Most of Providence was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 4 buildings. Below: old-book passages.
The Providence post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Barkersville (1843) and Hagedorns Mills (1869), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,075206 years
How historic is Providence?
B
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Providence post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Providence’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Providence is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Providence’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Providence’s 20.3 sits near the middle of its state (56% of New York towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Providence’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area was settled before 1786, but that was the year of any definite settlement, located by Hagedorns Mills.
The town was formed from part of the Town of Galway in 1796. The early economy was based on forestry with the harvesting of lumber, and the manufacture of pulpwood being important.
It is currently under consideration for a municipal wireless broadband network to be built in it.
The Packer Farm and Barkersville Store was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.
Passages that mention Providence, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Providence County, Rhode Island1891 · page 512Read the page →
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THE town of Glocester originally belonged to the town of Providence. Its history as a part of that town is nearly coeval with the first settlement in Providence by Roger Williams and his associates in 1636. In February, 1731, the town of Providence petitioned the legislature for a division of the town. The petition was granted, and the towns of Smithfield, Scituate and Glocester were set apart. At that time Glocester was made to include the present town of Burrillville, and was organized February 20th of that year.
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The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations1920 · page 527Read the page →
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The family of the name in Rhode Island has generally made its residence in that part of the ancient town of Providence which later became Gloucester, and for years its representatives have figured hardly less prominently in the city of Providence than did the early generations in the old town. The family was founded in this country by one Pliilip Phcttcplace, who was an inhabitant of the town of Portsmouth, R. I.,
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History of Providence County, Rhode Island1891 · page 513Read the page →
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Glocester was a part of the town of Providence from the year 1649 to 1731. As a part of that town the various subjects discussed by the town council will be given in the proper place. The committee appointed to examine and report in regard to the necessity of a division of the town of Providence were: Samuel Clarke, Francis Willet and William Robinson. March 16th, 1731, a meeting was called to organize the town of Glocester, including the present territory of Burrill-
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A brief history of the town of Glocester, Rhode Island1886 · page 40Read the page →
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Previous to the town of Glocester being set off from Providence, a road had been laid out from Providence village to Woodstock, passing through what are now the towns of North Providence, Johnston, Smithfield and Glocester to the road in Connecticut that leads to Woodstock. This road was a large country road, and much used. In 1788 so much of it had been taken by private persons that the travelling at some seasons had become very difficult. To repair said road, a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The Providence post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Providence rank for history?
Providence is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Providence?
One place: the Packer Farm and Barkersville Store (listed 2013).
How old are the homes in Providence?
7% of Providence’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1993.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2021
