The Smallest State Has The Largest Name.
The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Rhode Island, to use its shortened name, is only 37 miles long and 48 miles wide. Dutch explorer Adrian Block is credited for giving the state its first name, “Roodt Eyelandt”, meaning “Red Island” because of red clay along its shore. Rhode Island is also referred to as “The Plantation State” because of its official title.
