Warwick was founded by Samuel Gorton and eleven of his followers when the men purchased 107 square miles of land from Miantonomi, chief sachem of the Narragansett Indian tribe. Gorton had arrived from London in 1636.
Name: Warwick’s name came from that of the second earl of Warwick in England, Robert Rich. When Samuel Gorton wanted the Massachusetts Bay Colony to stop its encroachments against him and his followers, Gorton traveled to England to plead his case to Rich, who had been named ‘Governor in Chief and Lord High Admiral of the English Plantations in America.’ Rich ruled in Gorton’s favor, and in return, Gorton renamed the town Warwick.
Date of Incorporation: 1931
Population: 85,814
Total Land Area: 35 sq. miles
Coastline: 39 miles
Golf Courses: 5
Parks & Playgrounds: 50+
State Park: Goddard Memorial State Park
Airports: 1 (T.F. Green Airport PVD)
Hotels & Motels: 15
Hospitals: 1 (Kent Hospital)
Libraries: 4
Museums: 3
Fire Stations: 8
Police Stations: 1
Highest Point: Spencer Hill, 350 ft. above median sea level
Beaches: 8 (3 salt-water, 5 fresh-water)
Marinas and Yacht Clubs: 15
Famous Warwick Citizens:
Nelson Aldrich, former U.S. Senator
Bill Almon, Major League baseball player
John H. Chafee, former U.S. Senator
George Champlin, Philanthropist
Sara DeCosta, Olympic women’s ice hockey goalie
Theodore Francis Greene, former U.S. Senator
George Sears Greene, Civil War General
Nathaniel Greene, Revolutionary War General
Maxwell Mays, Painter
Dr. Charles Round, Jr. Amateur golf champion
Chris Terreri, NHL hockey player
James Woods, Actor
