NEWPORT

Welsh Casnewydd town, industrial seaport, and county borough, historic county of Monmouthshire (Sir Fynwy), Wales. The town is located at the mouth of the River Usk where it enters the River Severn estuary. A medieval borough with a castle (now in ruins) dating from about 1126, the town of Newport enjoyed commercial privileges conferred by various charters, such as that of 1385. Its present importance, however, dates from the 19th-century industrialization of the neighbouring coalfield. In 1839 Newport was the scene of some of the popular uprisings known as the Chartist riots, bullet marks from which are still visible in the pillars of the Westgate Hotel. The coal trade that brought considerable prosperity to the port up to 1913 has since ceased, and the town's industry has diversified to include steel and aluminum processing, papermaking, engineering, and chemicals. The port's imports include timber, tea, and automobiles. Newport is one of the most important metallurgical centres in Britain, with an immense steelworks at Llanwern, east of the town. Erected in 1906, a Transporter bridge 245 feet (75 metres) high spans the river near the docks, and a road bridge built in 1964 was the first cable cantilever bridge in Britain. Newport county borough covers an area of industrial and residential development and open countryside around the town of Newport. Its main historical fame lies in the town of Caerleon (City of the Legions). From the 4th century BCE to 75 CE the place was a stronghold of the Silures, the tribe that controlled what later became Monmouthshire. When the Romans conquered the Silures, Caerleon became the site of Isca Silurum, chief fortress of the Roman 2nd Augustan Legion. An amphitheatre built in the town in 80 CE later became known as King Arthur's Round Table. The present county borough has been dominated by the port of Newport since the 19th century, and that town continues to employ the bulk of the surrounding population. Agriculture remains a strong tradition to the east and west of the town, however, where a few small market villages remain. The county borough has excellent rail and motorway connections with London, southeastern England, the Midlands, and northern England, as well as with other parts of southern Wales. Area county borough, 74 square miles (191 square km). Pop. (1991) town, 115,522; (1998 est.) county borough, 139,200. city, seat of Orleans county, northern Vermont, U.S., at the south end of Lake Memphremagog, near the Canadian border. The first house in the settlement (originally called Duncansboro) was built in 1793 by Deacon Martin Adams. The name Newport was adopted in 1816. Newport town (township; chartered 1802), including the village of Newport Center, is adjacent to the west. The city is a port of entry and a railroad junction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It has developed as a trade centre and a resort (skiing and water sports) and lies in an extensive dairy region; the handling and processing of milk are important. Light manufactures include clothing, wood products, and plastics. Inc. 1918. Pop. (1990) 4,434; (1996 est.) 4,384. city, Newport county, southeastern Rhode Island, U.S. It occupies the southern end of Rhode (Aquidneck) Island in Narragansett Bay (there bridged to Jamestown). From the harbour on the west, the city rises up a gentle hillside to a low plateau. Newport was founded in 1639 by a group of religious refugees from Massachusetts who had settled at the northern end of the island and founded the present town of Portsmouth. Following a schism in that settlement, a group led by William Coddington moved to the southern end of the island and established Newport, which, because of its excellent harbour, soon became one of the most flourishing seaports in colonial North America. From 1640 to the 20th century, however, the two towns shared a government. Its early merchants prospered in the triangular trade of rum, molasses, and slaves between New England, Africa, and the West Indies. Printing in Rhode Island was begun at Newport in 1727 by James Franklin, an older brother of Benjamin. In 1758 James Franklin, Jr., established the Newport Mercury, which is still published as a weekly newspaper. The British occupation of Newport (177679) during the U.S. War of Independence resulted in the flight of merchants to the mainland. After the American Civil War, largely because of a temperate climate and scenic location, Newport developed as an opulent summer resort with palatial summer mansions such as The Breakers, built (1895) in Italian Renaissance style for Cornelius Vanderbilt (grandson of the first Cornelius Vanderbilt). Newport was one of Rhode Island's five original capital cities, (each serving in rotation as the seat of the General Assembly), which were reduced to Newport and Providence in 1854; Providence became sole capital in 1900. Many colonial buildings survive, including the Friends Meeting House (1699); the Old Colony House (1739) in Washington Square; Trinity Church (172526); Touro Synagogue (1763), the oldest in America, founded by Spanish and Portuguese Jews and designated a national historic site in 1946; the Redwood Library and Athenaeum (1747); and the Artillery Company of Newport (chartered 1741) Military Museum, with a notable collection of military uniforms. The old section of Newport, known as The Point, on