East Greenwich Historic District - East Greenwich, RI - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

In East Greenwich is the East Greenwich National Historic District, covering much of East Greenwich and a portion of Warwick.

The application for the historic district was found on preservation.ri.gov and is the primary source in this description.

"The district beginning in East Greenwich at the south-east corner of Kenyon Avenue and Division Street, the boundary runs south to the rear of lot 239, plat 3, then east to Rector Street along the south side of the lots on Division Street. At Rector Street the boundary turns south to include lots 268 and 267, plat 1, and continues south on the west side of the lots on Marion Street. From the south-west corner of lot 265, plat 1, the boundary runs east to lot 259, where it turns west to include all of the lots on the west-side of Peirce Street. The boundary crosses Spring Street to include lot 399, plat 1, at Spring and Liberty Streets, and continues across Liberty Street along the southwest sides of the Peirce Street lots. At Main Street, the boundary turns east, crossing the street and including all of the lots on the south side of London Street, continuing east to the Greenwich Cove at lot 252, plat 3. The boundary then follows the coastline, including the wharves, north to Division Street to Main Street." In Warwick, "From the north-east corner of Main and Division Streets, the boundary runs north to the north-east corner of lot 216, plat 220, where it turns west to include all of the lots on the north side of Division Street from Main Street to Love Lane. At Love Lane it turns north and then west, including lots 1 and 7, plat 218. Dark Entry Brook forms the western boundary. From the point where Division Street crosses Dark Entry Brook, the boundary runs east along Division Street to the starting point at Kenyon Avenue."

This covers structures used for residential, retail, commercial, industrial, and transportation purposes. The application has a full account of the structures that are included. Here are some highlights.

East Greenwich was a port for trade, as well as a place where ships were built, textiles were made in a factory, a place of residence for people involved in trade, and is where an old railroad was built and still used.

Historic buildings are located throughout the district, but many of them are along Main Street, Peirce Street, Division Street, and King Street.

Some structures included:
- Kent County Courthouse (125 Main Street) - separately listed, built in 1804-5, is one of the few remaining examples of Georgian architecture and is now the East Greenwich Town Hall.

Windmill Cottage (144 Division Street) - separately listed, built in 1818, was altered by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for a friend incorporating an old windmill.

Varnum House (57 Peirce Street) - is now a museum, once owned by General James Varnum, who also was in Congress in 1780 and 1786.

Bay Mill (King and Water Streets) - built in 1840, was an early steam powered factory mill.

Kent County Jail (King and Water Streets) - Built in 1795, early jail.

Providence and Stonington Railroad Bridge (King Street) - Built in 1837, the stone arch bridge today carries the Amtrak Northeast Corridor Route.

An hour of walking around will give you a flavor of what is in this historic district. An afternoon might give you enough time to cover most of the district.

Street address: 125 Main Street East Greenwich Town Hall East Greenwich, RI United States of America 02818 County / Borough / Parish: Kent Year listed: 1974 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1750-1799, 1700-1749, 1650-1699 Historic function: Commerce/Trade, Domestic, Industry/Processing/Extraction Current function: Commerce/Trade, Domestic, Industry/Processing/Extraction Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] National Historic Landmark Link: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   04/01/2015 Roscoe45 visited it