1 Best Sight in Newport County and East Bay, Rhode Island

Jamestown Windmill

This English-designed smock windmill built in 1787 ground corn for more than 100 years. One of the most photographed sights on the island, the structure, named for its resemblance to farmers' smocks of yore, still works. In summer and early fall, you can enter the three-story, octagonal structure and see the 18th-century technology. The windmill turns on the biennial Windmill Day, when the sails are attached to catch the breeze on Windmill Hill.