WATCH HILL - HISTORY

Watch Hill Historic Village dates back to the 19th Century as the summer retreat for many of the rich and famous ................  For information and reservations please call us at 401-348-6300

"The Watch Hill Inn was built in 1864 and is the oldest existing original structure in the Village"

Photo taken from Yacht Club in 1987 before the Watch Hill Inn 2006 total renovation.

WATCH HILL, RI

Located midway between New York City and Boston, Watch Hill is nestled in Rhode Island's southwestern tip on the Atlantic Ocean in the Township of Westerly, Rhode Island, just across the Connecticut border.

It is a perfect location from which to experience a whole range of excursions and activities along the eastern Atlantic coastline. Such as day trips Mystic Seaport and Stonington Village in Connecticut; Newport and Providence Rhode Island; and short ventures to the wonders of Foxwood's and Mohegan Sun Casinos.

In the 1600's, the "Niantics", a Narragansett Indian Tribe, lived on this beautiful piece of land. The colonists used it as a lookout point during the French and Revolutionary wars. As a result, this lookout post was named Watch Hill. In the 19th century, the Federal Government purchased the land for $500,000.  
  
In 1806, the famous and historic Watch Hill Light House was built. About 90 years later, Jonathan Nash, the village's first lighthouse keeper, started to rent rooms in his house, and so the first hotel was born. With the extension of the railroad in the late 1830's from Boston to neighboring Stonington, developers realized that the area with its natural beauty could be a prime destination resort. 

By the turn of the 20th century, there were seven sumptuous hotels on the water's edge. Also, at this time the first "summer cottages" were built by a syndicate of Cincinnati industrialists. By 1920, most of the Watch Hill cottages that stand today had been constructed by people from such places as Philadelphia and St. Louis.  The seclusion of the resort attracted the rich and famous: Isadora Duncan, Clark Gable, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Mary Pickford, Andrew Mellon and Henry Ford.
 
In 1938 the power of mother nature devastated Watch Hill with a hurricane so destructive it destroyed all but two original hotels, the "Watch Hill Inn" (formerly "the Narraganset House" built circa 1845) and the "Ocean House" (built circa 1865).  However, over the next 75 years the beauty of Watch Hill remained a popular drawing card, entertaining such visitors as Mary Tyler Moore, Phyllis Diller, Sergio Franchi,  Dana Valery, John McEnroe, David Niven and even such Newport notables as John F. Kennedy and Claus Von Bulow. 
 

Watch Hill is known for its beautiful beaches, magnificent homes and their history, surfing, fishing, sailing, bird-watching, and majestic sunsets. Everything is accessible, including tennis, golf, sail boating and viewing beautiful New England homes. Watch Hill is tranquil, secure and easily accessible by car, boat, AMTRAK rail, and air at the Westerly Airport all within 15 minutes.

Watch Hill is a visual paradise  - a town full of history, shops, and glorious Victorian architecture. If you're in the mood for shopping, Watch Hill offers some fifty quality shops filled with all sorts of wares, from antiques to art. Historic Bay Street is the sort of street where you can spend an enjoyable afternoon just browsing. Stop to admire the Ninigret Statue - a seventeenth-century Chief of Rhode Island's Niantic Indians - or to buy a cone of homemade ice cream at our local St. Claire's near the Watch Hill Carousel another historic landmark.

Best of all, you can reach out and touch many of the classic sailboats and yachts that sit in the harbor surrounding the Watch Hill Yacht Club. 

 Views of nearby Block Island on a clear day are breathtaking. The beautiful sunsets often seen off Watch Hill can only be called spectacular. Many visitors come back every year in hopes of catching another one. Watch Hill, RI rarely disappoints!  

Of course nearby there are numerous white beaches with just the right amount of surf. Salt water anglers recognize Watch Hill as one of the finest fishing spots in New England. Even children will be happy, as Watch Hill is home to the famous flying-horse carousel, believed to be the oldest in the country. The Watch Hill Inn, built in 1845 and completely renovated in 2006 echoes the town's flavor in both sophistication, character and charm.
 

 Come experience the pleasure that is Watch Hill, Rhode Island

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Typical Bay Street Sunset