Warren History & Map

A Short history of Warren, RI

Warren is known as the smallest town in the smallest county in the smallest state. Pilgrims from the Plymouth Colony first came to Warren to meet with the Massasoit, Osamequin, in 1621. Settlers followed, and after the Sowams Purchase in 1653, partitioned the land and began to farm it. In 1675 King Philip’s War started in today’s Warren on the east bank of the Kickemuit River.

Initially a part of the town of Swansea, Massachusetts, the town of Warren was set apart and incorporated in 1747, and was annexed to Rhode Island. In the early 18th century shipbuilding, coastal trading, and farming dominated the town’s economy. By 1759 the town became involved in the slave trade, greatly enhancing the town’s wealth.

Approximately 40 slave trading voyages originated in Warren before 1808. With wealth gained in that trade, a number of lavish homes were built. Dozens of Warren men served in the Revolutionary War, and although Warren was raided by British and Hessian troops in 1778, many houses from that period are still standing. The nineteenth century brought whaling, oyster fishing, and textile manufacturing to the town. Warren captains and sailors traversed the world’s oceans, bringing home valuable whale oil, and the local folks continued to build more ships.

Immigrants from England and Ireland came to work in a cotton mill, Warren Manufacturing Company, which was constructed in 1847. Later, more immigrants from Canada, Poland, and Italy worked there and at five other mills. Schools, churches, a library, and town offices were built. Grocery stores, pharmacies, and bars opened, along with many other retail businesses. Small manufacturing firms, including rope making, forging, sail making, and metal working soon needed workers. Local writers and historians published articles, essays, poems and books extolling the town’s past.

Boatbuilding, light manufacturing, and shellfishing continued into the 20th century, manned by locals and new workers from Portugal, but the decline of the textile industry in New England had an impact on Warren. Mills closed, and the buildings were later reused for fitness centers, artists’s studios, and apartments. Harvesting seafood, processing it, and serving it in a variety of local restaurants soon became drivers of the local economy. Today, artists, and galleries exhibiting their work, enhance Warren’s cultural scene, along with concerts and music festivals. Warren’s rich past provides layers and layers of stories that are still evident in the streets of the town today.

This "Warren Historic Sites" was researched and printed by WPS. The map was designed to provide individuals with an easy to follow map highlighting Warren's most significant historic sites in a format allows for an easy, impromptu walking tour around our historic district. The map is available at Warren town hall, George Hail Free Library and various retail and dining establishments throughout the historic district.