Westerly, Rhode Island Westerly, Rhode Island Dixon House Square in downtown Westerly Dixon House Square in downtown Westerly Location of Westerly in Washington County, Rhode Island Location of Westerly in Washington County, Rhode Island Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County, Rhode Island, United States established in 1669 by John Babcock.
On the border of Westerly flows the Pawcatuck River, once famous for its own species of Westerly salmon, three of which are on the town's crest.
It also serves as the boundary between Westerly and Pawcatuck, Connecticut.
Along the coast of Westerly lie salt ponds which serve as shallow reeflike pools whose outer walls form the long, white beaches for which the town became famous.
A type of granite known as Westerly granite has long been quarried here.
Westerly granite is ideal for statuary and has been used in various government buildings of a several states along the easterly seaboard.
The Westerly region was known for its granite and stone-cutting industry. Westerly becomes a large tourist attraction amid the summer months, amid which the populace nearly doubles. From east to west, well-known beaches include Weekapaug Beach, Westerly Town Beach, Misquamicut State Beach, East Beach, and Watch Hill Beach.
Westerly's major industries today are textiles and tourism, but the town was historically famous for its granite, quarried in at least two locations in Westerly, in Bradford, and in Potter Hill.
Westerly was probably titled for the settlement's locale respective to Rhode Island's geography, being the westernmost town in the state.
The English village was the home of one of Westerly's beginning fathers Elder John Crandall (ca.
Elder John settled in Westerly in 1661, and the early history of Westerly contains many references to him and his sons.
The four street car lines of the Groton and Stonington Street Railway, Norwich and Westerly Railway, Pawtucket Valley Street Railway, and the Ashaway and Westerly Railway converged in Westerly and shared track between the barns station and Dixon House Square downtown.
Joshua Babcock was born in Westerly, as was Chief Justice and Governor of Rhode Island Samuel Ward.
Due to its location, Westerly is vulnerable to tropical storms and hurricanes.
In 2012, Superstorm Sandy left beaches along the Westerly shoreline devastated and nearly unrecognizable, including Misquamicut.
Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee stated that Misquamicut was "our New Jersey," referring to the amount of damage that was received in the state of New Jersey. According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, the town has a total region of 74.8 square miles (193.8 km ), of which, 30.1 square miles (77.9 km ) of it is territory and 44.7 square miles (115.8 km ) of it (59.78%) is water.
Westerly sits up on a glacial moraine, a series of small hills of debris left behind by receding glaciers in the last Ice Age.
Westerly consists of a number of small villages.
Downtown Westerly on the Pawcatuck River is the municipal seat of the area, with the old town postal service, library, YMCA, barns station, former police command posts (which is now positioned on Airport Road), granite buildings, and Wilcox Park.
Westerly Town Beach on Atlantic Ave.
Other villages include Avondale (with antique colonial-style and Queen Anne-style homes), Bradford (with its own postal service and postal code), Dunn's Corners, Mastuxet, Misquamicut (a beachfront improve with small amounts of eveninglife and a several hotels), Potter Hill (where the Town Forest is located), Shelter Harbor, Watch Hill (with its beaches and summer cottages), Weekapaug, White Rock, and Winnapaug (with its enhance golf courses).
The town holds a number of annual affairs such as the Pawcatuck River Duck Race in April, Virtu Art Festival in May, Shakespeare in the Park and The Summer Pops (hosted by the Chorus of Westerly) in June, and Riverglow in July.
In recent years, the Westerly-Pawcatuck Chamber of Commerce's affairs have thriving many visitors, including Big Screen Movies on the Beach through July and August, Westerly's Columbus Day Parade in October, and a several beachfront affairs.
A number of figures from the history of sports were inhabitants of Westerly.
Former primary league baseball manager (Philadelphia) Eddie Sawyer is from Westerly, as is former Washington Senators pitcher Dave Stenhouse.
Louis Cardinals' famous "Gashouse Gang," retired to and lived the remainder of his life in Westerly, and Elisson "Tarzan" Brown is from the Westerly area, one of the finest marathon runners in the world.
For demographic knowledge on the urbanized region of Westerly, see Westerly (CDP), Rhode Island.
Amtrak station in Westerly.
Washington Trust Bancorp Inc., a publicly interchanged county-wide bank with operations in Rhode Island and Connecticut, is headquartered in Westerly.
The Westerly State Airport offers service by one commercial airline.
Amtrak offers service between Washington, DC and Boston, stopping at the Westerly station near downtown.
Route 78 forms a bypass around Westerly downtown and ends near Westerly Airport, with three interchanges in Rhode Island; the other endpoint is in Stonington, Connecticut.
Interstate 95 is approximately 5 miles away and can be reached by Connecticut Route 2 and by Rhode Island Route 3.
Westerly Town Beach Westerly (Amtrak station) Westerly State Airport Bradford Village Historic District, in Hopkinton and Westerly Westerly Downtown Historic District Wikimedia Commons has media related to Westerly, Rhode Island.
Municipalities and communities of Washington County, Rhode Island, United States
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Italian-American culture in Rhode Island - Westerly, Rhode Island - Towns in Rhode Island - Towns in Washington County, Rhode Island - Populated coastal places in Rhode Island - Providence urbane region - 1669 establishments in Rhode Island
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