Washington County, known locally as South County, is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the U.S. state of

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,839. Rhode Island counties have no governmental functions other than as court administrative boundaries, which are part of the state government.

History

The area today known as Washington County was part of the ancestral lands of the Narragansett Indian Tribe. During the second half of the 17th Century, about a dozen English colonists from Newport and Massachusetts colonies moved to the area to establish farms; the larger of these were known as "Narragansett Planters." By the mid-18th century, there were 25 to 30 large plantations in the county, and their owners became very wealthy. The labor for these farms came from enslaved people; it is estimated that about 15% and 25% of Washington County’s population was enslaved. Washington County was created as Kings County in 1729 within 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 ...

. It was renamed Washington County on October 29, 1781, in honor of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. At the earliest stage of colonial settlement, the area was called "The Narragansett Country", named after the Naragansett tribe and its tributary tribe the Niantics, both of whom lived in the area. Early land purchases in the Narragansett Country were effected by settlers after the establishment of Indian trading posts at Fort Neck in Charlestown, and at Smith's Castle in

Wickford Wickford is a town and civil parish in the south of the English county (England), county of Essex, with a population of 33,486. Located approximately 30 miles (50 km) east of London, it is within the Borough of Basildon along with the orig ...

. A series of conflicts involving the Manisseans on Block Island gave that island to the

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 ...

for a number of years, before being transferred to the Rhode Island Colony under Newport County, and then finally to Washington County in 1959. The borders of the Narragansett country were disputed for nearly 100 years among the colonies of Rhode Island,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, 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 ...

. The Narragansetts had pledged their fealty to King Charles, and the area was known as "The King's Province" and was placed under the authority of Rhode Island "until the King's pleasure was further known". In 1664, a royal commission under Charles II stepped in to adjudicate these conflicting claims. The commission extinguished the claims of Massachusetts, and Rhode Island was granted jurisdiction until the commission finished processing Connecticut's appeals, which were not ended until 1726. Settlements of King's Province were named to reflect the

English Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

, in honor of King Charles II. Towns reflecting this history include the two Kingstowns and Charlestown, as well as the villages of Kingston and West Kingston. Washington County is also known in Rhode Island as "South County", though some definitions of South County include outside towns, such as East Greenwich in neighboring Kent County, and exclude towns within Washington County, such as New Shoreham.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (41%) is water. It is the largest county in Rhode Island by total area. The county's

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

ranges from flat along the shoreline to gently rolling hills farther inland. The highest point is a large area approximately above sea level in the Exeter neighborhood of Black Plain; the lowest point is sea level along the coast. The northern boundary west of Davisville is approximately 41.60°N. The western boundary north of Westerly is approximately 71.79°W.

National protected areas

* Block Island National Wildlife Refuge * John H. Chafee National Wildlife Refuge * Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge * Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 126,979 people, 49,177 households, and 32,297 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 62,206 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.8% white, 1.6% Asian, 1.2% black or African American, 0.9% American Indian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.4% of the population. The largest ancestry groups were: * 27.8% Irish * 21.4% Italian * 19.9% English * 11.4% French * 10.8% German * 4.9% Portuguese * 4.8% Polish * 4.3% French Canadian * 3.5% Scottish * 2.9% Swedish * 2.7% American * 2.5% Scotch-Irish * 1.4% Russian Of the 49,177 households, 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.3% were non-families, and 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 42.3 years. The median income for a household in the county was $70,285 and the median income for a family was $87,999. Males had a median income of $59,598 versus $44,851 for females. The per capita income for the county was $34,737. About 3.4% of families and 7.4% 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 6.3% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Towns

* Charlestown *

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

* Hopkinton * Narragansett * New Shoreham * North Kingstown * Richmond * South Kingstown (traditional county seat) * Westerly

Census-designated places

* Ashaway *

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

* Carolina * Charlestown * Hope Valley * Hopkinton * Kingston * Misquamicut * Narragansett Pier * Quonochontaug * Wakefield-Peacedale * Watch Hill * Weekapaug * Westerly *

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

Other villages

* Alton * Arcadia * Ashaway * Barberville * Bethel * Burdickville * Canonchet * Centerville * Davisville * Galilee * Hamilton * Hopkinton City *

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

* Kenyon * Lafayette * Locustville * Matunuck *

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

* Peace Dale * Point Judith * Rockville * Saunderstown * Shannock * Shelter Harbor * Slocum * Usquepaug * Wakefield * West Kingston * White Rock *

* Wood River Junction * Woodville