Editing Block Island (section)

===Post-Colonial Period===
[[File:Block Island Southeast Light, May, 2015.jpg|thumb|The [[Block Island Southeast Light]]]]

During the [[War of 1812]], Block Island was briefly occupied by a [[Royal Navy]] squadron under the command of Captain [[Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet|Sir Thomas Hardy]] in 1814. The occupying squadron consisted of the ship of the line [[HMS Ramillies (1785)|HMS ''Ramillies'']], frigate [[HMS Pactolus (1813)|HMS ''Pactolus'']], brig-sloops [[HMS Despatch (1812)|HMS ''Despatch'']] and [[HMS Nimrod (1812)|HMS ''Nimrod'']] and bomb vessel [[HMS Terror (1813)|HMS ''Terror'']]. Hardy had taken his squadron to Block Island in search of food and to establish a strategic position at the mouth of the [[Long Island Sound]], but discovered that nearly all of the island's livestock and food stores had already been transferred to [[Stonington, Connecticut]]. On August 9, 1814, Hardy's squadron departed Block Island for Stonington in part to capture the transferred food stores and livestock, but his pre-dawn raid on the town a day later was repulsed in the [[Battle of Stonington]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Battle of Stonington |last=De Kay |first=Tertius |year=1990 |page=293}}</ref>

[[File:Great Salt Pond Block Island.jpg|thumb|New Harbor - The Great Salt Pond]]

The original [[Block Island North Light|North Lighthouse]] was built in 1829, but it was replaced in 1837 after the original was washed out to sea. The ocean claimed the replacement lighthouse also, and the lighthouse that can be seen today was constructed in 1867.<ref name=USCG>{{cite uscghist|RI|access-date=October 23, 2007}}</ref> Construction began on Block Island's [[Block Island Southeast Light|Southeast Lighthouse]] a few years later in 1873. Block Island has no natural harbors; breakwaters were constructed in 1870 to form Old Harbor.  New Harbor was created in 1895 when a channel was dug to connect the [[Great Salt Pond (Block Island)|Great Salt Pond]] to the ocean through the northwestern side of the island. The Island Free Library was established in 1875 and is Block Island's only [[public library]].

Isaac Church was the Island's last recorded full-blooded Manisses Indian; he died in 1886 at age 100. He was survived by one son and one daughter whose descendants still reside in Rhode Island today. The landmark Isaac's Corner is named in honor of him, located at the intersection of Center Road, Lakeside Drive, and Cooneymus Road. Isaac is buried to the east of the four corners in the Historical Indian Burial Ground. In 2011, the Block Island Historical Society dedicated the Block Island Manissean Ancestral Stone. In attendance at the unveiling ceremony were descendants of the Manisses Indians, with Tiondra White Rapids Martinez, a direct descendant of Isaac Church, opening the ceremony in their native tongue.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBGM7TAh7mQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/DBGM7TAh7mQ| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Unveiling of Ancestral/Descendant Stone for the Block Island Indian's - Part 1|last=Coni Dubois|date=30 June 2011|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

During World War II, several artillery spotters were located on the island to direct fire from the heavy gun batteries at Fort Greene in [[Point Judith]] which protected the entrance to [[Narragansett Bay]]. Lookout positions for the spotters were built to look like houses. The US government offered to evacuate the island, as it could not be effectively defended from enemy invasion, but the islanders chose to stay. Days before the war ended against Germany, the [[German submarine U-853#Battle of Point Judith|Battle of Point Judith]] took place seven miles to the northeast of the island.

[[File:Block Island Airport 2021.jpg|thumb|The [[Block Island State Airport]]]]

The island's [[Block Island State Airport|airport]] (KBID) was opened in 1950 and remains open today as a [[general aviation]] airport. In 1972, the Block Island Conservancy was founded. The Conservancy and other environmental organizations are responsible for protecting over 40% of the island from development.<ref name=nature2>[http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/rhodeisland/preserves/art3146.html The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island - Block Island] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012233153/http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/rhodeisland/preserves/art3146.html |date=2007-10-12}}; ''The Nature Conservancy''; retrieved on October 30, 2007.</ref> In 1974, [[Old Harbor Historic District]] was declared a [[National Register of Historic Places|National Register]] historic district. More information can be found in the following books concerning Block Island's old buildings, islanders, history, and ongoing efforts to conserve the land, together with a collection of 800 period photographs of the island spanning the 1870s to the 1980s and all by historian Robert M. Downie: 
*''Block Island—The Sea''
*''Block Island—The Land''
*''The Block Island History of Photography'', 2 volumes
The students of New Shoreham in grades kindergarten through 12th grade attend [[Block Island School]]. [[Harbor Church]] was founded on October 23, 1765 and is located at 21 Water Street.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Harbor Church |url=http://harborchurchblockisland.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=49048&PID=860221 |access-date=July 30, 2014 |publisher=harborchurchblockisland.org}}</ref>