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Fast Foward: Block Island Today

The island Adrian Block passed on his return trip to Europe is today a vacation paradise. It is 21 square miles in size, and sits 12 miles out to sea from Point Judith, R.I. About 600 persons, many of them fishermen, live there.

It was settled in 1661, 47 years after Block stayed for a long visit. It is still a special place today. The island is home to more than 40 rare and endangered species of plants and animals. Approximately a quarter of the island is held in the public trust. The Nature Conservancy has designated Block Island ``one of the 12 last great places in the Western Hemisphere.''

It can be reached by ferry from Montauk, as well as from Providence, Newport and Point Judith, R.I., and New London, Conn.