The Pier at Rocky Point - Warwick, Rhode Island
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N 41° 41.319 W 071° 21.925
19T E 303143 N 4617912
In the park's 150+ year history, The Pier at Rocky Point in Warwick, Rhode Island has seen several iterations. An historical marker, "The Pier", now stands on the shore just south of its entrance.
Waymark Code: WM17GN7
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 02/18/2023
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In the park's 150+ year history, The Pier at
Rocky Point in Warwick, Rhode Island has seen several iterations. The popular fairground destination about ten miles south from Providence, the state capital, and on the shores of Narragansett Bay was operational from the 1840s to 1995. Opened to the public again since 2014 following property revitalization, it is now a free
state park. An historical marker stands by the current pier's entrance. (Note: There are two markers here; this is the one to the north, with less written information, and closest to the pier.) It reads:
The Pier
Rocky Point was traditionally accessed via Steamship Company ran ships to the park's pier several times a day. The pier, a constant fixture at the park, was not untouched by the ravages of nature. In 1883, a fire demolished the boathouse at the pier. The Hurricanes of 1938 and 1954 (Hurricane Carol) destroyed the pier, but it was rebuilt so eager vacationers and park goers could once again arrive by dinghy, pleasure boat, or even yacht to enjoy all that Rocky Point had to offer.
The pier remained a desirable way to approach Rocky Point, even as land access to the park became available through horse and trolley cars. However, once those transportation methods gave way to cars and buses, it became less of a focal point for park access.
As a future amenity, the state is planning on replacing the remnants of the last pier with a new fishing pier.
FUN FACT: The Bay Queen cruise ship provided transportation to
Rocky Point.
A large, hand-colored vintage photograph fills the left half of the plaque. It shows a clear daytime view of a scene from c. 1900 from a vantage point on the pier and looking west toward the now long-gone carousel, ferris wheel, lookout tower, Shore Dinner Hall, and the Rock Cottage, also known as the Big House. About a dozen men and women mill about on the "T" high above the water at the eastern end of the pier.
And, as a matter of fact, since the sign was put up, a new pier has been built! Now known as the Larry Mouradjian Fishing Pier, this most-recent version, the only true deep-water fishing pier in Narragansett Bay, was dedicated in July 2020. It includes a 260-foot-long wooden walkway with benches, which leads out to a 21-by-111-foot main deck with a shade cupola. Railing heights vary to allow people of all ages and abilities to fish. A built-in cleaning table is available on the north side of the main deck. Five solar panels are mounted to the south side of the pergola's standing seam blue metal roof to power lights at its corners.