Narragansett’s post office opened in 1848, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #30 of 38 in Rhode Island. What drives it
15 places in town are on the National Register, among them five historic districts with 130 buildings between them. Below: 23 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1890.
From Narragansett’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Narragansett began
When was Narragansett founded?
1848
The Narragansett post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Narragansett Pier (1867) and Point Judith (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,408 in 18902020 census: 14,532178 years
How historic is Narragansett?
A−
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Narragansett post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Narragansett’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Narragansett is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #30 of 38 in Rhode Island. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Narragansett’s overall grade.
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 Narragansett’s 104 sits near the middle of its state (55% of Rhode Island towns have fewer) while its 151 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% 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 (±2.6 points) is firm at this size. 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 Narragansett’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Narragansett yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Narragansett is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 14,532 at the 2020 census. However, during the summer months the town's population more than doubles to near 34,000. The town of Narragansett occupies a narrow strip of land running along the eastern bank of the Pettaquamscutt River (aka Narrow River) to the shore of Narragansett Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. It was separated from South Kingstown in 1888 and incorporated as a town in 1901. With several ocean beaches and a walkable strip along the ocean front, Narragansett is a resort area in the summer season as well as a popular East Coast surfing spot due to frequent southerly swells from Atlantic Oc…
Its first post office opened in 1848. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 15,868 to 14,532 (-8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Narragansett, 1889–1907
Passages that mention Narragansett, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The Narragansett historical register1889 · page 288Read the page →
Read the text
Taking the records we have already found in regard to this John Wilcox, ( and the field has not been gone over by any means ) it is evident that this John Wilcox, was a man of mature years at the settlement of Narragansett. Why may it not be that Edward Wilcox, of Aquidneck, 1638, Daniel, of Little Compton, 1634, and Stephen, of Portsmouth, were sons of this John, of Narragansett?
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The life and times of Samuel Gorton1907 · page 51Read the page →
Read the text
At the time of the first settlement of the English in Narragansett the Narragansett nation was without a rival or equal among the tribes small noise of Master Gorton and his friends being disciplined [by Mass.]. It is_ worth the inquiry to ask what conviction and conversion hath all these hostilities, captivatings, courtings, imprisonments, chainings, banishments, etc., wrought upon them." Roger Williams. Austin's Collections of Williams' Writings.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The Narragansett historical register1889 · page 287Read the page →
Read the text
We believe that this is the first time that the name John Wilcox has been given as that of one of the first settlers of Rhode Island, but we believe that the facts here set forth will show that the first settler of Narragansett, along with Roger Williams as a trader, was not Edward Wilcox, but John Wilcox. It will be seen that he also was a oreat wanderer, now appealing in Virginia, ( probably ) and now at the Deleware, in the Swedish Governor's Colony. He is
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The life and times of Samuel Gorton1907 · page 34Read the page →
Read the text
he was banished. In anticipation of his expulsion from Massachusetts he, in the years 1634 and 163s. had several treaties with Cannonicus and Miantinomi, the two Chief Sachems of the Narragansetts, regarding lands for a settlement in Narragansett Bay,' and they granted him the lands of Mooshasuck: it was a verbal grant. Early in 1635-6 he with only a young lad, Thomas Anrrell, then in his employ, sailed down the river toward the home of the Sachems, whom he had accompanied there in the preceding year." When reaching a cove, he describes, the
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
Narragansett, 1700 to 1975
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Narragansett post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Narragansett rank for history?
Narragansett is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #30 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 Narragansett?
15 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Towers, The (listed 1969, the first), 5 historic districts with 130 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 151 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Narragansett?
12% of Narragansett’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 20% for a Rhode Island town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (9), the Library of Congress (14), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (15), 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.
1863
c. 1871
1871
1871
c. 1875
1880
1880
1880
1880
1887
1890
1890
1898
1898
1899
1900
1900
1900
1902
1905
1905
1905
1905
![At the time of the first settlement of the English in Narragansett the Narragansett nation was without a rival or equal among the tribes small noise of Master Gorton and his friends being disciplined [by Mass.]. It is_ worth the inquiry to ask what conviction and conversion hath all these hostiliti…](https://images.townratings.com/story/33238/bk-726d4d34b75c835f-l.jpg)
