![Wakefield Baptist Church](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Wakefield_Baptist_Church.jpg)
Wakefield is a village in 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
South Kingstown, Rhode Island
South Kingstown is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,931 at the 2020 census. South Kingstown is the second largest town in Rhode Island by total geographic area, behind New ...
, United States, and the commercial center of South Kingstown. Together with the village of
Peace Dale, it is treated by the
U.S. Census as a component of the
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 ...
identified as
Wakefield-Peacedale, Rhode Island
Wakefield-Peacedale (listed as "Wakefield-Peace Dale" by the United States Census Bureau) is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of South Kingstown in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States that includes the villages of Peace Dale ...
.
West Kingston, another South Kingstown village, was the traditional county seat of Washington County. Since 1991, the Washington County Courthouse has been in Wakefield. The Sheriff's Office which handles corrections is also in Wakefield.
The Wakefield village center along Main Street (old
Boston Post Road
The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States.
The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. Ro ...
) between Belmont Avenue and Columbia Street was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1996 as Wakefield Historic District, with boundary increases in 2019 and 2022. The district is significant for being an early commercial and industrial center. The district includes 53 properties over an area of .
History
Wakefield was a focus for settlement due to its location on the
Saugatucket River
The Saugatucket River is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 13 km (8 mi). There are three dams along the river's length.
Course
The river begins in a small pond east of Deer Ridge Drive in North Kingstown. ...
and the old
Post Road
A post road is a road designated for the transportation of postal mail. In past centuries, only major towns had a post house and the roads used by post riders or mail coaches to carry mail among them were particularly important ones or, due ...
, which was laid out early in the 18th century. Settlement began in the early 18th century with establishment of a small mill on the Saugatucket River. A
tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...
and
stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
stop were established in 1745 and a
snuff
Snuff may refer to:
Tobacco
* Snuff (tobacco), fine-ground tobacco, sniffed into the nose
** Moist snuff or dipping tobacco
** Creamy snuff, an Indian tobacco paste
Media and entertainment
* Snuff film, a type of film that shows a murder
Literat ...
mill was built around 1765. The textile industry began to become an important source of economic activity in 1807 when a
carding mill was established on the Saugatucket River. By 1822, the village had about 60 residents and consisted of nine houses, a store, the carding mill, a
grist mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
, a
saw mill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ( dimens ...
, and a
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
shop. A
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
church was built in 1830 and an
Episcopal church followed in 1840.
[Historic and Architectural Resources of South Kingstown, Rhode Island: A Preliminary Report]
Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, 1984
The local
textile mill
Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...
continued to operate and expand through the 19th century, but in the mid-century, as nearby Peace Dale grew as a manufacturing center and factories were established in other
water power
Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a wa ...
sites in the area, Wakefield became the commercial center of South Kingstown. It underwent considerable growth in the 1840s, including the development of some major retail stores. A
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
priest was assigned to Wakefield in 1852 and the first Catholic church was built two years later.
Kenyon's Department Store
Kenyon's Department Store is an historic department store building in the village of Wakefield in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island.
The historic Chicago style/ Queen Anne style store was built in 1891 by Charles Chase and Harry Lewis. ...
was founded in 1856. A carriage manufacturing operation was established in 1874, and in 1876 the
Narragansett Pier Railroad
The Narragansett Pier Railroad was a railroad in southern Rhode Island, running from West Kingston to Narragansett Pier. It was built by the Hazard Family of Rhode Island to connect their textile mills in Peace Dale and Wakefield to the New Yo ...
started operation, with a station in Wakefield. It is now a bike trail called the
William C. O'Neill Bike Path. In 1877, the South Kingstown Town Hall was built in the village. A bank and several other major businesses arrived in the 1880s. By 1895, Wakefield had a population of 1,543, and had begun to coalesce with the villages of
Peace Dale and Rocky Brook, forming a roughly contiguous settlement with a total population of 3,285.
[
The Wakefield Mill underwent several ownership changes and expansions in the 20th century. In 1903, it was sold to the Wakefield Woolen Company, which installed new ]loom
A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...
s and carding equipment for producing high-grade wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
en fabrics. It sold again in 1922 and four more times between World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and 1984. Beginning in the 1950s, parts of the mill complex began to be converted to other uses, but as of 1984, much of the complex was still used for textile manufacturing.[
Wakefield's first hospital was started in a house in 1919, and a new South County Hospital building was built in 1925 on a tract that formerly had been the town farm.][
Beginning in the late 1950s, commercial activity in Wakefield migrated away from the central business district to new commercial areas on the periphery of the community. As of 1984, the village was considered the largest shopping area in South County.][
]
Economy
Much of Wakefield's economy is driven by seasonal tourism, as the main central business district of South Kingstown
South Kingstown is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,931 at the 2020 census. South Kingstown is the second largest town in Rhode Island by total geographic area, behind New ...
runs from the Saugutucket River up to Old Tower Hill.
Arts and culture
Buildings in Wakefield listed on the include Wakefield Baptist Church, Nathaniel C. Armstrong House, John H. Armstrong House, Hera Gallery, and Bell Block.
Education
Wakefield is part of the South Kingstown School District. Schools in Wakefield include South Kingstown High School
South Kingstown High School (SKHS), originally known as the Wakefield High School is a public high school located in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. Approximately 931 students attend South Kingstown High School in grades 9–12. South Kingstown Hi ...
, Broad Rock Middle School, Curtis Corner Middle School, Matunuck Elementary School, and Wakefield Elementary School.
Media
The '' Narragansett Times'', a twice-weekly paper serving Narragansett and South Kingstown, is published in Wakefield.
Notable people
* Ron Locke, baseball player
*Bob Rathbun
Robert Courtland Rathbun (born November 25, 1954) is an American sportscaster, motivational speaker, and author. He has been the television play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Hawks basketball games on Bally Sports South since 1996.
He is th ...
, play-by-play
In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...
announcer for the Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...
References
External links
{{authority control
Villages in Washington County, Rhode Island
Villages in Rhode Island
Queen Anne architecture in Rhode Island
Historic districts in Washington County, Rhode Island
South Kingstown, Rhode Island
Providence metropolitan area
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island
National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Rhode Island