Watch Hill, Rhode Island
Watch Hill is an affluent coastal neighborhood and census-designated place in the town of Westerly, Rhode Island. The population was 154 at the 2010 census.[1] It sits at the most-southwestern point in Rhode Island. It came to prominence in the late 19th and early 20th century as an exclusive summer resort, with wealthy families building sprawling Victorian-style "cottages" along the peninsula. Watch Hill is characterized by The New York Times as a community "with a strong sense of privacy and of discreetly used wealth," in contrast with "the overpowering castles of the very rich" in nearby Newport.[2]
Geography[edit]
Watch Hill sits at the most southwestern point of Rhode Island on a stubby peninsula jutting into Block Island Sound.[6] It includes a smaller peninsula known as Napatree Point, a 1.5-mile (2.4 km)-long sandy spit that extends west from the Watch Hill business district, and Sandy Point, which was once attached to Napatree Point. Both Napatree and Sandy Point shelter Little Narragansett Bay and have made Watch Hill a popular harbor around which the business district has grown.
Watch Hill is a two-hour drive from Boston and a three-hour drive from New York City.[6] On clear days, there are views of Montauk, New York[6] to the south and Block Island, Rhode Island to the southeast.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 0.82 square miles (2.11 km2), of which 0.80 square miles (2.08 km2) is land and 0.014 square miles (0.036 km2) (1.72%) is water. The Watch Hill Historic District has area of 629 acres (0.983 sq mi).
Demographics[edit]
2020 census[edit]
The 2020 United States census counted 212 people, 94 households, and 41 families in Watch Hill. The population density was 264.3 per square mile (102.1/km2). There were 394 housing units at an average density of 491.3 per square mile (189.7/km2). [7][8] The racial makeup was 97.17% (206) white or European American (96.23% non-Hispanic white), 0.0% (0) black or African-American, 0.0% (0) Native American or Alaska Native, 0.0% (0) Asian, 0.0% (0) Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, 0.0% (0) from other races, and 2.83% (6) from two or more races.[9] Hispanic or Latino of any race was 1.42% (3) of the population.[10]
Of the 94 households, 10.6% had children under the age of 18; 56.4% were married couples living together; 23.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 31.9% of households consisted of individuals and 21.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[7] The average household size was 1.7 and the average family size was 2.8.[11] The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 25.5% of the population.[12]
10.4% of the population was under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 13.2% from 25 to 44, 29.2% from 45 to 64, and 36.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 56.7 years. For every 100 females, the population had 118.6 males.[7] For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 123.5 males.[7]
Location
Roughly bounded by Breen, Watch Hill & E. Hill Rds., Block Island Sound, Little Narragansett Bay, & Pawtucket River, Westerly, Rhode Island
629 acres (2.55 km2)
Multiple
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals, Bungalow/craftsman, Late Victorian
Lighthouses of Rhode Island TR (AD)
September 5, 1985
The Watch Hill Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[19] It included 176 contributing buildings and two contributing objects on 629 acres (2.55 km2).[19] The area includes most of the neck which is known as Watch Hill. If the CDP is defined as the entire point beyond (to the west of) a line running north along Browning Rd. and Oak Wood Rd., from East Beach to Colonel Willie Cove, then the historic district can be understood as that area less one portion plus another portion. It excludes a portion west of that line on the north side including properties on Watch Hill Rd. approaching the Watch Hill Fire Department, the entire block within which the Fire Department stands, and all of W. Ridge Rd., Glen Way, Breen Rd., and Pasadena Avenue. It includes a portion to the east of that line, namely the area of the Misquamicut golf club and other property north of Ocean View Highway but not including Round Hill Rd.[20][21]
Selected contributing buildings are:
The two contributing objects are:
Notable current and former residents of Watch Hill include:
