Adventures Outside the Garden: Wickford, RI ~ Part 1

While I was visiting my family in Rhode Island last week, we took our annual trip to Wickford, a small village in North Kingstown that sits on Narragansett Bay. I never tire of walking the streets of this quintessential New England village. Named after a town in Essex, England, Wickford was founded in 1637 by Roger Williams (the founder of The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations – yes, a very long name for a very small state). He purchased the land from the Indians and built a trading post here. Gilbert Stuart, the painter of the most famous portrait of George Washington, was baptized in Old St. Paul’s Church, which still stands in Wickford. In fact, many of the pre-Revolutionary-War houses are not only still standing, but are still occupied. Wickford happens to have one of the largest collections of 18th century houses in New England. Come take a look.