Westcott is a village in the town of West Warwick in Kent County, Rhode Island. [1] [2] It is located between the two Pawtuxet River bridges on Providence Street, [3] at the juncture of New London Avenue, Tollgate Road, and Providence Street in northeastern West Warwick. [4] It get its name from the Westcott family that lived on 341 Providence Street. [3]
Instead of growing up around a mill like the other villages of West Warwick, Westcott formed around the Westcott homestead and toll house located there to collect the tolls from the New London Turnpike. However, the village remained undeveloped for many years, only being identified as one on an 1895 map. At that point, it was a small hamlet consisting of a store and some houses. [3]
Westcott was home to much of the housing for the workers in the nearby Riverpoint village, such as the twenty duplexes built on Providence Street by the Greene Company. It also was the location of the local schools attended by Riverpoint students, like the elementary school (built in 1925) and the high school (built in 1904). [3]
The New London Turnpike that passed through Westcott was built by the Providence and Pawcatuck Turnpike Company in 1821 to connect the out-of-the-way mills in western Warwick (now West Warwick) to the ports and markets on the Eastern Seaboard like Providence. On top of improving transport between Providence and the Pawtuxet Valley mills, the turnpike also improved long-distance travel between Providence and New London by providing a more direct connection between the two. [4]
However, the road was a financial failure because the tolls made hauling freight too expensive, and the steep hills in the area made travel difficult. By the time the Stonington Railroad was completed in the 1830s, the turnpike had become obsolete. [4]
One of the most significant buildings in Westcott is the former Warwick High School. Built from 1904 to 1905, this Neo-Classical structure served as Warwick's high school until West Warwick split off from Warwick in 1913, where it then became West Warwick's high school. [3] Robert Bryon Treat, a member of the Warwick High School Commission, as well as the owner of the Centerville Mill, played an instrumental part in getting the original Warwick school built. [5]
The iconic "Jerry" statue, a monument to the Union Soldiers of the Civil War from the Pawtuxet Valley and symbol of West Warwick High School was originally dedicated in June 1914 at this high school. The building remained the West Warwick High School until 1965 when the new high school was built on land donated by the Knight family. [6] In 1983 the façade was altered, a new addition was added, and the whole building was converted into Westcott Terrace, an elderly housing project. [3]
Built by Anthony Rice, a Revolutionary War soldier, this center-chimney Cape-style house had five rooms on the first floor and two on the second. [4] Anthony's daughter, Sarah Rice, married John Westcott, and the house then remained in the Westcott family until 1922. [3]
In about 1819, when the New London Turnpike was built, [3] a small two-room house was moved from Centerville to serve as a toll house, which was manned by members of the Westcott family. [7]
The original Westcott-Rice House on 341 Providence Street and surrounding 14.62 lot was bought on 08/20/2020 for $600,000. [8] The house no longer stands.
Plainfield is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 14,973 at the 2020 census. The town comprises four villages: Plainfield, Moosup, Wauregan, and Central Village. Each village has their own respective United States Post Office and fire department. The entire town is serviced by the 860 area code.
Coventry is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 35,688 at the 2020 census and is part of the Pawtuxet River Valley.
Warwick is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States, and is the third-largest city in the state, with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 census. Warwick is located approximately 12 miles (19 km) south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, 63 miles (101 km) southwest of Boston, Massachusetts, and 171 miles (275 km) northeast of New York City.
Cranston, formerly known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The official population of the city in the 2020 United States Census was 82,934, making it the second-largest city in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island is located in Cranston. Cranston is a part of the Providence metropolitan area.
West Warwick is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,012 at the 2020 census.
Fiskeville is a small village in the south west corner of Cranston, Rhode Island, United States, the south east corner of the Town of Scituate, Rhode Island and across the northern side of Coventry, Rhode Island. The village's Main Street forms the border between Cranston and Scituate. Fiskeville grew up as one of several mill towns along the Pawtuxet River in the mid-1800s. The Fiskeville textile mill was formed by Dr. Caleb Fiske, a Revolutionary War doctor turned businessman in 1812. The village became home to those who worked in the mill, mostly immigrants from Portugal, France, Italy and England. Fiskeville is usually associated with Cranston rather than with Scituate as most of the original buildings including Dr. Fiske's residence were in Cranston. Although the mill and about a dozen nearby mill houses were in Scituate. Poets Karen Haskell and Darcie Dennigan both grew up, a few doors down from each other, in the 1970s and 1980s on Main Street in Fiskeville.
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running generally southwest–northeast through the US state of Rhode Island. It runs from the border with Connecticut near Westerly, through Warwick and Providence, and to the Massachusetts state line in Pawtucket. It has two auxiliary routes, both of which enter Massachusetts—I-195, a spur from Providence east to Cape Cod, and I-295, a western bypass of the Providence metropolitan area.
