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41-524: As of 2022 Naval Station Newport, encompasses 1,063 acres on the west coast of Aquidneck Island in Portsmouth, Rhode Island , Middletown, Rhode Island , and Newport, Rhode Island . The Base also encompasses the northern third of Gould Island (Rhode Island) in the Town of Jamestown, RI . In 1983, contamination was suspected on 18 areas to pose a threat to human health and/or the environment and in 1989

82-576: A 1919 investigation by the United States Navy into homosexual acts by Navy personnel and civilians in Newport, Rhode Island . The investigation was noted for its controversial methods of intelligence gathering, specifically its use of enlisted personnel to investigate alleged homosexuals by engaging them sexually. A subsequent trial attracted national news coverage and provoked a congressional investigation, which concluded with Secretary of

123-530: A court of inquiry to review Arnold’s claims. On March 19, 1919, the court concluded that a thorough investigation was warranted. Then-Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt approved the court's recommendation, and asked Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer to undertake the investigation. Palmer assigned Arnold, a former Connecticut state detective, to lead the investigation. With an infiltration approach in mind, he chose his investigators on

164-577: A part of the school systems of Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth. Aquidneck Island is served by three bridges: The Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (1969) connects it to Jamestown on nearby Conanicut Island in Narragansett Bay , and subsequently to the mainland on the western side of the bay. The Mount Hope Bridge (1929) is adjacent to Bristol Ferry and Common Fence Point and connects the northern side of Aquidneck Island in Portsmouth to

205-602: A penny was demanded for either, and what was paid was only gratuity, though I chose, for better assurance and form, to call it sale." These first settlers founded Pocasset, but William Coddington chose Newport for a settlement the following spring (1639) because of its excellent harbor, and some of the settlers followed him there. The British army occupied Aquidneck Island during the American Revolution from 1776 to 1779. The Continental Army under command of Major General John Sullivan attempted to drive them out in

246-526: A subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Naval Affairs denounced both Daniels and Roosevelt for the methods used in the Newport investigations. The New York Times reported that most of the details of the affair were "of an unprintable nature" but explained that the committee believed that Daniels and Roosevelt knew that "enlisted men of the navy were used as participants in immoral practices for

287-535: Is derived from the Narragansett name for the island aquidnet . Roger Williams was an authority on the Narragansett language, but he stated that he never learned the word's meaning. It is unclear how Aquidneck came to be known as Rhode Island, but the earliest known use of the name was in 1637 by Roger Williams, and it was officially applied to the island in 1644: "Aquethneck shall be henceforth called

328-414: Is now commonly referred to as Rhode Island, and the official name of Aquidneck Island is still "Rhode Island". The United States Board on Geographic Names addressed the issue in 1930 by using both names of the island on its maps. By 1964, the board decided that having two names was confusing, and "Rhode Island" was used exclusively as the official name. Attempts have been made, as recently as 2004, to change

369-548: The Army and Navy YMCA and the Newport Art Club for companionship and sex. Arnold independently investigated Brunelle's claims, discovering parties involving cross-dressing , same-sex sexual activity, and liquor and cocaine use at the locations. Arnold presented his Navy superiors with a detailed report of his findings. Admiral Spencer S. Wood , commander of the 2nd Naval District , ordered an investigation and created

410-734: The Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778, but without success. The island is home to Salve Regina University , the Newport campus of the Community College of Rhode Island , and International Yacht Restoration School . Naval Station Newport is located on Aquidneck Island and the adjacent Coasters Harbor Island . It is also home to two well known private boarding schools: St. George's School in Middletown and Portsmouth Abbey School in Portsmouth. The island also contains numerous public and private primary and secondary schools as

451-487: The Ile of Rods or Rhod-Island." The name "Isle of Rodes" is used in a legal document as late as 1646. One theory states that Adriaen Block passed by Aquidneck Island during his 1614 expedition, describing it in a 1625 account of his travels as "an island of reddish appearance" (in 17th century Dutch een rodlich Eylande ). Dutch maps from as early as 1659 call it "Roode Eylant" or Red Island. Historians have theorized that it

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492-530: The Melville area; one is located in Midway, one tank farm is located 300 feet from a coastal wetland. Sludge from nearby tank farms was dumped on the ground or burned in chambers. Other areas of concern are an old fire fighting training area, Gould Island, Derecktor Shipyard, Carr Point Storage Area, and MRP Site 1 Carr Point Shooting Range. In 2016, DFSP Melville was added as a new site. The Melville North Landfill

533-634: The Navy Josephus Daniels and Assistant Secretary of the Navy (and future United States president) Franklin D. Roosevelt being formally rebuked by a Congressional committee. In February 1919, sailor Thomas Brunelle and chief machinist's mate Ervin Arnold were patients at the naval hospital at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island . Brunelle disclosed to Arnold that both naval and civilian men who have sex with men regularly met at

574-700: The Newport Training Station in 1883, but the legwork between the state of Rhode Island and the Navy dated back to the late 1870s. The Training Station was intended to provide education for young men and boys for a ten month period. Initially 750 students, the training occurred initially on water, fully transitioning to being shore-based by 1887. During the Civil War, the US Naval Academy was temporarily moved from Annapolis, Maryland to Newport to avoid any potential conflicts relating to

