 The Narragansett Indians named the island "Aquopimokuk", and Colonist Thomas Gould purchased it from them in 1657.Gould sold the island to Thomas Cranston, and later owners included the Carr family and Joseph Wanton, Jr., who lost the property for having Loyalist sympathies during the American Revolution.British naval leader Captain Wallace constructed a military fort on the island called "Owl's Nest" in 1778 during the American Revolution.