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A−History
History · Middletown

Middletown dates to 1743, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #25 of 38 in Rhode Island. What drives it

15 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 8 buildings between them. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1790.

1743founded
15on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Middletown’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Middletown began

When was Middletown founded?

1743

Middletown dates its founding to 1743 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 840 in 17902020 census: 17,075283 years

How historic is Middletown?

A−

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1835.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Middletown’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Middletown is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #25 of 38 in Rhode Island. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Middletown’s overall grade.
Founding era1743, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194016.9% of homes (±4.5) · typical RI town 20.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register15 listings, 27 historic buildings, 16.0 per 10,000 residents · typical RI town 94.7 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 81%
NewerOlder
Rhode Island towns of 2,500+ (38)Ahead of 35%

Rhode Island towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Rhode Island town has 94.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Middletown’s 16.0 sits below most of its state (13% of Rhode Island towns have fewer) while its 27 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% 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 (±4.5 points). Two sources give 1743.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Middletown’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 18907 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1996. Watch Middletown change.Landmarks on the Register15 places on the National Register.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1914–1973.Boom and bustPeaked at 29,290 in 1970; 17,075 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · On the map

Middletown on the map, 1890 to 1996

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Middletown. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Middletown on the 1890 USGS mapMiddletown on the 1919 USGS mapMiddletown on the 1939 USGS mapMiddletown on the 1942 USGS mapMiddletown on the 1955 USGS mapMiddletown on the 1970 USGS mapMiddletown on the 1996 USGS map1890Narragansett Bay sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Middletown.

On the National Register

15 historic places in Middletown

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
15
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
27
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Whitehall
WhitehallLyman C. Joseph HouseParadise School, built 1875Bailey FarmTaylor-Chase-Smythe HouseWitherbee School, built 1907Clambake Club of NewportHamilton Hoppin HouseBoyd's WindmillSt. George's School-Church of St. George, Little Chapel, and Memorial Schoolhouse, built 1896Dennis J. Murphy House at Ogden FarmStonybrook Estate Historic DistrictSmith-Gardiner-Norman Farm Historic DistrictAlexander Van Rensselaer House, built 1857St. Columba’s, the Berkeley Memorial Chapel
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival4
Queen Anne3
Late Victorian2
Late Gothic Revival2
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
Italianate1
WhitehallColonial Revival
Lyman C. Joseph HouseColonial Revival
Paradise SchoolBuilt 1875
Bailey FarmBuilding
Taylor-Chase-Smythe HouseColonial Revival
Witherbee SchoolQueen Anne · Built 1907
Clambake Club of NewportLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements
Hamilton Hoppin HouseLate Victorian
All 15 listings
Boyd's WindmillBuilding · listed 2001St. George's School-Church of St. George, Little Chapel, and Memorial SchoolhouseBuilding · listed 2004Dennis J. Murphy House at Ogden FarmBuilding · listed 2007Stonybrook Estate Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2009Smith-Gardiner-Norman Farm Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2008Alexander Van Rensselaer HouseBuilding · listed 2018St. Columba’s, the Berkeley Memorial ChapelBuilding · listed 2022

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

By decade

Middletown, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1930s15 items
"Mariemont," Thomas Josephus Emery house, 386 Greenwood Ave1914"Mariemont," Thomas Josephus Emery house, 386 Greenwo…M.M. Van Beuren, residence1929M.M. Van Beuren, residenceM.M. Van Beuren, residence1929M.M. Van Beuren, residenceM.M. Van Beuren, residence1929M.M. Van Beuren, residenceHABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 1 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 Third Beach Road1933HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 1 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 T…HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 10 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 Third Beach Road1933HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 10 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 …HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 11 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 Third Beach Road1933HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 11 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 …HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 2 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 Third Beach Road1933HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 2 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 T…HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 3 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 Third Beach Road1933HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 3 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 T…HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 4 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 Third Beach Road1933HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 4 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 T…HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 5 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 Third Beach Road1933HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 5 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 T…HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 6 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 Third Beach Road1933HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 6 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 T…HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 7 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 Third Beach Road1933HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 7 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 T…HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 8 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 Third Beach Road1933HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 8 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 T…HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 9 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 Third Beach Road1933HABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 9 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 T…
1940s–1960snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1970s2 items
FARMLANDS NEAR1973FARMLANDS NEARPOLLUTED SALT MARSH IN MIDDLETOWN. (FROM THE SITES EXHIBITION. FOR OTHER IMAGES IN THIS ASSIGNMENT, SEE FICHE NUMBERS 8…1973POLLUTED SALT MARSH IN MIDDLETOWN. (FROM THE SITES EX…
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
Whitehall, Berkeley AvenueDate?Whitehall, Berkeley Avenue
Today9 recent
Newport Beach hotel and suites2023Newport Beach hotel and suitesSeal of Middletown RI at Paradise Valley Park2022Seal of Middletown RI at Paradise Valley ParkFlo's Clam Shack, a decorative seafood restaurant2018Flo's Clam Shack, a decorative seafood restaurantAerial view of Middletown, Rhode Island, with a focus on St. George's School, a private, Episcopal, coeducational board…2018Aerial view of Middletown, Rhode Island, with a focus…Middletown, United States (Unsplash 6qORI5j 6n8)2013Middletown, United States (Unsplash 6qORI5j 6n8)Middletown Council Member Edward Silveira2012Middletown Council Member Edward SilveiraUS Army Reserve Center named after a fallen hometown soldier DVIDS4851142011US Army Reserve Center named after a fallen hometown …Northeast and northwest elevations, first and second floor plans, section, construction details, molding details - Pres…2011Northeast and northwest elevations, first and second …Newport Cliff Walk Newport East view2010Newport Cliff Walk Newport East view
The story

How Middletown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Middletown.

Read it all →

Issues including unjust taxation and a growing population caused the freeholders living in the northern section of Newport to petition the General Assembly for independence. As a result of the petition, the land that Middletown occupies was set apart in 1731. The town was incorporated in 1743.

During the 1980s, large sections of East Main Road and West Main Road running through Middletown began to be commercialized, and by the late 1990s, the area had become Aquidneck Island's central business district.

Today, the community boasts a strong business district that relies heavily on Naval Station Newport and defense

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Middletown in 1888

Passages that mention Middletown, cut from the printed page as they were published.

" And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that said town of Middletown shall send one grand and three petit jurors to the superior court of judicature, court of assize and general jail delivery; and three grand and three petit jurors to every inferior court of common pleas and general…
History of Newport County, Rhode Island. From the year 1638 to the year 1887, including the settlement of its towns, and their subsequent progress1888 · page 756Read the page →
Read the text

" And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that said town of Middletown shall send one grand and three petit jurors to the superior court of judicature, court of assize and general jail delivery; and three grand and three petit jurors to every inferior court of common pleas and general sessions of the peace held within the county of Newport; and that the town of New2iort shall hereafter send to each of the aforesaid courts so many jurors less of what they are now compelled by

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Churches. — The first church in the town of Middletown was Sabbatarian, or Seventh Day Baptist. The building occupied by them was near Easton's pond, at Green End. The early settlers held services there a long time, but after the dissolution of this society a hundred years passed before the erectio…
History of Newport County, Rhode Island. From the year 1638 to the year 1887, including the settlement of its towns, and their subsequent progress1888 · page 791Read the page →
Read the text

Churches. — The first church in the town of Middletown was Sabbatarian, or Seventh Day Baptist. The building occupied by them was near Easton's pond, at Green End. The early settlers held services there a long time, but after the dissolution of this society a hundred years passed before the erection of another meeting house. The people in the interim met in school houses and in private dwelling's. In the year 1829 the " Swamp " meeting house was built. It cost about seven hundred dollars.

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.

Timeline

Middletown, 1743 to 1973

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1743
    FoundingMiddletown is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1835Post officeThe Middletown post office opens
  5. 1836Post officeThe Middletown post office closes
  6. 1857BuiltAlexander Van Rensselaer House is built
  7. 1867Born hereWilder Dwight Bancroft is born here
  8. 1872Born hereHelena Sturtevant is born here
  9. 1875BuiltParadise School is built
  10. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1896BuiltSt. George's School-Church of St. George, Little Chapel, and Memorial Schoolhouse is built
  12. 20th century
  13. 1907BuiltWitherbee School is built
  14. 1914In the archive"Mariemont," Thomas Josephus Emery house, 386 Greenwood Ave
  15. 1929In the archiveM.M. Van Beuren, residence
  16. 1933In the archiveHABS RI,3-MIDTO,4- (sheet 1 of 11) - Lazy Lawn, 528 Third Beach Road
  17. 1948Born hereBill Cowsill is born here
  18. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 29,290
  19. 1973In the archiveFARMLANDS NEAR
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

"Mariemont," Thomas Josephus Emery house, 386 Greenwood Ave
Retake this view"Mariemont," Thomas Josephus Emery house, 386 Greenwood Ave, 1914

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Middletown’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Middletown, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00018001850190019502000Peak: 29,290

Peaked at 29,290 in 1970; 17,075 people lived here in 2020.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Middletown’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Middletown

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Wilder Dwight BancroftAmerican physical chemist · b. 1867
Bill CowsillAmerican singer · b. 1948
H
Helena SturtevantAmerican painter · b. 1872
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Middletown had its own post office from 1835 to 1836.

Middletown
1835–1836
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
LawtonsParadise Mobile Home ParkPurgatorySachuestWhitehall
Gone or out of use
Newport AirportairportSachuest Golf Clublocale
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Middletown
Anthony LotMiddletownNewport Memorial ParkSaint Columbas

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Middletown’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old view"Mariemont," Thomas Josephus Emery hous…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Newport East8 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPortsmouth11 historic placesA−Newport67 historic placesA+Melville1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJamestown11 historic placesA

Questions about Middletown’s history

What year was Middletown founded?

In 1743, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Middletown’s post office opened in 1835, and the first U.S. census counted 840 people here in 1790.

How does Middletown rank for history?

Middletown is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #25 of 38 in Rhode Island. 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 Middletown?

15 listings: 13 buildings, among them the Whitehall (listed 1970, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Stonybrook Estate Historic District and the Smith-Gardiner-Norman Farm Historic District, with 8 contributing buildings. 27 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Middletown?

17% of Middletown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 20% for a Rhode Island town; the median home was built in 1969.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (20), the Library of Congress (7), Wikidata (7), the National Register of Historic Places (15), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.