List of counties in Rhode Island
It has a rich history, and is known as The Plantation State, The Ocean State, or Little Rhody.
This is a list of the five counties in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Rhode Island is tied with Hawaii for having the second lowest number of counties of any U.S. state. Delaware has fewer, with three counties.[1] Although Rhode Island is divided into counties, it does not have any local government at the county level.[2] Instead, local governance is provided by the eight cities and thirty-one towns.[3]
Within Rhode Island, Washington County is often referred to as South County.
The colony of Rhode Island was formed in the 17th century. It was the first of the thirteen original American colonies to declare independence from British rule in 1776. The counties were all established before the Declaration of Independence.[2]
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry.[4] Rhode Island's code is 44. When combined with any county code is written as 44XXX. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county.
Alphabetical list
| County |
FIPS Code[5] | County Seat[6] (defunct) |
Formed [2] |
Origin [7] |
Meaning of name |
Population (2010) [8] |
Land Area [8] |
Map |
| Bristol County | 001 | Bristol | 1747 | Created from land gained from Bristol County, Massachusetts after resolution of a boundary dispute between the two colonies. | City of Bristol, England | 49,875 | 24 sq mi (62 km2) |
|
| Kent County | 003 | East Greenwich | 1750 | Created from part of Providence County. | County of Kent, England | 166,158 | 168 sq mi (435 km2) |
|
| Newport County | 005 | Newport | 1703 | Formed as Rhode Island County in 1703. Renamed Newport County in 1729 | Town (now city) of Newport, Wales | 82,888 | 102 sq mi (264 km2) |
|
| Providence County | 007 | Providence | 1703 | Formed in 1703 as Providence Plantations County. Renamed Providence County in 1729 | Divine Providence, a concept reflecting the religious nature of colonial founder Roger Williams | 626,667 | 409 sq mi (1,059 km2) |
|
| Washington County | 009 | Wakefield[2] | 1729 | Formed in 1729 as Kings County from part of Providence Plantations County. Renamed Washington County in 1781. | George Washington, American Revolutionary War general and first President of the USA | 126,979 | 329 sq mi (852 km2) |
|
References
- ↑ "How Many Counties are in Your State?". 2000. Archived from the original on 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find a county". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
- ↑ "Know Rhode Island". Rhode Island Office of the Secretary of State. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- ↑ "FIPS Publish 6-4". National Institute of Standards and Technology. Archived from the original on 2013-09-29. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- ↑ "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
- ↑ "Rhode Island County Map with Administrative Cities". 2006. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
- ↑ "Rhode Island Counties and Towns". 2002-12-19. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Rhode Island QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau". State & County QuickFacts. Archived from the original on 2011-11-03. Retrieved 2011-10-27.