Warwick ( or ) is a city in

Kent County, Rhode Island Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 170,363, making it the second-most populous county in Rhode Island. The county was formed in 1750 from the southern third of Provide ...

, 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 south of downtown

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, southwest of

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and northeast of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Warwick was founded by Samuel Gorton in 1642 and has witnessed major events in American history. It was decimated during

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

(1675–1676) and was the site of the Gaspee Affair, the first act of armed resistance against the British, preceding even the

Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was a seminal American protest, political and Mercantilism, mercantile protest on December 16, 1773, during the American Revolution. Initiated by Sons of Liberty activists in Boston in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colo ...

, and a significant prelude to the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. Warwick was also the home of Revolutionary War General

Nathanael Greene Major general (United States), Major General Nathanael Greene (August 7, 1742 – June 19, 1786) was an American military officer and planter who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. He emerge ...

, George Washington's second-in-command, and

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

General George S. Greene, a hero of the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

. Today, it is home to Rhode Island's main airport, T. F. Green Airport, which serves the Providence area and also functions as a reliever for

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...

. Warwick was also home to Rocky Point, which closed in 1995 and is now a state park.

Early history

Warwick was settled by Samuel Gorton in 1642. Narragansett Sachem Miantonomi sold him the Shawhomett Purchase for 144 fathoms of

wampum Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western ...

. This included the towns of

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

and

West Warwick, Rhode Island West Warwick is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,012 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. West Warwick was incorporated in 1913, making it the youngest town in the s ...

. However, Sachems Sacononoco and Pumham claimed that Miantonomi had sold the land without asking for their approval. They took their case to Boston, where they placed their lands under Massachusetts rule. In 1643,

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

sent a militia force to Shawomett to arrest Gorton and his followers. After a tense standoff, all but three of the Gortonists surrendered to the Massachusetts forces. Gorton then sailed back to England and sought a charter from the King. He was greatly assisted in gaining it by

Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

, so Gorton and his fellow settlers changed the name of their colony from Shawumet to Warwick. The ongoing harassment from Massachusetts Bay Colony, however, caused the other three colonies on Narragansett Bay ( Providence Plantations,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, and Newport) to unite with Warwick and get a British royal charter allowing them to form the

Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It became a haven for religious d ...

. In 1772, Warwick was the scene of the first violent act against the British Crown in the ''Gaspee'' Affair. Local patriots boarded the ''Gaspee'', a revenue cutter that enforced the

Stamp Act 1765 The Stamp Act 1765, also known as the Duties in American Colonies Act 1765 (5 Geo. 3. c. 12), was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of Great Britain which imposed a direct tax on the British America, British coloni ...

and

Townshend Acts The Townshend Acts () or Townshend Duties were a series of British acts of Parliament enacted in 1766 and 1767 introducing a series of taxes and regulations to enable administration of the British colonies in America. They are named after Char ...

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. S ...

. It was here that the first blood was spilled in the

when ''Gaspee's'' commanding officer Lt. Dudingston was shot and seriously wounded during the struggle for the ship. The ''Gaspee'' was stripped of all cannons and arms, then burned. During the Revolution, Warwick militiamen participated in the battles of Montreal,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Saratoga,

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

, and Trenton, and they were present for the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781.

Transportation

Major traversing highways include: * I-95

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

Interstate 295 * Rhode Island 37

Route 37 * T. F. Green Airport Connector Road

is the major thoroughfare of Rhode Island, with the first southbound exit in Warwick at Jefferson Boulevard, and ending with the Route 117 interchange, near the Apponaug rotaries. Interstate 295 connects to the main highway at exit 27, providing direct travel to Woonsocket and

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Smaller routes include Route 37 (Lincoln Avenue Freeway) connecting 295 to U.S. Route 1, and the Airport Connector Road. The Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport is the main airport serving Rhode Island, and is located in Warwick. The name was changed from T.F. Green Airport in 2021. T. F. Green Airport is a station on the Providence/Stoughton Commuter Rail Line, providing weekday service to Providence Station and Boston's South Station.

Climate

Geography

Warwick is located at (41.7181, −71.4152). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (28.46%) is water. Warwick's entire eastern edge is waterfront, starting with the Providence River at its northern border with Cranston. Conimicut Point marks the end of the river and the beginning of

, which extends beyond the city's southern limit on its way to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

; two southern Warwick peninsulas, Warwick Neck and Potowomut, enclose the water to form Greenwich Bay. Warwick is bordered by Cranston to the north, West Warwick to the west, and East Greenwich to the south. The city's southernmost neighborhood, Potowomut, is a semi-exclave, reachable by land only by passing through East Greenwich; through Potowomut, Warwick also shares a border with North Kingstown. Because of the North Kingstown border, Warwick borders two Rhode Island counties: Providence County and Washington County. The following

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

s are located in Warwick:

Demographics

Warwick is officially a part of the

Providence metropolitan area The Providence metropolitan area (Providence MSA) is a region extending into eight counties in two states. Its urban area, core is in the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts; its largest city is Providence, Rhode Island. With an estimated po ...

