Misquamicut is a census-designated place and fire district in southern

Washington County, Rhode Island Washington County, known locally as South County, is a county located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,839. Rhode Island counties have no governmental functions other than as court administrativ ...

. It is part of the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Westerly and is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

. The population was listed as 390 in 2010.

Name

Misquamicut is a word in the

Narragansett language Narragansett is an Algonquian language formerly spoken in most of what is today Rhode Island by the Narragansett people. It was closely related to the other Algonquian languages of southern New England like Massachusett and Mohegan-Pequot. Th ...

or in another Algonquian language closely related to Narragansett. It can be derived from the roots ''mish'' 'red' + ''kwam'' 'fish' + ''k'' (plural) + ''-t'' 'at', meaning 'At the Place of the Red Fish,' that is, 'At the Salmon Place'.

History

The district was once known as Pleasant View. The land was purchased from Chief Sosoa of the Montauks in 1661. The name was changed from Pleasant View to Misquamicut in 1928. The area suffered a series of devastating hurricanes that wiped out beach homes, hotels, and other structures in 1938, 1944, and 1954. A portion of the oceanfront became

Misquamicut State Beach Misquamicut State Beach is a seaside public recreation area in the town of Westerly, Rhode Island. It occupies a portion of Misquamicut Beach, a barrier island that extends westward from Weekapaug to Watch Hill and separates Winnapaug Pond fro ...

in 1959. Atlantic Beach Park () is a privately-operated amusement center with of land and buildings within the Misquamicut section of beachfront. It lies south of Misquamicut State Beach and north of

Winnapaug Pond Winnapaug Pond (also known as Brightman Pond) is a breached saltwater lagoon in Westerly, Rhode Island, United States, connected to Block Island Sound by the Weekapaug Breachway, which was constructed during the mid-1950s. The lake is separated fr ...

, a source of Rhode Island quahogs (clams) and bay scallops. The first parcel of this property was purchased in 1920 from the Norwich and Westerly Railway by Julia and Harry Trefes. Subsequent purchases by them and their two sons eventually totaled . The property is still owned and operated by the Trefes family. This section of Misquamicut was originally called "Atlantic Beach Casino". It retains a

carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

with antique band organ, kiddie rides,

bumper car Bumper cars or dodgems are the generic names for a type of flat amusement ride consisting of multiple small electrically powered cars which draw power from the floor and/or ceiling, and which are turned on and off remotely by an operator. Bumpe ...

s, game room, and ice cream stand. More recently, mini-golf, go-karts,

batting cage A batting cage (or tunnel) is an enclosed area for baseball or softball players to practice the skill of batting. The optimal material for batting cages is netting, and they are typically rectangular in shape. Chain-link fence is not required but ...

, water slides, gift shop, and more have been added.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Misquamicut has a total area of 1.25 mi² (3.23 km²), of which 1.17 mi² (3.04 km²) is land and 0.075 mi² (0.19 km²), or 6.0%, is water.

Demographics

References

External links

Misquamicut Fire District
{{authority control Census-designated places in Washington County, Rhode Island Westerly, Rhode Island Census-designated places in Rhode Island Populated coastal places in Rhode Island 1661 establishments in Rhode Island