Saunderstown

Originally named Willettville, after the region’s first settler in 1680, Andrew Willett, the son of the first mayor of New York City, this area has a long history as a farming community, then later a fishing and shipbuilding center, and finally as a summer resort area.

It received its present name in honor of the ship building family of John Aldrich Saunders, who settled there in 1856, at the invitation of the Carpenter family, the direct descendants of the original Willett settlers, and Lafayette businessman Robert Rodman, and constructed a marine railway and shipyard.

The Saunders family constructed ships there as well as maintained a summer hotel and a ferry service to Jamestown, Newport, Wickford, and Providence. It was during this remarkable timeframe that Saunderstown became renowned as a literary summer community attracting the likes of the Whartons, LaFarges, Lockwoods, Wisters, and Roosevelts.

Over the last 50 years or so, the areas homes have largely been slowly converted to year round residences.

Text provided by Tim Cranston, Swamptown Enterprises

This is a historic picture from the village of Saunderstown. The Saunders House in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, was a historic 19th-century home and summer hotel located in the village of Saunderstown. Built around 1889 by Stillman Saunders, it was a notable landmark in the area. It was sometimes referred to as "Outre Mer" and functioned as a summer hotel that catered to tourists during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The original Saunders House was demolished in 1933.

This is a current photo of the historic Roland Robinson House in Saunderstown, RI.

The historic Rowland Robinson house, built circa 1710–1755, and associated with the prominent Narragansett planter of the same name, is located in Saunderstown, Rhode Island, near Boston Neck. It is considered one of the best preserved examples of 18th-century plantation homes in the area. His daughter Hannah lived here. This house holds a tragic story.

This house is part of one of the saddest love stories, and about fierce family discord. The father, the daughter, the forbidden lover, the elopement, the disownment, the betrayal, and the death of a most beautiful young woman. The family reunification came too late.

This is a story worth a look!

https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/the-story-of-unfortunate-hannah-robinson/

Hannah Robinson (May 1746 - October 1773)

A tower that bears her name stands where she paused many times to enjoy the trees and ships on the water stretching out towards Newport. It is located just over the North Kingstown, town line, near Saunderstown. Hannah asked to stop at this hilltop for one final look at the land she loved on the last trip home. Today, the nearby Hannah Robinson Rock and the tower itself stand as quiet reminders of a love story, a family rift, and the layers of history hidden along one of Rhode Island’s busiest roads.

This is a historic picture from the village of Saunderstown.

Steam ferry service between Saunderstown, RI and West Ferry (Jamestown) began in 1888. The area, originally known as Willettville, was renamed for the Saunders family, who settled there in 1856. They operated a shipyard, a marine railway, and the ferry service that connected the mainland to Jamestown, Newport, Wickford, and Providence. Until 1940 the only way to travel to Jamestown was by boat.The ferry service between Saunderstown and Jamestown officially ended in 1940 when the Jamestown Bridge opened to vehicle traffic.