A year-long celebration in North Kingstown continues this fall as the coastal community celebrates its 350th anniversary. Initially established as a trading post by Roger Williams and Richard Smith, today the town is largely known for being home to tourist destination Wickford Village and July’s annual art show, and for hosting over 13,000 workers daily at General Dynamics Electric Boat. It’s the birthplace of George Washington portraitist Gilbert Stuart, the location of the Seabee Museum and Memorial Park, and where the Quonset hut was invented.
To better understand North Kingstown and how it evolved, you have to go back to its origins. “First and foremost, this community was home to the Narragansetts,” says town historian G. Timothy Cranston, an author who can trace his own town roots to 1635. “Their name translates to ‘people of the long point,’ the area of land between the Narrow River and Narragansett Bay. This is where their culture began.”
After being established for trade by Roger Williams, who originally settled in Providence in 1637, by 1674, Kings Towne, a region that included much of present-day North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Exeter, and Narragansett, was founded. The new settlement was the site of the tragic Great Swamp Massacre in 1675, a bleak chapter during King Philip’s War, the conflict among the indigenous Wampanoag and Narragansett tribes, and colonial settlers.
By the beginning of the 18th century, Wickford Village developed into an economic hub for the region, with many businesses operated by women and other marginalized groups. “Wickford is an interesting place, because most of the men were usually out at sea,” explains Cranston. “Women were property owners, ran businesses, and were community leaders. Free Black residents were also business owners and homeowners in Wickford Village. There was still an awful lot of prejudice, but there was diversity here. They had opportunities here that they might not have had in Puritan towns like Boston.”
Anniversaries are important, and Cranston believes these types of celebrations are essential for communities. “I think it’s just human nature – we like these kinds of milestones, we like superlatives, and we like to think we are one of the oldest places around,” he says. “It gives people a chance to reconnect. There really aren’t that many places that have a 350-year history. It’s kind of neat to celebrate.”
For Family Day, an all-ages celebration with balloon twisting, face painting, food trucks, and more, Cranston has developed a digital scavenger hunt, in which participants use tablets and cell phones to visit over 20 historic sites around town. “We want to get families out into the community, to parts of town they’ve never been to before. We hope we can get 500 families to this event. We’ll have some surprises for people who complete it.”
October 5:
350th Anniversary Parade
October 21:
Speaker Series - Riding the
Rails to Wickford
October 28:
Founders Day
Learn more at NorthKingstownRI.gov
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here