615-581: The Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame was trying to move the decommissioned USS  John F. Kennedy  (CV-67) moored at Pier 2 at the station. Naval Health Clinic New England provides the health care facilities. On December 5th, 2023 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded a construction contract for new Atlantic Marine Operations Center to be completed by 2027. Naval Station Newport provides

656-517: The Selective Service Act of 1917 brought an average of 15,000 men each month for training, and while women were not eligible for the draft, they began enrolling in the Navy at this time. All of this led to more expansion. During WWI, Training Station Newport equipped and sent 65,000 sailors to sea, in addition to thousands of Naval reservists trained there." In 1919, the station became known for its Newport sex scandal . From 1900 to

697-658: The base was added to the National Priorities List (NPL). As of 2022, only two sites have no remaining activities, one (Melville North Landfill) because it doesn't belong to the Navy and the other was completed in 2009 (Melville Water Tower). In 1996, a Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) was established. From 1955 to the mid-1970s, an 11-acre portion of the site along the shore of Narragansett Bay, McAllister Point Landfill, accepted wastes consisting of acids, solvents, paint, waste oil, and oil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyl . Five tank farms are located in

738-553: The basis of their youth and looks. Over a period of several weeks, 13 such agents submitted daily reports to Arnold that included candid descriptions of homosexual acts and their participation in them. They rarely reported any hesitancy or qualms about their direct participation. Arrests began on April 4, and by April 22, fifteen sailors had been arrested. Each was brought before a court-martial and heard men whom they recognized as former sexual partners provide graphic testimony of their encounters. Older naval officers were confounded by

779-515: The bay. The 2020 United States Census reported its population as 60,109. The state of Rhode Island is named after the island; the United States Board on Geographic Names recognizes Rhode Island as the name for the island, although it is widely referred to as Aquidneck Island in the state and by the island's residents. Aquidneck Island is home to three towns: from north to south, Portsmouth , Middletown , and Newport . "Aquidneck"

820-399: The committee added "reprehensible." Daniels's rejection of the court's judgment, the committee declared, "is to be severely condemned." Given how difficult all concerned found to discuss the details of the crimes at issue, their language characterizes the questionable activities repeatedly without ever specifying the actions themselves. They refer to a "lack of moral perspective" and invoked

861-420: The facilities and infrastructure essential to support the operations of tenant commands and visiting fleet units. Aquidneck Island Aquidneck Island ( / ə ˈ k w ɪ d n ɛ k / ə- KWID -nek ), officially known as Rhode Island , is an island in Narragansett Bay in the state of Rhode Island . The total land area is 37.8 sq mi (98 km ), which makes it the largest island in

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902-495: The federal Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), but the firefighting systems were maintained by the Navy. While the land is polluted with petroleum and PFAS , the Navy has responsibility for PFAS contamination and the DLA for with petroleum. In 2021, after 2 years of the navy being "in the process" of getting permission to test land under the Portsmouth jurisdiction, little progress had been made. The US Department of Navy officially founded

943-628: The home for a yeoman school, signal school, Hospital Corps Training School, Commissary School, Musician's School, and a Firemen's School. After the United States formally entered WWI in April 1917 the Naval Station received authority to increase capacity by 10,000 men. Temporary barracks, mess halls and auxiliary buildings were made into Camp Sadler on Coasters Island, as well as a tent city for 2,800 recruits called Camp Palmer. The enacting of

984-719: The insurgency. Naval training ships, including the USS Constitution , USS Santee and USS John Adams were also moved to Newport Harbor during the conflict to train midshipmen for the Union . According to the Newport Historical Society , "With the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the first preparations for war began, and the Training Station expanded onto Coddington Point. By 1916 there were 7,215 men stationed there, and Newport became

1025-408: The jury in that case, the judge was at pains to discredit the witnesses who described their participation in illicit sexual acts. He reasoned that since no military or governmental authority could legitimately order them to participate in such acts against their will, either they were willing participants, whose complaints were groundless, or they were acting under the compulsion of unlawful commands, on

1066-521: The letter, which put the Navy on the defensive and named Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels and Roosevelt. Assistant Secretary Roosevelt angrily charged that press coverage like Rathom's would damage the Navy's reputation to the point that parents would not allow their sons to enlist. Also at issue, however, were the methods employed in the investigation. Rathom and Roosevelt had a "tart exchange of telegrams" disputing whether anyone in

1107-566: The mainland at Bristol . The Sakonnet River Bridge (2012) in Portsmouth connects the northeastern side of the island to the mainland at Tiverton over the Sakonnet River , a narrow saltwater strait. It is a replacement for a bridge of the same name built in 1956. The west coast of Aquidneck Island is part of Naval Station Newport , a superfund site since 1989. Almost the entire area from its fuel tank farms drains into ditches and into Narragansett Bay . The Navy has been rehabilitating

