Westerly

History

It is believed that Aboriginal people arrived in Rhode Island 5,000 years ago, based on sites located in what is now Washington County. Westerly would be known as Misquamicut, home to the Narragansett people up until 1637, when the English built an outpost, forcing the Narragansett people out of the region by 1661, allowing for the permanent settlement on the coast line. The English village was the home of Elder John Crandall (–1676), one of Westerly's founding fathers. Crandall settled in Westerly in 1661, and the early history of Westerly contains many references to him and his sons. The Town of Westerly was founded on May 13, 1669, on the eastern shore of Pawcatuck River. There was no defined border between Connecticut and Rhode Island until 1720. On May 18, 1669, the newly founded Town of Westerly in the southwest portion of the colony would host its first official town meeting with four elected officers to manage the town, alongside a town clerk. In 1738, the Town of Charlestown was partitioned off from Westerly, encompassing modern day land of both Charlestown and Richmond, while Hopkinton would remain a part of the Town of Westerly until being partitioned off 19 years later as its own town. Bradford, a village built in 1732, following the partition of Hopkinton, would remain shared between both Hopkinton and Westerly with the Bradford Village Historic District. Slavery had existed in the small town of Westerly by the wealthy. Physician, American Revolution general, and Rhode Island Supreme Court justice Dr. Joshua Babcock was born in Westerly. Rhode Island Governor and Chief Justice Samuel Ward also lived here for many years. During the American Revolution, Westerly did not play any major battles compared to the nearby Battle of Newport, which happened in…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (59.78%) is water, with Westerly being the 14th biggest town in the State of Rhode Island. The Bureau includes Westerly in the RI-MA Providence metropolitan area defined at the county level, while formerly in the CT-RI Norwich-New London NECTA defined at the municipal level until NECTA was discontinued in 2023. Westerly sits atop a glacial moraine, a series of small hills of debris left behind by receding glaciers in the last Ice Age. A pristine sample of the moraine encompasses a preserve owned in perpetuity by the Westerly Land Trust. Within the trust land are the rare kettle formations that extend out under the sea to Block Island. Westerly has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), defined as having a mean monthly temperature between in the coldest month and at least in the warmest month. Annually, Westerly has a long warm/hot season from April to mid-November, and a cool/cold season from late November through March. Westerly averages 2300 hours of sunshine annually (higher than the USA average), and receives about of precipitation annually. In the cold season (December through March), Westerly sees cool weather with occasional cold snaps and wintry weather, which is often brief. Snowcover is normally brief due to the coastal location and marine controlled climate. Westerly consists of a number of small villages. Downtown Westerly on the Pawcatuck River is the municipal seat of the area, with the old town post office, library, YMCA, railroad station, former police headquarters (the current headquarters is located on Airport Road), granite buildings, and Wilcox Park. Other villages include Avondale, with antique colonial-style and Queen Anne-style homes;…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  18,785
• American herring gull, Smithsonian Gull

  Larus smithsonianus Coues, 1862 · Aves
  18,359
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  16,256
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  16,149
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  15,516
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  14,729
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  14,588
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,216

Largest nearby schools

• Chariho High School
  High · Wood River Junction · 1,043 students · 13.5:1 ratio
• Chariho Regional Middle School
  Middle · Wood River Junction · 845 students · 12.1:1 ratio
• Westerly High School
  High · Westerly · 699 students · 9.7:1 ratio
• Westerly Middle School
  Middle · Westerly · 697 students · 11.1:1 ratio
• Dunn's Corners School
  Elementary · Westerly · 271 students · 11.8:1 ratio
• Springbrook Elementary School
  Elementary · Westerly · 260 students · 11.3:1 ratio
• State Street School
  Elementary · Westerly · 255 students · 11.6:1 ratio
• Charlestown Elementary School
  Elementary · Charlestown · 237 students · 12.5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2020-11-08
  10 km S of Bliss Corner, Massachusetts
• M 2.6 — 2015-01-13
  2 km E of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 3.3 — 2015-01-12
  0 km NE of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 2.66 — 2014-08-14
  6 km SW of Deep River Center, Connecticut
• M 2.5 — 2002-06-07
  3 km NNW of Hopedale, Massachusetts