Miantonomi Park Intepretive Plan

Significance of Miantonomi Park

From Native American settlement prior to the 1639 founding of Newport, to its modern recreational use today, Miantonomi Memorial Park has been a central point for meeting, protecting, and celebrating our unique community. Though its use and ownership has changed many times, today the site plays a critical role as a public park in offering gathering space, wildlife habitat, recreation opportunities, and tree canopy in a densely populated neighborhood.

Developing the Interpretive Plan

The Tree, Park, and Open Space Master Plan, which Newport Open Space Partnership commissioned for the city in 2017, recognized the importance of the park and recommended further interpretive efforts to explore what its future will look like. In 2019, such an interpretive exploration was undertaken, resulting in the Miantonomi Memorial Park Interpretive Plan.

Beyond providing an extensive history (which is very interesting, click to read!), the Interpretive Plan provides an assessment of the resources and stories of the park and makes recommendations for interpretive themes based on the park’s history. For example, the park provides great opportunities to engage the community in health and wellness education and provide arts and literature connections in an unexpected space. We encourage you to explore the entire interpretive plan and we will continue to commit ourselves to maintaining and upgrading the Miantonomi Park landscape so that public appreciation and enjoyment of the park and its historical significance continues well into the future.

How NOSP is Implementing the Interpretive Plan
  • Replaced the WWI plaques on Miantonomi Tower by helping to write a successful grant, alongside the City of Newport and the Miantonomi Park Commission, to receive funding from the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission
  • Summer programming engages the surrounding community
    • Provide fresh, healthy food at the inaugural Miantonomi Farmers Market, held each Monday throughout the summer, with the help of community partners
    • Provide daily opportunities for local children to play outside at our staffed Play Hut
    • Connect residents with art – hosted Shakespeare in the park
    • Open Miantonomi Tower to the public for climbing
  • Increase usability of the park with facilities upgrades, including installing new restrooms with the help of City of Newport Parks & Utilities Department
  • Address drainage issues through the Island Waters Project, improving the park experience with community partners
  • Commission The Tree, Park, and Open Space Master Plan, which included recommendations for interpretative efforts in Miantonomi Park
  • Helped to make the 2019 Miantonomi Memorial Park Interpretive Plan a reality!
Miantonomi Park Blueprints
Original landscape plans for Miantonomi Park, designed by Elizabeth Burckes, 1935
The first weekly farmers market at Miantonomi Park was held in 2019 (photo courtesy of Aquidneck Community Table)
Open space at Miantonomi Park
Miantonomi Park provides tree cover and recreational open space in a densely populated neighborhood.