Oh! The Places I’ve Been – “J” is for JAMESTOWN

If I could live anywhere in Rhode Island, it would likely be Jamestown. With little to no commercial development or chain stores, Jamestown is bucolic, restful and relaxed year round.

Although it gets a bit crowded in summer, it’s nothing like Newport, which lies just over the bridge.

Used to be, you’d hop a ferry from the mainland of Rhode Island to Jamestown on Conanicut Island (you’d have to take another ferry to Newport on Aquidneck Island). But that was before the bridges were built! The original Jamestown bridge (1940) was narrow with an iron grating at the top that was very slippery in wet weather. The newer bridge, the Jamestown-Verrazano bridge, was completed in 1992, but the old bridge remained next to it until it was finally demolished in 2006.

Best places to visit in Jamestown? Well, Beavertail Lighthouse of course, especially if you can grab a spot on the rocks with a view of the waves. Eat fancy at the Trattoria Simpatico or be casual at Chopmist Charlie’s. Listen to great music at the Narragansett Café and stop in at Slice of Heaven the next morning for Grand Marnier French toast!

In 1728, the town of Jamestown built a windmill for grinding corn, which used the sea breeze for power since there was no source of running water to turn a waterwheel. The windmill was rebuilt in 1787 after the British destroyed the first one.