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    Matunuck
    Matunuck
    Matunuck
    Ebook156 pages22 minutes

    Matunuck

    By Marilyn Bellemore

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    About this ebook

    The village of Matunuck lies on the south coast of Rhode Island in the town of South Kingstown. It was first inhabited by Native Americans, followed by the early Pettaquamscutt settlers, but it was not until after the end of the Civil War that it became a destination for leisure and fun. This took the form of tent colonies on the beach and local farmers that rented out rooms and cottages to summer guests. Today, surfing, fishing, and sunbathing are popular activities at the beloved beaches, yet there is more that draws the thousands of tourists who visit each year. Theatre By The Sea has hosted world-renowned actors like Marlon Brando and Mae West, and beachfront establishments have long attracted a variety of musical acts. The village is also home to a national wildlife refuge, Trustom Pond, that is a safe haven to an array of species and is still preserved today.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateMay 25, 2015
    ISBN9781439651438
    Matunuck
    Author

    Marilyn Bellemore

    Marilyn Bellemore worked at the Rhode Island Historical Society Library in Providence for a decade, during which time she helped preserve and promote the Ocean State's unique history. While a journalist for Southern Rhode Island Newspapers, she received a Rhode Island Press Association award for a series of historical articles. Here, she shares the history of Matunuck with photographs and postcards from private collections and local libraries and organizations.

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      Book preview

      Matunuck - Marilyn Bellemore

      Library.

      INTRODUCTION

      The village of Matunuck, on the south coast of Rhode Island in the town of South Kingstown, was first inhabited by Native Americans followed by the early Pettaquamscutt settlers. The village takes its name from a Native American word meaning look out.

      South Kingstown grew out of the pioneering settlements in the 17th century known as the Pettaquamscutt Purchase. The early Pettaquamscutt settlers were Samuel Wilbor, John Hull, John Porter, Samuel Wilson, and Thomas Mumford. Later additions were Benedict Arnold and William Brenton.

      The scattered farms benefitted from the open expanse of coastal plain, but they did not really flourish until the Native American claims and litigious strife of competing colonial land companies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island were extinguished in the early 1700s.

      Unlike other English settlements in New England, which were carved out of forests, the agricultural pursuits of the Rhode Island farmers were focused on pasturing flock and herd animals as opposed to crop fields. With the establishment of stock raising on the coastal plain came the era of the Narragansett Planters and the Narragansett Pacers horse breed. By the time of the American Revolution, the age of the planters was over. The great farms had been divided and subdivided by the later generations. Focus shifted away from the farms to the streams of South County and the emergence of mills and mill villages between 1800 and 1850.

      The earliest attention to tourism potential began at Narragansett Pier before the Civil War. After the Civil War, the pier developed as both a steamboat stop and a railhead, with wealthy people from as far away as St. Louis, Missouri, coming with their own railroad parlor cars to spend the summer at the Casino and grand hotels. Within a five-year period from 1871 to 1875, some 10 hotels were built at the pier.

      At the other end of the Atlantic coast, Watch Hill in Westerly had a similar experience at the same time. However, between the pier and Watch Hill, something else was happening. A middle-class clientele was looking at Matunuck, Green Hill, and places in Charlestown.

      The idea of play and idleness had been contrary to the Puritan and Dissenting theologies of the early settlers. But, by the 19th century, the positive psychological and physical health values of recreation became acceptable to New England society. Puritan attitudes about leisure and play receded, and it was okay to have fun and relaxation.

      First, this took the form of tent colonies on the beach; then local farmers took in boarders. Isolated beach hotels and some cottages sprang up. This would have been at the end of the Civil War, in 1865. It was not easy to get to these spots.

      There were some locations that catered to artists and writers, in particular along and near Post Road and the Matunuck Hills. Author Edward Everett Hale was a summer resident. He appreciated the isolated area with its seashore and hilly terrain.

      Post Road (Route 1), established in 1702, was the main artery to get into the area. But, real roads into the area had to await the early years of the 20th century. The first highway legislation in Rhode Island for paved roads did not come about until 1904. It was a response to the bicycle craze as much as the automobile interests.

      With the beauty of many seaside villages comes the risk of

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