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Please add profiles of those who were born, lived or died in Washington County, Rhode Island.
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", 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 1959.
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.
Towns
- Charlestown
- Exeter
- Hopkinton
- Narragansett
- New Shoreham
- North Kingstown
- Richmond
- South Kingstown (County Seat)
- Westerly
Villages & Communities
Alton | Arcadia | Ashaway | Barberville | Bethel | Bradford | Burdickville | Canonchet | Carolina | Centerville | Davisville | Galilee | Hamilton | Hope Valley | Hopkinton City | Jerusalem | Kenyon | Kingston | Lafayette | Locustville | Matunuck | Misquamicut | Moscow | Narragansett Pier | Peace Dale | Point Judith | Quonochontaug | Rockville | Saunderstown | Shannock | Shelter Harbor | Slocum | South Hopkinton | Usquepaug | Wakefield | Watch Hill | Weekapaug | West Kingston | White Rock | Wickford | Wood River Junction | Woodville | Wyoming
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