Block Island is a popular family vacation resort. Its only town, Old Harbor, has the look and feel of vintage New England with white clapboard Victorian buildings lining its waterfront street. Sixteen families seeking religious and political freedom bought the 11-square-mile island in 1661, and established it as a democratic setttlement. Mohegan Bluffs, rising to 200 feet along the southeast shore, provides an excellent view of the southern coast of Rhode Island. Southeast Light, a restored lighthouse built in 1875, still stands. Its lantern, 240 feet above sea level, sends light 35 miles out to sea.
