Newport’s early commitment to religious toleration was reflected in a close cluster of houses of worship, most notably Touro Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in the United States and an enduring symbol of religious freedom. In 1658, fifteen Sephardic Jewish families arrived in Newport after fleeing the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal by way of Caribbean and European ports, drawn by liberties they had not known before. After many left for New York when Newport’s economy could not yet support their mercantile trade, they returned by the 1730s and prospered, with merchants such as Aaron Lopez and Jacob Rodrigues Rivera helping make Newport one of colonial America’s leading seaports. Under the guidance of Reverend Isaac Touro, the congregation began building the synagogue in 1759, choosing architect Peter Harrison; completed and dedicated in 1763, it was set so the ark faced east toward Jerusalem and stood as a confident classical statement of the Jewish community’s faith in Newport’s continued toleration. Most members fled during the Revolution, and the building was closed for regular worship for much of the 19th century while also serving civic bodies; bequests from Judah and Abraham Touro helped preserve it until its reconsecration in 1883, after which it remained open for services. Nearby, the Seventh Day Baptist congregation grew from a doctrinal split within Newport’s First Baptist Church in the 1660s over observing the Sabbath on Saturday, formally organizing in 1671 in a town where such differences could be freely pursued. After outgrowing its first home, the congregation hired Richard Munday to design a new meeting house completed in 1730 on a simple but finely crafted colonial plan; the church flourished until the Revolution scattered many members, and in the 19th century the building was rented to other Baptist congregations before being sold to the Newport Historical Society in 1884, moved in 1887, and later enlarged and enclosed in brick. Also on Touro Street, the Levi Gale House was designed in 1835 by Russell Warren as a Greek Revival residence for lawyer Levi H. Gale; when a courthouse project threatened it in 1925, Congregation Joshua Israel acquired it, moved it in 1926 for use as a Jewish community center, and it later served community groups and the USO during World War Two before continuing as a congregational community center and the headquarters of the Society of Friends of Touro Synagogue.