, which has a population of 1,600,852 in the 2010 census.

2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 82,823 people, 36,555 households, and 21,150 families in Warwick. The population density was . There were 38,625 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 85.69% (70,967)

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

European American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

(84.28%

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

), 2.11% (1,751)

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

, 0.3% (252) Native American or

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

, 3.11% (2,575) Asian, 0.02% (13)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

, 2.58% (2,138) from other races, and 6.19% (5,127) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race was 6.06% (5,019) of the population. Of the 36,555 households, 22.5% had children under the age of 18; 42.6% were married couples living together; 30.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 33.8% of households consisted of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.3 and the average family size was 2.9. The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 25.3% of the population. 16.9% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.0 years. For every 100 females, the population had 108.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 112.4 males. The 2016-2020 5-year

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimates show that the median household income was $73,285 (with a margin of error of +/- $2,534) and the median family income was $90,027 (+/- $4,102). Males had a median income of $51,057 (+/- $1,899) versus $39,959 (+/- $1,627) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $44,491 (+/- $1,873). Approximately, 3.8% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 7.0% of those under the age of 18 and 9.2% of those ages 65 or over.

Government

Warwick is split into three districts in the

Rhode Island Senate The Rhode Island Senate is the upper house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the lower house being the Rhode Island House of Representatives. It is composed of 38 Senators, each of w ...

which are currently held by Democrats Michael McCaffrey (District 29), Jeanine Calkin (District 30), and Kendra Anderson (District 31). The town is a part of

Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district located in the southern and western part of the U.S. state, U.S State of Rhode Island.The district is currently represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Seth ...

, which is currently represented by Democrat Seth Magaziner. It is traditionally Democratic in presidential elections; no Republican has carried it in over three decades.

Economy

It is considered part of the . Before its dissolution, Eckerd Corporation had its headquarters in Warwick. The ten largest employers in Warwick are Kent Memorial Hospital, Citizens Bank- Warwick Call Center, UPS, MetLife, City of Warwick, Leviton Manufacturing, Wal-Mart, Community College of Rhode Island, J.C. Penney, Kenney Manufacturing, and Inskip Automall.

Notable people

* Bill Almon, MLB player who attended Warwick Veterans Memorial High School * Rocco Baldelli, MLB player and Minnesota Twins manager who attended Bishop Hendricken High School * John Belluso,

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

* Brenda Bennett, musician and former member of Vanity 6, born in Warwick * Clarence Otis Bigelow, pharmacist and banker * John Brown, American merchant and participant in the Gaspee Affair;

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

is named for him * Vanessa Carlton, musician * Marnee Carpenter, actress * Liam Coen, American football coach, head coach of the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

* Kate Fagan, sports journalist * Thomas Holden, American general and Rhode Island Supreme Court justice * John Hynes, Head coach of the NHL Nashville Predators, born in Warwick * Michaela McManus, actor, best known for roles on '' One Tree Hill'' and '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', attended Toll Gate High School * Martha McSally, Senator from

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

(2019–2020), born and raised in Warwick * Walt Mossberg, personal technology journalist and editor, born and raised in Warwick who attended Pilgrim High School * Nolan North, voice actor who attended Bishop Hendricken High School * Nicholas O'Neill (1985–2003), writer, actor, and musician best known as the youngest victim of The Station nightclub fire. * David Petrarca, notable director of TV, film and theatre including ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

''. * Dave Shalansky, actor, attended Toll Gate High School * Joe Shekarchi, Rhode Island Speaker of the House * Kyle Smith, Vice president of player personnel of the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

* Chris Terreri, NHL goalie attended Pilgrim High School * Dan Wheeler, MLB pitcher attended Pilgrim High School * Fred Whittingham, NFL player and coach, attended Warwick Veterans Memorial High School * James Woods, actor, attended Pilgrim High School in 1965

Education

Community_College_of_Rhode_Island_Knight_Campus-side

Local public schools are operated by Warwick Public Schools. Toll Gate High School and Pilgrim High School are the two comprehensive public high schools located in Warwick. The high schools are set for renovations in March 2025, a year after the city council issued a $350 million bond to rebuild them. The two public middle schools are Winman Junior High School and Warwick Veterans Junior High School. Aldrich Junior High School and Gorton Junior High School closed in 2016 as part of the school consolidation project. The school department is headed by superintendent Lynn Dambruch. Bishop Hendricken High School is an all-male college preparatory Catholic high school located in Warwick. Rocky Hill School is a Pre-K–12 co-ed

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

country day school located on Warwick's isolated Potowomut peninsula. The school lists an East Greenwich address, despite being geographically included as part of the city of Warwick. The Community College of Rhode Island Knight Campus is also located in Warwick on the former Knight Estate.

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Rhode Island Cities in Kent County, Rhode Island Populated places established in 1642 Providence metropolitan area Populated coastal places in Rhode Island 1642 establishments in Rhode Island