 Patience Island from nearWarwick Light. | |
  Patience Island  Patience Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Narragansett Bay |
| Area | 0.386 sq mi (1.00 km2) |
| Highest elevation | 45 ft (13.7 m) |
| Administration | |
United States | |
Patience Island is an island inNarragansett Bay inRhode Island in the United States. It is a part of the town ofPortsmouth, Rhode Island.
Patience Island lies inNarragansett Bay off the northwest coast ofPrudence Island in the town ofPortsmouth, Rhode Island. At their closest point, the two islands are only 900 feet (274 m) apart.[1] Patience Island has a land area of 247acres (100 ha; 0.386 sq mi; 1.00 km2), making it the fourth-largest island in Narragansett Bay. Its highest point is an unnamed location in the west central part of the island at41°39′23″N071°21′43″W / 41.65639°N 71.36194°W /41.65639; -71.36194 which is 45 feet (13.7 m) above sea level.[2]
Aside from a single 600-square-foot (56 m2) house, which is disconnected from the state electrical grid, Patience Island is uninhabited.[3]
Patience Island is densely overgrown with vines and brush.Brier,Asiatic bittersweet, andpoison ivy cover much of the island. Tallshrubs – most commonlybayberry,highbush blueberry, andshadbush — dominate the landscape, interspersed withred cedar andblack cherry trees, although adeciduous forest gradually is replacing the shrub habitat in some parts of the island. A smallsalt marsh lies on the southeastern shore of the island and provides a habitat forseablite, which is common elsewhere in the United States but rare in Rhode Island.[1]
The upland area of Patience Island is home towhite-tailed deer,red fox, andeastern cottontail rabbits. Along the island's coast, migratorywaterfowl includinghorned grebes,greater scaup,black ducks, andscoters are common, andquahogs abound in sandysediment.Ticks are prevalent on the island.[1]
Patience Island is populated by a warren ofNew England cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus transitionalis) thanks to aspecies restoration program related to the animal's candidacy for listing under theEndangered Species Act of 1973.[4] In 2021, one New England cottontail on the island tested positive fortularemia.[5]
Patience Island was a gift[citation needed] from theNarragansett Indians toRoger Williams (c. 1603–1683), the founder of theColony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, forerunner of the State of Rhode Island. To memorize the names of Patienmce Island and other nearby islands,Colonial school children often recited the poem: "Patience, Prudence,Hope, andDespair. And the littleHog over there."
By the mid-17th century, the Patience Island Farm was in operation, and it covered approximately 200 acres (81 ha) of the 247-acre (100 ha) island. British forces burned the farm buildings during theAmerican Revolutionary War (1775–1783). After the war, the buildings were rebuilt and the farm resumed operations.[1]
By the late 18th century,oyster beds were leased in the upper Narrgansett Bay, and probably around that time a house was constructed along the northwest shore of Patience Island for a watchman who monitored the oyster beds. Thefoundation of the house has survived in good condition as anarchaeological site.[1]
Eventually the island came into the possession ofArthur Steere (1865–1943), a Rhode Island politician, businessman, and landowner. Although Steere never lived on the island, his descendants Earle and Clark Steere of The Warwick Cove Marina were the last people to live in the farmhouse on the island.[citation needed]
The farm survived until the early 20th century. During the 1960s, construction of a summer resort colony on the island began. It was never completed, but the construction work inflicted a considerable amount of damage to the sites of the early farm buildings.[1]
People are allowed to visit Patience Island, butcamping is not permitted. There is no ferry service to the island, and its trails often are overgrown with vegetation.[1]
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41°39′24″N71°21′36″W / 41.65667°N 71.36000°W /41.65667; -71.36000
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