on for more about Rhode Island’s sporting history.
Photo credit: Josiah Day on Unsplash
The nation’s first
game of polo
Are you the type who plays games in relationships? Then maybe you’d like to know polo was played for the first time in the United States in 1876 near Newport. To this day, fans can enjoy watching “the sport of kings” at Newport International Polo in Portsmouth.
Source: https://www.ri.gov/facts/trivia.php
Photo credit: Ayush Gupta on Unsplash
The world’s first
woman to fly a helicopter around the world
Love is in the air, and on October 22, 2005 Providence-native Jennifer Murray became the first woman to circumnavigate the world in a helicopter, having only begun her aviation career in 1994 at age 54. She was also the first person to pilot a piston engine helicopter around the world and the first to do it without an autopilot.
Source: https://riahof.org/field-of-accomplishment/civilian-aviation/general-aviation/jennifer-murray
Photo credit: Marie Tevosyan on Unsplash
Our “only” loves
Rhode Island’s only
authentic covered bridge ‒ in Foster
Imagine a romantic horse-drawn carriage ride through this beauty! Sadly, the Swamp Meadow Covered Bridge is the only one in the state. The town of Foster proposed building it for Rhode Island’s 350th anniversary in 1986. Volunteers began building the bridge in September 1992 on top of an existing steel bridge. It was dedicated in May 1993, but vandals burned it down four months later. The Foster Town Council immediately voted to rebuild it, and it was rededicated in November of 1994.
Source: https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/six-covered-bridges/
Photo credit: RPL Marketing
The world’s only
source for Cumberlandite ‒ in Cumberland
The law of attraction applies here, because our state rock has enough iron in it to attract a magnet. Hundreds of years ago, settlers first discovered Cumberlandite and used it to manufacture farm tools and cannons. It is almost exclusively found on a four-acre lot in the Blackstone Valley. Speaking of rocks, our story concludes with a precious “diamond.”
Sources: https://www.bvhsri.org/2015/03/28/cumberlandite/
https://www.ri.gov/facts/factsfigures.php
Photo credit: Michael McCann
The state’s only
numerically significant population of diamondback terrapins ‒
in Barrington
On a holiday celebrating love and fidelity, turtle doves may come to mind before turtles, but today let’s give some affection to the northern diamondback terrapin. Thanks to the long-term research and conservation efforts of the Barrington Land Conservation Trust (BLCT), Barrington has the only numerically significant population of these turtles in the state. Largely inhabiting Hundred Acre Cove, coastal erosion and predators have made the diamondback terrapin an endangered species in Rhode Island, but BLCT efforts are helping them make a comeback.
Source: https://www.blct.org/terrapin-research/
Photo credit: Used with permission of the Barrington Land Conservation Trust.
See, Ocean State trivia is a many-splendored thing! From turtles to turf, polo to roller-skating, record-breaking helicopters to speeding cars, the state is full of history worth loving.
Let’s wrap up with a special shout-out to our Westport, Massachusetts office ‒ Residential Properties’ first office outside of Rhode Island.
Happy Valentine’s Day from RPL! 
