Touro Synagogue

Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams in the 1630s on the principle of liberty of conscience, the radical idea that government should not dictate religious belief. That made the colony a refuge for those persecuted elsewhere, and among those who came were Jewish families seeking a place to live and worship freely.

A Jewish community took root in Newport, then a thriving colonial seaport, and prospered in trade. By the mid-eighteenth century the congregation, known as Jeshuat Israel, had grown enough to build a permanent synagogue, something that would have been impossible in many other colonies and countries of the time.

The freedom that made the synagogue possible was not universal or perfect, and Newport's prosperity, like much of colonial Rhode Island's, was entangled with the slave trade. But the openness that allowed a synagogue to be built at all set the place apart in the colonial world and gave it lasting significance.

The synagogue was designed by Peter Harrison, one of the finest architects of colonial America, and dedicated in 1763. From the street it is a restrained, dignified Georgian building; inside, it opens into a serene and beautifully proportioned sanctuary lit by tall windows, with a gallery above and classical columns framing the space.

The interior reflects the Sephardic tradition of its founding families, with the reading platform set in the center and the ark holding the Torah scrolls against the far wall oriented toward Jerusalem. A trapdoor in the floor, according to long tradition, recalls the memory of times when Jews had to worship in secret, a reminder of the persecution the congregation had escaped.

The building has survived remarkably intact for more than two and a half centuries, a rare and precious example of colonial religious architecture, and it is honored today as a National Historic Site.

In 1790, as the new United States was taking shape, President George Washington visited Newport, and the warden of the congregation, Moses Seixas, addressed a letter to him expressing the community's hopes for the new nation. Washington's written reply became historic.

Echoing Seixas's own words, Washington wrote that the United States government gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, and that all citizens possess alike liberty of conscience. It was a clear statement that religious freedom in the new republic was a right, not a favor granted by the tolerance of others.

That letter, addressed to a small synagogue in Newport, has come to be regarded as one of the great early expressions of American religious liberty. Each year it is read aloud at the synagogue, keeping alive a promise that still speaks to the country's ideals.

Touro Synagogue remains an active congregation as well as a historic site, so visits are made through guided tours that respect its role as a house of worship. An adjacent visitor center sets out the history of the community, the building, and the Washington letter before you step inside.

Inside the sanctuary, guides explain the architecture, the traditions embodied in the space, and the long story of the congregation, from its colonial founding through the decline and later revival of Jewish Newport.

The synagogue sits in the walkable historic heart of Newport, so a visit combines easily with the colonial harbor, the wharves, and the town's other landmarks, placing this monument of religious freedom in the setting of the seaport that made it possible.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.