Block Island is a popular summer tourist destination known for its bicycling, hiking, sailing, fishing, and beaches.

[1] The Nature Conservancy includes Block Island on its list of "The Last Great Places", which consists of 12 sites in the Western Hemisphere.

[7][8] Archaeological sites indicate that these people lived largely by hunting deer, catching fish and shellfish, and growing corn, beans, and squash, presumably with the Three Sisters technique.

[9] One modern researcher has theorized that indigenous groups may have established a settlement as early as 500 BC,[10] although there is no consensus on that idea.

Giovanni da Verrazzano sighted the island in 1524 and named it "Claudia" in honor of Claude, Duchess of Brittany, queen consort of France and the wife of Francis I.

However, several contemporaneous maps identified the same island as "Luisa", after Louise of Savoy, the Queen Mother of France and the mother of Francis I. Verrazano's ship log stated that the island was "full of hilles, covered with trees, well-peopled for we saw fires all along the coaste."

A Pequot delegation presented magistrates in Boston with two bushels of wampum and a bundle of sticks representing the number of beavers and otters with which they would compensate the colonists for the deaths.

He was banished from Plymouth and fled to Massachusetts Bay, settling first in Nantasket, then Cape Ann, and finally Watertown, where he continued to indulge his penchant for mayhem.

Despite his unsavory reputation, Massachusetts Bay sought his extensive knowledge of the New England coast when they asked him to retrieve a hefty ransom on the colony's behalf.

[13][14] In August, the Massachusetts authorities dispatched a punitive expedition of ninety men to Block Island under the command of John Endicott to avenge Oldham's murder.

The expedition was ordered by governor of Massachusetts Sir Henry Vane to "massacre all of the Native men on the island" and capture the women and children, who would then be sold into slavery.

The expedition also shot every dog they could find, though the Niantic fled into the woods and the colonists killed fourteen people.

Their names were recorded as Ninnecunshus, Jaguante, Tunkawatten, and Senatick, but they were known by the colonists as Mr. Willeam, Repleave (Reprive), and Soconosh.

In the late seventeenth century, an Englishwoman called named Sarah Sands née Walker lived on Block Island.

In 1699, Scottish sailor William Kidd visited Block Island shortly before he was hanged for piracy.

The story has it that, for her hospitality, Kidd bade Mrs. Raymond to hold out her apron, into which he threw gold and jewels until it was full.

After her husband Joshua Raymond died, Mercy moved with her family to what would become the Raymond-Bradford Homestead in northern New London, Connecticut (later Montville) where she bought much land.

During the War of 1812, Block Island was briefly occupied by a Royal Navy squadron under the command of Sir Thomas Hardy, which included the ships Dispatch, Terror, Nimrod, Pactolus, and Ramillies.

On August 9, 1814, Hardy's squadron departed Block Island for Stonington in part to capture the transferred food stores and livestock.

New Harbor was created in 1895 when a channel was dug to connect the Great Salt Pond to the ocean through the northwestern side of the island.

[25] During World War II, several artillery spotters were located on the island to direct fire from the heavy gun batteries at Fort Greene in Point Judith which protected the entrance to Narragansett Bay.

Days before the war ended against Germany, the Battle of Point Judith took place seven miles to the northeast of the island.

The ocean stays cool during the winter and spring months, but remains warm enough that average temperatures are several degrees warmer than inland areas of Rhode Island.

[1] National Weather Service(Snow depth2016-2023)[29] The population of New Shoreham was 1,410 at the 2020 census, making it the least-populous municipality in the state.

The event features a variety of activities, including parades, live performances, and educational workshops, promoting inclusivity and diversity on the island.

The surrounding dunes are part of the Block Island National Wildlife Refuge, home to many species, including the piping plover and American burying beetle.

[35] A short walk away from the North Lighthouse lies the tip of the island, with ocean on both sides of a thin strip of land.

Coastguard Beach (or "the channel") is situated between the Great Salt Pond and the ocean on the north west side of the island.

Ballard's Beach is on the south side of the Block Island Ferry Dock and jetty.

On July 5, 2006, a plane carrying three people crashed 1⁄2 mile (800 m) west of the airport during bad weather.