1148-726: The mid-1970s the Newport Naval Education/Training Center (NETC) was used by the Navy as a refueling depot with tank farms and underground storage tanks. The station was home of the decommissioned USS  Saratoga  (CV-60) after the departure of the USS ; Forrestal  (CV-59) under tow for the inactive ship storage facility in Philadelphia. On May 8, 2014, Naval Sea Systems Command announced that ESCO Marine, Brownsville, Texas, would scrap Saratoga for one cent. As of September 2014,

1189-659: The naval hierarchy in Washington had supervised the investigation closely or authorized the actual participation of investigators in illicit acts. While investigations dragged, Roosevelt resigned from his position as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in July 1920 when he accepted the Democratic Party 's nomination for vice president. He and presidential candidate James M. Cox were on the losing end of Warren G. Harding 's landslide victory that year . On July 19, 1921,

1230-571: The naval prison at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine . Two more were dishonorably discharged and two others were found innocent with no further action. The Providence Journal , under editor John R. Rathom , covered the trial proceedings daily, often with a critical eye toward the prosecution's case. On January 8, 1920, Rev. Samuel Neal Kent, an Episcopal clergyman, was found not guilty on all charges. In his charge to

1271-559: The official name to "Aquidneck Island", but all of these have failed. The name Aquidneck Island is widely used in Rhode Island to refer to the island, including by publications such as The Newport Daily News . Colonists settled on Aquidneck Island in 1638 in the region that the Narragansetts called "Pocasset" (meaning "where the stream widens"), the northern part of Portsmouth . They engaged Roger Williams to negotiate

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1312-600: The part of their superiors. His analysis fueled opposition in Newport's religious community. Within days, a committee of Newport clergymen drafted a lengthy letter to President Woodrow Wilson denouncing the Navy's activities in Newport, specifically the "deleterious and vicious methods" used, including keeping those charged confined for months without trial. Among the signatories were Rev. William Safford Jones of Channing Church, Rev. J. Howard Deming, Rev. Everett P. Smith of St. Mary's Church, Portsmouth , and Rev. Richard Arnold Greene of Newport. The Providence Journal published

1353-408: The property following contamination from petroleum, heavy metals, including lead and arsenic, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) where there were electrical transformers. In addition there is PFAS contamination of groundwater and in surface runoff water. The groundwater is used for irrigation on crops and lawn sprinkler systems. Newport sex scandal The Newport sex scandal arose from

1394-486: The purpose of obtaining evidence." The committee report declared that using enlisted men in this way "violated the code of the American citizen and ignored the rights of every American boy who enlisted in the navy to fight for his country." The committee report also made public the earlier determination of a naval court-martial . To the court-martial's assessment that Roosevelt's behavior was "unfortunate and ill-advised,"

1435-493: The sachems. Canonicus and his nephew Miantonomi signed a deed for it. However, as Roger Williams made clear in a June 1638 letter to Puritan lawyer John Winthrop , one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony : "Sir, concerning the islands Prudence and...Aquedenick ...neither of them were sold properly, for a thousand fathom would not have bought either, by strangers. The truth is, not

1476-561: The terms of their settlement of the island from the Narragansett sachems Canonicus and Miantonomi . These settlers included William Coddington , Anne and William Hutchinson , Philip Sherman , William Dyer , John Coggeshall , Nicholas Easton , William Brenton , John Clarke , and Richard Maxson (Maggsen). As a thank you for being allowed to settle Aquidneck Island, the settlers gave the Narragansetts 40 fathoms of white wampum , 20 hoes, 10 coats, and 5 more fathoms of wampum for

1517-409: The terms used by the investigators. Once the operatives had presented their evidence before the court, the accused were encouraged to incriminate others and many did so, in hopes of leniency. Brunelle incriminated some but withheld the names of his closest friends. The three-week military trial ended with the court-martial of 17 sailors charged with sodomy and "scandalous conduct." Most were sent to

1558-413: The youth of the navy personnel: "Conduct of a character at which seasoned veterans of the service would have shuddered was practically forced upon boys." Their most explicit description said that the navy personnel allowed "to be performed upon them immoral acts." Also, the committee wrote that for Daniels and Roosevelt to allow personnel to be placed in a position in which the acts were even liable to occur,

1599-410: Was "a deplorable, disgraceful, and most unnatural proceeding." Finally, the committee acknowledged that naval officials were facing a serious problem in Newport, and it denounced "immoral conditions" that were "a menace to both the health and the morale of the men in the naval training station." Roosevelt rejected the report, noting that the subcommittee's two Republican members had condemned him while

1640-459: Was classified as Formerly Used Defense Sites , and will be addressed separately. Of note, surface water and groundwater flow toward Narragansett Bay , which is used for boating and fishing. About 4,800 people obtain drinking water and 220 acres of land are irrigated from private wells located within three miles of the site and about 10,000 people live within three miles of the site. The petroleum tanks housed at Naval Station Newport are overseen by

1681-597: Was named by the Dutch (possibly by Adriaen Block himself) for either the red autumn foliage or red clay on portions of the shore. In 1644, the settlements on Rhode Island ( Portsmouth and Newport ) united with Providence Plantations and Warwick to form the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and, eventually, the State of Rhode Island (formerly State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations). The entire state

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