More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #8 of 38 in Rhode Island. What drives it
14 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Flying Horse Carousel, a National Historic Landmark, and seven historic districts with 776 buildings between them. Below: 42 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1790.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Westerly is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #8 of 38 in Rhode Island. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Westerly’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 Westerly’s 339 sits above most of its state (92% of Rhode Island towns have fewer) while its 791 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Westerly’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
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.
It is believed that Aboriginal people arrived in Rhode Island 5,000 years ago, based on sites located in what is now Washington County. Westerly would be known as Misquamicut, home to the Narragansett people up until 1637, when the English built an outpost, forcing the Narragansett people out of the region by 1661, allowing for the permanent settlement on the coast line. The English village was the home of Elder John Crandall (c. 1618–1676), one of Westerly's founding fathers. Crandall settled in Westerly in 1661, and the early history of Westerly contains many references to him and his sons.
Passages that mention Westerly, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Westerly (Rhode Island) and its witnesses1878Read the page →
Read the text
The village of Westerly lias doubled in population and trebled in wealth in the last twenty years. The rural portions of the town have not materially changed. More business is done at the railroad station here than at any other on the line of the road out of Provi-* dence. Besides this, a steamboat, sloops, and schooners are constantly bearing their freights in and out of the Pawcatuck.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Westerly (Rhode Island) and its witnesses1878Read the page →
Read the text
The new highway from Westerly to near Dorrville was opened and graded in 1868, at an expense of about 812,000. The principal business streets in the village of Westerly have been graded, guttered, and curbed, involving an outlay of about $25,000.
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
Westerly, 1676 to 1954
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Westerly. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1889Stonington 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 Westerly.
Every building
Westerly, building by building, 1885–1921
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Westerly is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #8 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 Westerly?
14 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Flying Horse Carousel (a National Historic Landmark since 1987) and the US Post Office (listed 1971, the first), and 7 historic districts with 776 contributing buildings. 791 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Westerly?
22% of Westerly’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 20% for a Rhode Island town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (32), the Library of Congress (10), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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