Prior to 19th century
- 1635 – Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635
- 1636 – Providence founded by Roger Williams a religious reformer.
- 1638 – Baptist congregation formed. [1]
- 1643/44 - "Received a charter from the Parliamentary Government". [2]
- 1675 — Narragansetts and white settler-colonists battle during the King Philip's War [3]
- 1676 — March 29: Narragansett warriors led by Canonchet burn about fifty houses, including Roger Williams' house, as part of King Philip's War [4] [5] [3]
- 1683 — Roger Williams dies [6]
- 1700 – North Burial Ground established [7]
- 1711 – First burial at North Burial Ground [7]
- 1743 - Beneficent Congregational Church congregation founded. [1]
- 1753 – Providence Library Company organized.
- 1762
- State House built.
- William Goddard sets up printing press; Providence Gazette newspaper begins publication. [8]
- 1764 – College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations established in Warren. [2]
- 1768 – Brick Schoolhouse built on Meeting Street.
- 1770 – College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations relocated to Providence. [9]
- 1774 - Rhode Island Supreme Court founded.
- 1775 – Market House and First Baptist Meetinghouse built.
- 1776 – 1777: Colonial and French troops use University Hall as a barracks and hospital during the American Revolutionary War [10]
- 1784 — January: Flooding on the Moshassuck River caused the greatest damage seen since the burning of the town during King Philip's War [11]
- 1785 – Beneficent Congregational Society established. [12]
- 1788
- John Brown House built. [1]
- de Warville describes the town as "decayed". [2]
- 1789
- 1790
- 1791 - October: Providence Bank on South Main Street incorporated; later known as Providence National Bank, Providence Union Bank and Trust Company, Industrial National Bank, and FleetBoston Financial. [17]
- 1793 - The first covered drawbridge is built over the Seekonk River where the Washington Bridge currently stands, followed the same year by the Central Bridge farther north. [18]
- 1794 – Serril Dodge opens his first jewelry store on North Main Street, thus beginning Providence's jewelry industry [19]
- 1795 – Theatre opens. [20]
- 1798 – Providence Marine Society established. [21]
