Newport County, Rhode Island
| Newport County, Rhode Island | |
|---|---|
 Location in the U.S. state of Rhode Island |
|
 Rhode Island's location in the U.S. |
|
| Founded | June 22, 1703 |
| Largest city | Newport |
| Area | |
| • Total | 314 sq mi (813 km2) |
| • Land | 102 sq mi (264 km2) |
| • Water | 211 sq mi (546 km2), 67% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2015) | 82,423 |
| • Density | 810/sq mi (313/km²) |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |
Newport County is one of five counties located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 82,888. It is also one of the seven regions of Rhode Island. The county was created in 1703. Like all of the counties in Rhode Island, Newport County no longer has any governmental functions (other than as court administrative and sheriff corrections boundaries). All of those functions in Rhode Island are now carried out either by the state government, or by the cities and towns of Rhode Island.
Newport County is included in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area.
Newport County was constituted on June 22, 1703, as one of the two original counties of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. As originally established, Newport County consisted of four towns: Portsmouth, Newport, Jamestown, and New Shoreham. In 1746-47, two towns, Little Compton and Tiverton, were acquired from Massachusetts. In 1856, the town of Fall River was split off from Tiverton but was ceded to Massachusetts six years later in 1862 as part of the settlement of the boundary dispute between Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In 1963, the town of New Shoreham was transferred to Washington County. County government was abolished in Rhode Island in 1842 and today remains only for the purpose of delineating judicial administrative boundaries.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 314 square miles (810 km2), of which 102 square miles (260 km2) is land and 211 square miles (550 km2) (67%) is water.
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