Rhode Island Town Resources
This entry was originally written by Alice Eichholz, Ph.D., CG in Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
No other state has the emphasis on the town that Rhode Island enjoys. Town resources are extensive, and what follows is only a brief summary. In Rhode Island, the 'town records' are usually found in the town council book or the town meeting records. Brigham's inventory (see Rhode Island Court Records), Fiske's article (see Background Sources for Rhode Island), and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Historical Records Survey for the state all contain excellent summaries of what records are available for each town. The chart that follows draws on that material. The first column lists town (or city) and address. All correspondence concerning deeds and probates should be directed to the town or city clerk at that address. Links to each town's website can be found on the Rhode Island Historical Society webpage. Since so much of the early material is already in print, it is wise to consult those sources first. The second column lists the date formed and the parent town/s. There are no parent counties, as such, in Rhode Island. The 'Date Formed' also indicates the year one can expect to find the first recorded vital records in that town. Fiske's article indicates which volume of Arnold (see Rhode Island Vital Records) corresponds to that town's vital records. The last column indicates the beginning dates that land and probate records can be found and where the court records for that town can be located.
Some early records for the four original towns, Portsmouth, Providence, Newport, and Warwick are in print. See also Marcia D. Melnyk, Genealogist's Handbook for New England Research. 4th ed. Boston: New England Historic and Genealogical Society, 1999.
Town | Address | Date Formed | Parent Town/s | Land | Probate | Court | ||||
Barrington | 283 County Rd., Barrington 02806 | 1770 | Barrington, Massachusetts | 1770 | 1770 | Bristol | ||||
Originally created in 1717 as Barrington, Massachusetts, it was ceded to Rhode Island in 1747 as part of the town of Warren. Barrington, Rhode Island, a new town, was set off from Warren in 1770. Barrington, Massachusetts records between 1717 and 1747 are in Bristol County; 1747'70 in the Warren town clerk's office. This office has the meeting records for the town since 1718. | ||||||||||
Bristol | 10 Court St., Bristol 02809 | 1747 | Bristol, Massachusetts | 1747 | 1747 | Bristol | ||||
Part of Plymouth Colony, 1681'86, then Bristol Co. Mass. Ceded to Rhode Island, 1747. See Taunton, Massachusetts, for earlier records. | ||||||||||
Burrillville | 105 Harrisville Main St., Harrisville 02830 | 1806 | Glocester | 1806 | 1806 | Providence | ||||
Central Falls | 580 Broad St., Central Falls 02863 | 1895 (incorporated) | Lincoln | 1895 | 1895 | Providence | ||||
Early Smithfield records are in this office. | ||||||||||
Charlestown | 4540 S. County Trail, Charlestown 02813 | 1738 | Westerly | 1738 | 1738 | Washington | ||||
Coventry | 1670 Flat River Rd., Coventry 02816 | 1741 | Warwick | 1741 | 1741 | Kent | ||||
Cranston | City Hall, 869 Park Ave., Cranston 02910 | 1754 | Providence | 1754 | 1754 | Providence | ||||
Cumberland | 45 Broad St./P.O. Box 7, Cumberland 02864 | 1747 | Attleboro Gore, | 1747 | 1747 | Providence | ||||
Earlier records, 1692'1747, are in Bristol County, Massachusetts at Taunton. | ||||||||||
East Greenwich | 125 Main St./P.O. Box 111, East Greenwich 02818 | 1677 | (called Dedford or Deptford, 1686-89) | 1679 | 1679 | Kent | ||||
East Providence | 145 Taunton Ave., E. Providence 02914 | 1862 | Rehoboth/Seekonk, Mass. | 1862 | 1862 | Providence | ||||
See Rehoboth and Seekonk, Bristol County, Massachusetts, for earlier records. | ||||||||||
Exeter | 675 Ten Rod Rd., Exeter 02822 | 1742 | North Kingstown | 1742 | 1742 | Washington | ||||
Foster | 181 Howard Hill, Foster 02825 | 1781 | Scituate | 1781 | 1781 | Providence | ||||
Glocester | Main St./P.O. Box B, Chepachet 02814 | 1731 | Providence | 1731 | 1731 | Providence | ||||
Hopkinton | 1 Town House Rd., Hopkinton 02833 | 1757 | Westerly | 1757 | 1757 | Washington | ||||
Jamestown | 93 Narragansett Ave., Jamestown 02835 | 1678 | Native lands, Conanicut | 1678 | 1678 | Newport | ||||
