Notice the Point, often called Easton's Point, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Newport and home to one of the highest concentrations of colonial houses in the United States, right around you. Between Washington Street and Farewell Street by America's Cup, the neighborhood looks out on Goat Island, the former home of the U.S. Naval Torpedo Station. Imagine Nicholas Easton, a founder of Newport, who first settled here in the 17th century; his heirs divided the property into lots in 1725 and sold parcels to many of Newport's early tradesmen and merchants.
Community life gathered at the nearby Quaker Meeting House or Touro Synagogue. Because of a Quaker tradition, streets were not originally named for people: 1st (now Washington), 2nd, and 3rd Streets were crossed by tree-named lanes—Elm, Poplar, Willow, Walnut, Chestnut, Cherry, Pine, Sycamore, and Cypress—creating a green, orderly pattern. Marsh Street marks where a marsh once lay, and Bridge Street once carried a bridge across its north edge.
Long Wharf once jutted across the marsh's south side until it was filled in the 19th century. Notice the layers of early Newport underfoot, your narrow streets, the colonial facades, and the view opening out toward Goat Island.