Welcome to Portsmouth ...
Portsmouth is located on Rhode Island.
Portsmouth is located in Newport County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Portsmouth, you might consider that their post office opened in 1846.
When the people of Portsmouth refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Portsmouthite<2>
Portsmouth is 140 feet [43 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Portsmouth lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Portsmouth is located in the (401) area code.
The ZIP code for Portsmouth: 02871<4>
Websites for Portsmouth ...
Official Website: www.portsmouthri.com/
Junior League: www.jlri.org/
Communities Also Named Portsmouth ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 9 communities that are also named Portsmouth - they are located in Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Ontario and Virginia (2).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Portsmouth.
Communities near Portsmouth ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Portsmouth.
- Providence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Providence is located in Providence County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 179,270 people
- New Bedford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bedford
- New Bedford is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95,517 people
- Fall River
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Fall River is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89,792 people
- Warwick
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick
- Warwick is located in Kent County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81,189 people
- Cranston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranston
- Cranston is located in Providence County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81,142 people
- East Providence
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Providence
- East Providence is located in Providence County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 47,337 people
- Dartmouth
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east) - South Kingstown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Kingstown
- South Kingstown is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30,454 people
- West Warwick
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Warwick have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Warwick
- West Warwick is located in Kent County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,967 people
- North Kingstown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Kingstown have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Kingstown
- North Kingstown is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,278 people
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Portsmouth. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Portsmouth.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Portsmouth. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Portsmouth.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Portsmouth. See our Newspapers Page for Portsmouth.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Portsmouth ...
Looking for more information about Portsmouth? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Portsmouth, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Portsmouth.
Adding Portsmouth to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Portsmouth in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Portsmouth was in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
We also found Portsmouth in the book titled Table of U.S. Post Offices in the United States (Jan. 1851).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Portsmouth.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Portsmouth: www.portsmouthri.com/
The official website for State of Rhode Island: https://www.ri.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of the state's counties, including Newport, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Portsmouth refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Portsmouth may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Portsmouth - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Portsmouth). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Portsmouth or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <5> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |