Kent County Courthouse | |
Location | 127 Main St., East Greenwich, Rhode Island |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°39′39″N71°27′2″W / 41.66083°N 71.45056°W |
Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
Built | 1803 |
Architect | Oliver Wickes, William R. Walker & Son |
Architectural style | Federal |
Part of | East Greenwich Historic District (ID74000036) |
NRHP reference No. | 70000013 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | April 28, 1970 |
Designated CP | June 13, 1974 |
The Kent County Courthouse, now the East Greenwich Town Hall, is a historic court building at 127 Main Street in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.
Kent County was set off from Providence County in 1750. The same year, a courthouse was constructed in East Greenwich, then the largest town in the new county. By 1799 the courthouse was too small, and the state legislature appointed a committee for the construction of a new building. The old building was sold and dismantled, and a new courthouse built on the site in 1804–05. It was designed and built by Revolutionary war veteran and contractor Oliver Wickes. [2]
Rhode Island had an unusual "rotating legislature" from 1759 to 1901. In order to keep state government local, the legislature occupied each county seat on a rotating schedule. In 1854, only the buildings in Providence and Newport were used. In 1901, when the new Rhode Island State House was first occupied, Providence became the state capitol, and the buildings in Bristol, South Kingstown, and East Greenwich were turned over to the counties. [2]
By the early twentieth century, the courthouse was in need of modernization. In 1908 the Providence architectural firm of William R. Walker & Son was hired to renovate the structure. However, as soon as work had begun, it was revealed that the building's structural integrity had been compromised over the years. The courthouse was gutted and the interior was completely rebuilt in the Colonial Revival manner. The work was completed in 1909. [2]
In 1974, a new courthouse was built in Warwick. The building in East Greenwich was repurposed as the East Greenwich Town Hall, replacing the old shingle-style town hall, formerly a block north on Main Street. [2] The probate court continues to meet in the building, making it the oldest active courthouse in the state. [3]
East Greenwich is a town and the county seat of Kent County, Rhode Island. The population was 14,312 at the 2020 census. East Greenwich is the wealthiest municipality within the state of Rhode Island. It is part of the Providence metropolitan statistical area and the Greater Boston combined statistical area.
West Warwick is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,012 at the 2020 census.
Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States, as well as the county seat. The population of Bristol was 22,493 at the 2020 census. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. Major industries include boat building and related marine industries, manufacturing, and tourism. The Bristol Warren Regional School District manages the unified school system for Bristol and the neighboring town of Warren. Prominent communities include Portuguese-Americans, mostly Azoreans, and Italian-Americans.
The Blackstone Canal was a manmade waterway, linking Worcester, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island, and Narragansett Bay, through the Blackstone Valley, via a series of locks and canals in the early 19th century. Construction started in 1825, and the canal opened three years later. After the opening of the Boston and Providence Railroad (1835), the canal struggled for business. Its transportation role was taken over by the Providence and Worcester Railroad, which completed a parallel line in 1847. The canal shut down in 1848. Several segments of the canal are preserved, and the canal alignment and remains are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Russell Warren (1783–1860) was an American architect, best known for his work in the Greek Revival style. He practiced in Bristol and Providence.
The Old Colony House, also known as Old State House or Newport Colony House, is located at the east end of Washington Square in the city of Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It is a brick Georgian-style building completed in 1741, and was the meeting place for the colonial legislature. From independence in 1776 to the early 20th century, the state legislature alternated its sessions between here and the Rhode Island State House in Providence.
The Newport Historic District is a historic district that covers 250 acres in the center of Newport in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It was designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1968 due to its extensive and well-preserved assortment of intact colonial buildings dating from the early and mid-18th century. Six of those buildings are themselves NHLs in their own right, including the city's oldest house and the former meeting place of the colonial and state legislatures. Newer and modern buildings coexist with the historic structures.
The Old State House on College Hill in Providence, Rhode Island, also known as Providence Sixth District Court House,Providence Colony House, Providence County House, and Rhode Island State House is located on 150 Benefit Street, with the front facade facing North Main Street. It is a brick Georgian-style building largely completed in 1762. It was used as the meeting place for the colonial and state legislatures for 149 years.
The Clement Weaver–Daniel Howland House is a historic stone-ender timber frame house built in 1679. This rare example of primitive 17th-century architecture is located at 125 Howland Road in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. It is the oldest documented dwelling house in Kent County and the second oldest home in Rhode Island.
See also Daggett House, Slater Park, Pawtucket RI, built about the same time, by Nathaniel's father John.
East Greenwich Historic District is a historic district encompassing the historic commercial and civic heart of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, United States. The district bounded on the east by Greenwich Cove, an inlet on Narrangansett Bay, on the south by London and Spring Streets, on the west roughly by Park Street, and on the north by Division Street. The district extends westward on Division Street as far Dark Entry Brook, and the district properties on its north side now lie in the city of Warwick. East Greenwich was settled in 1677 with its town center growing in the district, with a rural farm landscape to the west. The area's road network had begun to take shape by the mid-18th century, and the town center was industrialized in the 19th century.
The General James Mitchell Varnum House is an historic house at 57 Peirce Street in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. The 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame house was built in 1773 for James Mitchell Varnum, who later served as a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. It is five bays wide, with two interior brick chimneys. Its main entry is sheltered by a portico supported by fluted Ionic columns and pilasters. A 19th-century addition extends from the rear of the main block. Notable later residents of the house include George A. Brayton, who served as Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. The house was purchased in 1939 by the Varnum Continentals, and has since served as a museum.
The Bristol County Courthouse is an historic courthouse on High Street in Bristol, Rhode Island, USA built in 1816. It was originally one of five locations in Rhode Island which hosted the state legislature on a rotating basis, and served as the county courthouse through the 1980s. Currently the building is used for educational and community programs, meetings, and events.
The Tavern Hall Preservation Society is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation and upkeep of the Elisha Reynolds House (1738) in Kingston, Rhode Island. The society was founded as the Tavern Hall Club in 1911 to foster understanding and cooperation between the people of the Village of Kingston and the nearby Rhode Island State College community.
Alfred Stone was an American Architect. He was a founding partner of the Providence, Rhode Island, firm of Stone, Carpenter & Willson. Mr. Stone was best known for designing many prominent Rhode Island buildings, including the Providence Public Library, Union Station, buildings at Brown University and the University of Rhode Island, and many private homes.
William R. Walker & Son was an American architectural firm in Providence, Rhode Island, active during the years 1881 to 1936. It included partners William Russell Walker (1830–1905), William Howard Walker (1856–1922) and later William Russell Walker II (1884–1936).
Clement Weaver, also known as Clement Weaver Jr. and Sergeant Clement Weaver, was a member of the House of Deputies of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in 1678, one of the founders of East Greenwich, and the immigrant ancestor of thousands of Weaver descendants in the United States. Clement Weaver and his ancestry and descendants are the subject of a 740-page volume, History and Genealogy of a Branch of the Weaver Family, published in 1928.
Jackson, Robertson & Adams was an architectural firm out of Providence, Rhode Island. Established in 1912, it was originally made up of architects F. Ellis Jackson (1879–1950), Wayland T. Robertson (1873–1935), and J. Howard Adams (1876–1924).
Howard Hoppin was an American architect from Providence, Rhode Island.
James C. Bucklin (1801-1890) was an American architect working in Providence, Rhode Island.