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7. Description -.______________________ Condition Check one Check one - - excellent deteriorated - unaltered 01 iqiflal site - N good ruins - X altered moved late fair unexposed Describe the present and original if known physical appearance Watch Hill, one of Rhode Island’s most attractive and best preserv-:’d coastal communities, developed as a seaside summer resort of hotels and substantial dwellings in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centur-.. The village occupies a scenic shoreside expanse of hilly ground. The area is largely suburban in character, with an irregular pattern of streets con taining detached houses set on landscaped lots interspersed with woodland and lnarshland. The houses are executed in the various styles common in the decades immediately preceding and following the turn of the twenticl,h century. Nearly ninety percent of the 247 buildings in the district are residential structures, the’ majority built between 1840 and 1930. The relatively uni form scale and the predominant use of shingled wood- frame construction give Watch Hill a considerable degree of visual harmony. Watch Hill is situated at the extreme southwestern corner of Rhode island in the town of Westerly, on a roughly triangular neck of land huinded southerly by Block Island Sound the Atlantic Ocean and northwesterly by Little Narragansett Bay and the Pawcatuck River, the last two of which f:orm the boundary between Westerly and Stonington, Connecticut. At the end of the neck are two points: crescent-shaped Napatree Point, running off to tiic: west, and Watch Hill Point, running off to the south the latter the site of a lighthouse since 1808. - For ‘the most part the ocean sliorellic encompasses unbroken, gently curving stretches of sandy beach. ‘l’lie bay shore is more convoluted, with three small coves separating subsidiary pen i n Sn I as . The terrain at Watch Hi II is’ uneven * WI th a liutfihe r o f kIlo I I S depressions, and tiny ponds. The trees and shrubbery planted on house lots, the woods and vines on undeveloped parcels, and the tall reeds fill ing the marshes combine to create a strong countrified ambience. The changes in elevation and relatively dense vegetation separate the district visually into distinct subsections. The pattern of settlement, characterized by curving streets winding over and around the hillsides, is well suited to the picturesque landscape. - The primary route through the district -follows Watch Hill Road, Westerly Road, and Wauwinnet Avenue to Bay Street, the village’s main street Commercial activity is concentrated on Bay Street, a thoroughfare runnIng tangent to the shore of Little Narragansett Bay with a small waterfront park on one side. At its southwesterly end, Bay Street terminates at the i rig Horse Carousel, a local landmark listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The earliest resort development occurred in the area adjoining Bay Street, Plympton Road, and L-shaped Bluff Avenue including Larkin Road, see district map , where the first hotels- -two of which sur vive- -and summer houses were built. Today this village center contains a mix of residential, commercxai ,-and institutional - structures, including the Watch Hill Chapel and the Post Office - The portions of the distiic t to the northeast are almost entirely residential. Though they were built up after 1885, these areas contain scattered remnants from eaTler periods, See Continuation Sheet #1
‘ loin ID 110 OMU II" 1074-00111 1121 - tip 0-31-04 United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service - For NPS use only National Register of Mistorc Places receIved - - - - - Inventory-Nomination Form Continuaflon sheet 1 Item number 7 Page 2 such as two former farmhouses dating from the eighteenth century Ingle cote on Westerly Road and the Misquamicut Inn on Misquamicut Road The density and siting of buildings in’-Xhe sections around Misquamicut Road and Everett, Niantic, and Ninigret Avenues are characteristically suburban Along Ocean View Highway and Yosemite Valley Road, some houses are set on more spacious parcels and have ibrê:-it’-he appearance of country estates. Over the past fifty years tFfeg-reatest change at Watch Hill has been wrought by the hurricane of l938..whi çh destroyed over fifty houses . Since then few old structures have been demoljshed The intrusive impact of ne construction in the district ha’ Thdehlimited by the dispersal of modern structures on building sites scattered throughout the area. In spite of improved regional transportation, Wafth Hill is still relatively remote from urban areas and has escaped pressures for more intensive development. Though the number of year-round inhabitants has increased, the community retains its seasonal nature, its population fluctuating from over 60 families in winter to over 300 in summer. - - See Continuation Sheet 2’
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