PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — 249 years ago Sunday, Rhode Island became the first of the thirteen colonies to formally declare its independence from Great Britain.
On May 4, 1776, delegates gathered at the Old State House on Benefit Street in Providence to sign the Act of Renunciation, severing all ties with Great Britain.
Two months later, on July 4, 1776, members of the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, which freed the remaining colonies from British rule…