The Island and It's History:
One of the last unspoiled areas on the east coast, Block Island was formed over 12,000 years ago from the receding glacier from the last ice age. It's early inhabitants were the Manissean Indians, who fished its shores and farmed its land alone until the Dutch explorer Adrian Block, for which the island is named landed in 1614. In 1661, the first white settlers landed in the northern part of the island and began to try to live peacefully with the natives. For the next two hundred years the islanders fished the shores and farmed the land for their sustenance.
Paralleling the growth in the United Sates economy in the late 1800's, Block Island enjoyed the reputation of a grand Victorian resort from the 1860's to the 1920's. Large hotels were built on its shores as city dwellers from New York, Boston, and Providence escaped the heat and enjoyed summers on the island. The islanders prospered, fishing and farming to support the burgeoning summer population and for export across to the mainland.
In the 1930's, Block Island was hit hard economically by the Great Depression and the Hurricane of 1938, which devastated its prized fishing fleet. Farming had come to a near standstill, as a result of the depression and the invention of refrigeration, which allowed produce to be shipped from far away places at competitive prices. The final blow arrived in the form of World War II as many young men left the island to fight overseas, some never to return. Left with a depressed economy, and a ravaged fishing fleet, the island basically remained unchanged for the next 30 years.
Block Island began to be "rediscovered" in the 1960's and 1970's by mainlanders as a place of natural beauty. So began the development that many east coast areas have experienced in the last 30 years, as houses have sprouted on seemingly every open field, as once again the US economy has prospered. This growth has accelerated in the 1990's and shows no signs of abating. Please follow the links to see how you can help the land conservation cause on Block Island.
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