Johnston | 1385 Hartford Ave., Johnston 02919 | 1759 | Providence | 1759 | 1759 | Providence | ||||
Probates to 1898 at Providence City Archives, Providence 02903. | ||||||||||
Lincoln | 100 Old River Rd., Lincoln 02865 | 1871 | Smithfield | 1871 | 1871 | Providence | ||||
Records before 1895 in Central Falls City Clerk's Office. | ||||||||||
Little Compton | P.O. Box 226, Little Compton 02837 | 1682 (part of | Plymouth Colony) | 1747 | 1747 | Newport | ||||
Became part of Rhode Island in 1747. Earlier records are at Plymouth Colony and Bristol County offices (see Massachusetts). | ||||||||||
Middletown | 350 E. Main Rd., Middletown 02840 | 1743 | Newport | 1743 | 1743 | Newport | ||||
Narragansett | 25 Fifth Ave., Narragansett 02882 | 1901 | South Kingstown District, | 1888 | 1901 | Washington | ||||
Was a district before becoming a town; 1888'1901 records in S. Kingstown. Proprietor's records are in print: James Arnold, The Fones Record (1894; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1990). | ||||||||||
Newport | City Clerk, 43 Broadway, Newport 02840 | 1639 | original | 1639 | 1639 | Newport | ||||
Records before 1783 at Newport Historical Society. | ||||||||||
New Shoreham | P.O. Drawer 220, Block Island 02807 | 1661 (admitted to colony, 1664 as Block Island; ) | renamed, 1672 | 1672 | 1672 | Washington | ||||
Part of Newport County until 1963. | ||||||||||
North Kingstown | 80 Boston Neck Rd., Wickford 02852 | 1641 (renamed, North Kingstown after 1723) | Kingstown, 1674; | 1674 | 1674 | Washington | ||||
Fire damaged all records in 1870; they are being restored. | ||||||||||
North Providence | City Hall, 2000 Smith St., North Providence 02911 | 1765 | Providence | 1765 | 1765 | Providence | ||||
North Smithfield | 1 Main St., Slatersville 02876 | 1871 | Smithfield | 1871 | 1871 | Providence | ||||
Pawtucket | City Hall, 137 Roosevelt Ave., Pawtucket 02860 | 1862 | Pawtucket, Mass., North Providence, R.I. | 1862 | 1862 | Providence | ||||
Incorporated 1885. See Seekonk, Bristol County Massachusetts, Northern District for earlier records. | ||||||||||
Portsmouth | 2200 E. Main Rd., P.O. Box 155, Portsmouth 02871 | 1638 | original | 1636 | 1636 | Newport | ||||
Pocasset proprietors' records are in manuscript form at New Bedford, Massachusetts Public Library. | ||||||||||
Providence | 25 Dorrance St., Providence 02903 | 1636 | original | 1636 | 1636 | Providence | ||||
Providence City Archives has earlier deeds and vital records for Providence and Johnston; | ||||||||||
probates to 1898 | ||||||||||
Richmond | 5 Richmond Townhouse, Wyoming 02898 | 1747 | Charlestown | 1747 | 1747 | Washington | ||||
Scituate | 195 Danielson Pike, N. Scituate 02857 | 1731 | Providence | 1731 | 1731 | Providence | ||||
Smithfield | 64 Farnum Pike, Esmond 02917 | 1731 | Providence | 1731 | 1731 | Providence | ||||
Records to 1870 are in city clerk's office, Central Falls 02863. | ||||||||||
South Kingstown | 66 High St., P.O. Box 31, Wakefield 02879 | 1723 | Kingstown | 1674 | 1674 | Washington | ||||
Kingstown divided into North and South in 1723. Records before that date were in North Kingston, but damaged in 1870. Copies are here. | ||||||||||
Tiverton | 343 Highlands Road, Tiverton 02878 | 1747 | Dartmouth and | 1747 | 1747 | Newport | ||||
Earlier records are in the Bristol County offices in Taunton, Massachusetts. | ||||||||||
Warren | 514 Main St., Warren 02885 | 1747 | Barrington, Rehoboth and | 1747 | 1747 | Bristol | ||||
See Bristol County, Northern District, Taunton, Massachusetts, for earlier records. | ||||||||||
Warwick | 3275 Post Rd., Apponaug 02886 | 1642 (as Shawomet; renamed, 1648) | original | 1642 | 1642 | Kent | ||||
Westerly | 45 Broad St., Westerly 02891 | 1669 (called Haversham,1686'89) | original | 1669 | 1669 | Washington | ||||
West Greenwich | 280 Victory Hwy., West Greenwich 02816 | 1741 | East Greenwich | 1741 | 1741 | Kent | ||||
West Warwick | 1170 Main St., West Warwick 02893 | 1913 | Warwick | 1913 | 1913 | Kent | ||||
Woonsocket | City Hall, 169 Main St., Woonsocket 02895 | 1867 | Cumberland/Smithfield | 1867 | 1867 | Providence | ||||
City Hall has copies of earlier deeds from parent towns beginning 1847. |