the harbour front, has homes of colonial merchants, including Hunter House (1748), now restored as a museum. In Touro Park at the top of the hill is the Old Stone Mill, a circular stone tower that is probably one of the oldest European-built edifices in the United States. The International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum (founded 1954) is in the Newport Casino (1880). Salve Regina University was established in the city in 1947. Newport long has been known as a centre of yachting and has held many of the America's Cup yacht races. The Museum of Yachting is located in Fort Adams State Park. The city was the site of the Newport Jazz Festival from 1954 until 1971, when it was moved to New York City. A festival of classical music is held annually in Newport in July, and a revived jazz festival is held there in August. Newport was incorporated as a city in 1784 and resumed the town form of government in 1787, but in 1853 it was reincorporated as a city. Despite some closings in the 1970s, a major employer continues to be the U.S. Navy, with its complex of commands and installations, including the Naval Education and Training Center, Naval War College, Surface Warfare Officers School Command, Naval Justice School, and Naval Undersea Warfare Center. In addition to government employment, services and tourism are principal components of the city's economy. Pop. (1990) 28,227; (1996 est.) 24,295. county, southeastern Rhode Island, U.S. It lies between Massachusetts to the north and east and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west and includes Conanicut, Prudence, and Rhode islands in Narragansett Bay. The county was created in 1703. There is no county seat, but the principal communities are Newport, Portsmouth, and Middletown. A prominent seaport in colonial times, the county is now a popular tourist area. Area 104 square miles (269 square km). Pop. (1990) 87,194; (1996 est.) 82,746. city, seat (1952) of Lincoln county, western Oregon, U.S. It lies on the north shore of Yaquina Bay at the Pacific Ocean. Settled in 1855 as a fishing village, it was laid out in 1866 and developed as a seaside resort with steamer connections to San Francisco. The city serves the lumber industries at nearby Toledo and maintains fish canneries, food-processing and bottling plants, boat-building and repairing industries, and tourist facilities. The Oregon State University's Marine Science Center is there, and the Yaquina Head Light Station (established in 1873 and automated in 1966) stands at the north entrance to the bay. Old Yaquina Bay Lighthouse (1871) is a museum in Yaquina Bay State Park. Inc. 1882. Pop. (1990) 8,437; (1994 est.) 9,249. city, one of the seats (1796) of Campbell county (the other is Alexandria), Kentucky, U.S. It adjoins Covington (west) and lies opposite Cincinnati, Ohio, on the Ohio River near the mouth of the Licking River. The first settlement (1790) was named for Christopher Newport, commander of the first ship to reach Jamestown, Va., in 1607. The only antislavery newspaper (The Free South), published in Kentucky during the 1850s, was edited in Newport by William Shreve Bailey, who, after a pro-slavery mob threw his presses and type into the street (Oct. 28, 1859), moved to Cincinnati. The city experienced its greatest growth in the 1880s and '90s with an influx of German settlers and the completion of bridges to Cincinnati. Newport was the scene of a seven-year (192128) strike by steelworkers. Local industries include steel, printing, and transportation equipment. Inc. village, 1795; city, 1835. Pop. (1990) 18,871; (1994 est.) 18,388. city, seat of Jackson county, northeastern Arkansas, U.S. It lies on the White River at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, about 45 miles (72 km) southwest of Jonesboro. Newport was founded in 1870 by the Cairo and Fulton (now Union Pacific) Railroad after townspeople of Jacksonport, to the north, refused to grant the railroad right-of-way and permission to bridge the river. As a new port on the river, it was incorporated in 1875 and replaced Jacksonport as county seat in 1892. It developed as a processing and shipping centre for White River valley farm produce (soybeans, rice, cotton, and beef cattle). Mussels from the river were gathered for pearls, and their shells were used to produce button blanks. Rice and soybeans continue to be important to the economy, as well as the manufacture of aluminum and steel products, lawn furniture, and industrial lighting. The former military airport (to the northeast), deeded to Newport after World War II, is now the site of an industrial park. Jacksonport State Park is just to the north. Pop. (1990) 7,459; (1998 est.) 6,763. town, Isle of Wight, historic county of Hampshire, England. It lies near the centre of the diamond-shaped island at the head of the River Medina's estuary, 5 miles (8 km) from its mouth at Cowes. Newport was probably the Roman settlement of Medina, but there is no trace of Saxon or Jute settlement. The first charter was granted between 1177 and 1184, and the borough was incorporated in 1608. Newport early superseded nearby Carisbrooke (now a suburb) as the island's capital because of its facilities for trade. It remains the island's agricultural and administrative centre. Parkhurst, a major British maximum-security prison, stands on the outskirts. Pop. (1991) 20,574.