Portsmouth in Newport County, Rhode Island — The American Northeast (New England)

Portsmouth

Welcome

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), September 18, 2026

1. Portsmouth Marker

Inscription.
Founded on the Compact of 1638

Erected by Town of Portsmouth.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Civil Rights • Colonial Era • Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical date for this entry is March 7, 1638.

Location. 41° 37.951′ N, 71° 15.205′ W. Marker is in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, in Newport County. It is at the intersection of Bristol Ferry Road and Boyds Lane, on the right when traveling north on Bristol Ferry Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 659 Bristol Ferry Rd, Portsmouth RI 02871, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay

and in Newport and Aquidneck Island.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in New England,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

marker, measured as the crow flies: W 3 R (within shouting distance of this marker); Portsmouth Compact (approx. half a mile away); Mount Hope Bridge (approx. one mile away); An Artistic Bridge (approx. one mile away); Bridge Construction (approx. one mile away); Washington Crossed Here (approx. one mile away); Butts Hill Fort (approx. 1.2 miles away); Battle of Rhode Island 1778 (approx. 1½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Portsmouth.

Also see . . . Portsmouth Compact.

The Portsmouth Compact was a document signed on March 7, 1638, that established the settlement of Portsmouth, which is now a town in the US state of Rhode Island.

History
The document was written and signed by a group of Christian dissidents who were seeking religious freedom from the governmental oversight of the Massachusetts Bay Colony by moving to Aquidneck Island to set up a new colony. Among this group was Anne Hutchinson, who had been banished from Massachusetts Bay following the Antinomian Controversy there.

The purpose of the Portsmouth Compact was to set up a new, independent colony that was Christian in character
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), September 18, 2026

2. Portsmouth Marker
but non-sectarian in governance. It has been called "the first instrument for governing as a true democracy."

(Submitted on September 20, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 22, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 20, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 4 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 20, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.