Getting around Jamestown, R.I., is no difficult feat. It’s a small island, 12 miles long and probably no wider than four or five miles at any given point. A dedicated walker, runner or cyclist could easily explore the whole island in just a day or two. I chose each of these means of transport, but was also lucky enough to receive a private tour of the island with an 84-year-old woman named Sally Smith, who was introduced to me simply as “Sally.”

Sally Smith’s ancestors were among the original settlers of Jamestown, which was incorporated in 1678, and has remained a small bedroom community to the neighboring island of Newport and the capital city of Providence where many of the 6,000 residents work. Although Sally grew up in Philadelphia, she visited Jamestown as a child, summered there with her mother for 25 years, and then moved there permanently in 1976.

No one knows the nooks, roads, homes, people and history of Jamestown like Sally. She’s the closest the town comes to having a chamber of commerce.

Driving with Sally, and her cairn terrier Abigail, is like taking a journey back in time to a wealthy turn-of-the-century community that rejected the glamour of Newport for the quiet and privacy of Jamestown.

She knows the history of all the shingled cottages that look across Narragansett Bay to the lights of Newport or to the mainland. Several of the homes belonged to her ancestor Joseph Wharton, who she calls the first American millionaire. We saw the Wharton mansion, the Wharton turkey farm, the Wharton farmlands.

There are no movie theaters, bowling alleys, or amusement parks on Jamestown. But Sally took me on sand-beaten roads to Beavertail State Park, Fort Wetherill, and Fort Getty, historic sites that offer exquisite views of the Rhode Island Atlantic coastline and an opportunities for quiet exploration.

Beavertail Point, the most southern tip of Jamestown, is an oft visited recreational area noted for its great fishing, hiking and romantic sea sprayed alcoves. In 1938, the great hurricane which swept over the island uncovered the original base of the third lighthouse established in America (1749). The original base, an example of early Colonial stonework, sits just south of the operational granite lighthouse erected in 1856. Several trails lead from the parking lots down to the rocky coastline.

Just northeast of Beavertail is Fort Wetherill State Park, a popular picnic area with cliffs up to 100 feet high. In addition to spendid coastal views, the park also has several fortifications from World War I and World War II. You can stand on a rock and see for miles in any direction.

Fort Getty, which faces west to the mainland, is located near a picturesque marsh. Unlike Beavertail and Fort Wetherill, Fort Getty is a town-owned recreation park that allows overnight camping, RVs, and boat launches. It’s an ideal place for swimming because of a sandy coastline and low, easy access to the water. Mackerel Cove, another sandy public swimming area, is less than a mile east of Fort Getty.

“It’s much better than Maine for swimming,” says Sally.

At the center of the island, we pass the Windmill Historic District, more than 600 acres of farmland, marsh land, and open space representative of the agricultural history of Jamestown. Built in 1787, the mill was used for more than 100 years to grind feed and cornmeal.

Before returning to Sally’s home, we drove through town, past the school where the Narragansett Native American burial ground is preserved, past the Jamestown Museum that houses ferryboat and colonial collections, past the Sydney L. Wright Museum of Indian artifacts.

In Jamestown proper, a lovely marina looks toward the suspension bridge that leads to the more fashionable and swanky Newport. A sandy-beach walking area, several gift shops, restaurants, and markets make up the downtown area.

“There is no night life here,” said Sally, as I opened the car door to leave. “You can live here simply and go to Newport for glamour.”