Washington County, Rhode Island

Washington County, known to Rhode Islanders as South County, is a county located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,839. Rhode Island counties have no governmental functions other than as court administrative boundaries, which are part of the state government.

History

The area today known as Washington County was part of the ancestral lands of the Narragansett Indian Tribe. During the second half of the 17th Century, about a dozen English colonists from Newport and Massachusetts colonies moved to the area to establish farms; the larger of these were known as "Narragansett Planters."

By the mid-18th century, there were 25 to 30 large plantations in the county, and their owners became very wealthy. The labor for these farms came from enslaved people; it is estimated that about 15% and 25% of Washington County’s population was enslaved.

Washington County was created as Kings County in 1729 within the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. It was renamed Washington County on October 29, 1781, in honor of George Washington. At the earliest stage of colonial settlement, the area was called "The Narragansett Country",[citation needed] named after the Naragansett tribe and its tributary tribe the Niantics, both of whom lived in the area.

Early land purchases in the Narragansett Country were effected by settlers after the establishment of Indian trading posts at Fort Neck in Charlestown, and at Smith's Castle in Wickford. A series of conflicts involving the Manisseans on Block Island gave that island to the Massachusetts Bay Colony for a number of years, before being transferred to the Rhode Island Colony under Newport County, and then finally to Washington County in 1963.

The borders of the Narragansett country were disputed for nearly 100 years among the colonies of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The Narragansetts had pledged their fealty to King Charles, and the area was known as "The King's Province" and was placed under the authority of Rhode Island "until the King's pleasure was further known". In 1664, a royal commission under Charles II stepped in to adjudicate these conflicting claims. The commission extinguished the claims of Massachusetts, and Rhode Island was granted jurisdiction until the commission finished processing Connecticut's appeals, which were not ended until 1726. Settlements of King's Province were named to reflect the English Restoration, in honor of King Charles II. Towns reflecting this history include the two Kingstowns and Charlestown, as well as the villages of Kingston and West Kingston.

Washington County is also known in Rhode Island as "South County", though some definitions of South County include outside towns, such as East Greenwich in neighboring Kent County, and exclude towns within Washington County, such as New Shoreham.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 563 square miles (1,460 km2), of which 329 square miles (850 km2) is land and 234 square miles (610 km2) (41%) is water. It is the largest county in Rhode Island by total area. The county's topography ranges from flat along the shoreline to gently rolling hills farther inland. The highest point is a large area approximately 560 feet (170 m) above sea level in the Exeter neighborhood of Black Plain; the lowest point is sea level along the coast. The northern boundary west of Davisville is approximately 41.60°N. The western boundary north of Westerly is approximately 71.79°W.

National protected areas

• Block Island National Wildlife Refuge
• John H. Chafee National Wildlife Refuge
• Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge
• Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge

Major highways

• I-95
• US 1
• Route 1A
• Route 2
• Route 3
• Route 4
• Route 78
• Route 91
• Route 102
• Route 108
• Route 110
• Route 112
• Route 138
• Route 165
• Route 216
• Route 402
• Route 403

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 129,839. Of the residents, 16.2% were under the age of 18 and 22.7% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 46.9 years, with 93.0 males for every 100 females and 90.9 males for every 100 females age 18 and over. 66.4% of residents lived in urban areas and 33.6% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 89.5% White, 1.2% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.0% Asian, 1.5% from some other race, and 5.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.5% of the population.

There were 52,439 households in the county, of which 23.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 26.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 65,694 housing units, of which 20.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 74.6% were owner-occupied and 25.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.7%.

Communities

Towns

• Charlestown
• Exeter
• Hopkinton
• Narragansett
• New Shoreham
• North Kingstown
• Richmond
• South Kingstown (traditional county seat)
• Westerly

Census-designated places

• Ashaway
• Bradford
• Carolina
• Charlestown
• Hope Valley
• Hopkinton
• Kingston
• Misquamicut
• Narragansett Pier
• Quonochontaug
• Wakefield-Peacedale
• Watch Hill
• Weekapaug
• Westerly
• Wyoming

Other villages

• Alton
• Arcadia
• Ashaway
• Barberville
• Bethel
• Burdickville
• Canonchet
• Centerville
• Davisville
• Galilee
• Hamilton
• Hopkinton City
• Jerusalem
• Kenyon
• Lafayette
• Locustville
• Matunuck
• Moscow
• Peace Dale
• Point Judith
• Rockville
• Saunderstown
• Shannock
• Shelter Harbor
• Slocum
• Usquepaug
• Wakefield
• West Kingston
• White Rock
• Wickford
• Wood River Junction
• Woodville

Ghost towns

Napatree point

Politics

Similar to other counties in Rhode Island, Washington County votes Democratic in presidential elections, having last voted Republican in 1984.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Rhode Island

External links