Roger Williams founded Providence, Rhode Island.
Providence is the capital of and most populous city in the U.S. state of Rhode Island , founded in 1636 , and one of the oldest cities in the United States . Providence was founded by Roger Williams , a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony . Roger Williams . Williams fled the Massachusetts colony under the threat of impending arrest and shipment to an English prison ; he began the settlement of Providence Plantation in 1636 as a refuge offering freedom of conscience .