Place · city

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and largest city of Rhode Island, at the head of Narragansett Bay. Roger Williams founded it in 1636 after his banishment from Massachusetts, on land obtained from the Narragansett, as a refuge for freedom of conscience. It grew into a centre of trade and later of the textile and jewellery industries, and is home to Brown University.

Providence, Rhode Island
Image: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Providence, Rhode Island. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/providence-rhode-island
MLA
“Providence, Rhode Island.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/providence-rhode-island. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Providence, Rhode Island.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/providence-rhode-island.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Providence, Rhode Island’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/providence-rhode-island (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