North Kingstown has a very colorful history, which continues to inform the local government and culture to the present day. Banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1600s, Roger Williams traveled to the area and established a trading post there. He was new to life in the trading game but was soon followed by two seasonal traders, and commerce started rolling. Roger Williams stayed in the county for almost eight years raising goats, farming, and trading with the indigenous people. Kings Towne was then founded in 1674. It was a popular place to be (and it still is). The news spread and the colonial government divided it into North and South in 1722 to better address the needs of the growing population.
The area continued to grow in the early 1900s, particularly around a military complex and an increasing interest in summer tourism. The Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island was commissioned in 1941 and remained an important facility throughout WWII. It was deactivated in 1974. Quonset Point is now home to the Quonset State Airport, the Rhode Island Air National Guard 143rd Airlift Wing, and a marina with 82 moorings and 115 slips operated by the town.
Summer cottages started popping up in the region around the same time period when the naval base was commissioned, slowly nudging out the farms and farmland to make room for the growing population supporting operations at the military base and summer tourism industry. The town remains mainly residential to the present day.
North Kingstown is one of the best places to live in modern day Rhode Island. The public schools get high marks. Residents enjoy swimming and recreation on several public beaches: the town is situated on 30 miles of coastline on Narragansett Bay. Golfers take to the links on three public golf courses and at the Quidnessett Country Club. The town is conveniently located for commuters 20 miles south of Providence and 12 miles northwest of Newport. Boston is 60 miles to the north.
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