Rhode Island Towns With the Best Historic Districts
Rhode Island may be the smallest state, yet it holds many towns where history still feels active. Its historic districts are not hidden away or treated like exhibits. They blend into everyday streets, open greens, and old mills that have taken on new roles. These places show how the past still belongs to the present. Here are ten towns that bring that to life.
Bristol
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Bristol’s historic district includes over 600 buildings and spans streets that have been in use since the late 1600s. It’s home to America’s oldest continuous Fourth of July celebration and sits right along the harbor. The Herreshoff Marine Museum is a standout, especially if you’re into maritime history.
Wickford Village
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This North Kingstown district still follows its 17th-century street plan. Colonial homes open toward a small harbor, and Main Street carries a steady mix of antique shops and simple clapboard buildings. Preservation grew naturally here because residents kept caring for what they inherited. The result is a place where you can pick up a coffee and feel the past sitting right beside you.
Jamestown
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Jamestown has a way of making its history feel close. The 1787 windmill rises over the Windmill Hill Historic District, and visitors can step inside to see its mechanics up close. The landscape around it covers more than 700 acres and includes Watson Farm, a working property that has followed the same rhythms since 1789.
Newport
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Along Ocean Drive, you’ll spot summer mansions from the Gilded Age, including one that hosted JFK’s wedding reception. However, colonial homes and seaport buildings comprise the core of the area. The Eisenhower House still holds events, and the harbor’s commercial history is hard to miss when you’re walking the shoreline.
Narragansett
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Narragansett has seven distinct historic districts, but the Towers receive the most attention. They’re the remains of a once-grand casino that burned down in 1900, and now they serve as an event venue with serious history behind it. Victorian cottages round out the town’s throwback vibe.
Lincoln
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The Hearthside House Museum was built in 1810 as part of a failed romantic gesture but turned into one of the state’s best-preserved properties. You can also visit an old blacksmith shop relocated and rebuilt nearby. Lincoln sits in the Blackstone River Valley, a National Heritage Corridor tied to America’s industrial roots.
Little Compton
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Little Compton’s central commons is one of only two remaining in Rhode Island. The United Congregational Church stands at its heart, a Gothic landmark overlooking the wide green. Around it, Greek Revival and Victorian buildings form a simple, steady mix, and the overall layout has stayed much the same over the years.
Westerly
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The Watch Hill Lighthouse you see today dates to 1856, though the original lighthouse station began operating in 1807. A ride on the Watch Hill Carousel is basically a rite of passage, since it’s the oldest continuously operating carousel in the country.
Pawtucket
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The historic district here includes brick textile mills and civic buildings that reflect Rhode Island’s role in the Industrial Revolution. It’s not a replica of the past. These buildings now host community projects, artists, and entrepreneurs, which keep the district useful without sanding down its grit.
East Greenwich
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East Greenwich holds on to its colonial grid and doesn’t seem in a rush to change it. Walk down Main Street, and you’ll pass structures built before America was established. The town played a role in early governance, and many buildings still show plaques noting what used to happen inside.