The Pawtuxet River, also known as the Pawtuxet River Main Stem and the Lower Pawtuxet, is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows 12.3 miles (19.8 km) and empties into the upper Narragansett Bay of the Atlantic Ocean. Together with its two main tributary branches, the North Branch Pawtuxet River and the South Branch Pawtuxet River, it drains a watershed of 231.6 square miles (600 km2), all of which is in the state of R.I.
Pawtuxet Village is a section of the New England cities of Warwick and Cranston, Rhode Island, United States. It is located at the point where the Pawtuxet River flows into the Providence River and Narragansett Bay.
Benedict Arnold was president and then governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for a total of 11 years in these roles. He was born and raised in the town of Ilchester, Somerset, England, likely attending school in Limington nearby. In 1635 at age 19, he accompanied his parents, siblings, and other family members on a voyage from England to New England where they first settled in Hingham in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In less than a year, they moved to Providence Plantation at the head of the Narragansett Bay at the request of Roger Williams. In about 1638, they moved once again about five miles (8 km) south to the Pawtuxet River, settling on the north side at a place commonly called Pawtuxet. Here they had serious disputes with their neighbors, particularly Samuel Gorton, and they put themselves and their lands under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, a situation which lasted for 16 years.
William Arnold was one of the founding settlers of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and he and his sons were among the wealthiest people in the colony. He was raised and educated in England where he was the warden of St. Mary's, the parish church of Ilchester in southeastern Somerset. He immigrated to New England with family and associates in 1635. He initially settled in Hingham in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, but he soon relocated to the new settlement of Providence Plantation with Roger Williams. He was one of the 13 original proprietors of Providence, appearing on the deed signed by Roger Williams in 1638, and was one of the 12 founding members of the first Baptist church to be established in America.
River Point in West Warwick, Rhode Island, United States, is a community made up of mill houses and three mills - the Valley Queen Mill, the Royal Mill and the Cotton Shed. Built in 1834 by the Greene Company, the Valley Queen Mill is the oldest of the three buildings. It originally operated as a cotton factory, producing coarse cotton cloths under the Greene Company name.
Norwood is a neighborhood in the city of Warwick, Rhode Island. Norwood is bounded by Route 37, the Pawtuxet River, Elmwood Avenue, and Post Road. Such borders mark the area traditionally served by the fire station previously located at the current site of the Norwood Boys & Girls Club.
The Providence River is a tidal river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 8 miles (13 km). There are no dams along the river's length, although the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier is located south of downtown to protect the city of Providence from damaging tidal floods.
The North Branch Pawtuxet River is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 8.9 miles (14.3 km). There are 9 dams along the river's length.
Delaware Route 52 (DE 52) is a state highway in New Castle County, Delaware. The route runs from U.S. Route 13 Business in downtown Wilmington north to Pennsylvania Route 52 (PA 52) at the Pennsylvania border near Centerville. DE 52 runs through the city of Wilmington and passes through areas of the Brandywine Valley north of Wilmington. DE 52 intersects Interstate 95 (I-95)/US 202 and DE 2 in Wilmington and DE 100/DE 141 and DE 82 in Greenville. The entire route is designated as part of the Brandywine Valley National Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway and Delaware Byway, while most of the route is also designated as part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway of the Delaware Byways system. The road was built as the Kennett Pike, a turnpike, between 1811 and 1813. The Kennett Pike was bought by Pierre S. du Pont in 1919 and was widened and paved before being sold to the State of Delaware for $1. The road received the DE 52 designation by 1936.
The Lippitt Mill is an historic mill at 825 Main Street in West Warwick, Rhode Island.
McCarthy Field is a baseball stadium in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The field is located in Riverpoint Park, where the north and south branches of the Pawtuxet River merge.
Stukely Westcott was one of the founding settlers of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and one of the original members of the first Baptist Church in America, established by Roger Williams in 1638. He came to New England from the town of Yeovil in Somerset, England and first settled in Salem in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, but difficulties with the authorities prompted him to join Roger Williams in settling near the Narragansett Bay in 1638 at Providence Plantations. He remained there for a few years, but he was recorded as an inhabitant of Warwick in 1648, probably having settled there several years earlier. He was most active in colonial affairs from 1650 to 1660 when he was a commissioner, surveyor of highways, and the keeper of a house of entertainment. His highest offices were as an Assistant in 1653 and much later as a deputy to the General Court in 1671 when he was almost 80 years old. He made his will on January 12, 1677, but died the same day with it unsigned, leaving his affairs in limbo for the following two decades.
Joseph Jenckes Jr., also spelled Jencks and Jenks, was the founder of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where he erected a forge in 1671.
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