Dutch Island, Dutch Harbor, Jamestown Bridge, Fort Getty

The West Ferry, Ferry Road, which eventually became Narragansett Avenue, and the East Ferry were all established in the 17th century.  The west ferry was an important link between Narragansett County.  By the 18th Century, the ferries were very commonly used especially as the South County Plantations were prospering.  The West Ferry was never as popular as the East Ferry, but it was important in moving passengers to South Kingstown, Saunderstown, and Dutch Island.  Once the Jamestown Bridge was built in 1940, the ferry service was no longer needed.

From Dutch Harbor, you can see Dutch Island slightly to the right. 

In 1863, 1800 African American soldiers from across New England were brought to Dutch Island to build the fourteenth Rhode Island Heavy Artillery.  They built an eight-gun earthwork on the south end of the island.  An outbreak of smallpox took the lives of 15 men and one man died of tetanus after hitting his thumb with a hammer while setting up his tent.  Those bodies were all buried on the northeast shore of the island and have since been moved.  After the Fourteenth Rhode Island left it was practically deserted until 1897.

In 1897, Dutch Island was the first of three forts to be constructed in an effort to strengthen the county’s coastal defenses.  On Dutch Island, a self-sufficient community was built called Fort Greble.  It had a bowling alley, bakery, tennis courts, hospital, and housing for 500 people.  The West Ferry made regular stops at Dutch Island so the soldiers stationed there could come over to Jamestown for entertainment.  Because Fort Greble had no camouflage against air attacks, it became obsolete after World War 1.  It was used for occasional training and then discontinued usage in 1947.

Looking further to the right you can see the Jamestown Bridge.

The original Jamestown bridge opened in 1940.  Before this, the only way to get to the island was by boat.  The building of the bridge had some locals fearing kidnappers, beggars, thieves, and hotdog stands but none of this came.  An uptick of real estate came instead.

When the bridge opened you had to pay a toll.  Cars were $1 and 60 cents round trip.  This was very expensive for 1940.  For comparison, a dinner at a Jamestown restaurant at that time would cost you $1 and 10 cents.  Some people could negotiate a discount but not many.  Potential land buyers were some that benefited from a reduced rate.  The tolls were slowly reduced over time and coincedentally on the very day the Newport bridge opened, the Jamestown bridge toll went away.  

The original bridge began to crumble, in fact at one point trucks and school buses weren’t allowed to cross.  This was the last straw, and a new bridge was planned.  In 1992 the new Jamestown bridge that you see today was opened.  The old bridge stayed put until 2006 when it was finally demolished. 

Moving to the left, you will see a peninsula opposite Sheffield Cove.  This is Fort Getty.

Fort Getty was the smallest of the forts constructed.  It had three batteries and all of the guns were pointed south towards the bay. Soldiers lived on Fort Getty during WWI and continued to have caretakers in between wars.  Fort Getty was reactivated early in WWII with units of the 243rd Coast Artillery stationed there.  

The Army established the School of Administration at Fort Getty to educate anti-Nazi German prisoners of war.  Groups of 180 prisoners would pass through the school every 60 days.  They were taught language, military government, and American and German history.  The press called the school “Barbed Wire College”.   The last class to graduate from this college was December 16, 1945.

This concludes the Harbor-to-Harbor walking tour.  We hope it was enjoyable.  Thank you for your time and attention.