Saunderstown, Rhode Island

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}} {{Infobox NRHP | name = Saunderstown Historic District | nrhp_type = hd | nocat = yes | image = SAUNDERSTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT, WASHINGTON COUNTY RI.jpg | caption = House in the historic district | locmapin = Rhode Island#USA | coordinates = {{Coord|41|30|28|N|71|25|28|W|type:city_region:US-RI|display=title,inline}} | location = Narragansett and North Kingstown, Rhode Island | area = {{Convert|79|acre|ha}} | built = 1856 | architect = | architecture = Colonial Revival, Bungalow/Craftsman | added = July 19, 1985 | mpsub = North Kingstown MRA | refnum = 85001647<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref> }}

'''Saunderstown''' is a small village and historic district spread across the four towns of Narragansett, South Kingstown, Exeter and North Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States. It was named in honor of John Aldrich Saunders, a member of the Saunders family. Saunderstown has its own post office with the ZIP Code of 02874, which also includes a small part of South Kingstown. Its population is 6,245.{{Year needed|date=November 2020}}

==Overview== Saunderstown is known as the birthplace of artist Gilbert Stuart, who is best known for painting the portrait of George Washington that is portrayed on the one-dollar bill. The Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and Museum consists of the house in which Stuart was born, a nature trail, and a functional gristmill, and is now open to the public as a museum.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=13452 |title=Saunderstown, Rhode Island Community Profile |access-date=July 5, 2007 |archive-date=September 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070906163824/http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=13452 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Saunderstown is also the location of Casey Farm, an 18th-century plantation that is now a family farm. The farm grows organic vegetables, herbs, and flowers in a Community Supported Agriculture Program. It is operated by Historic New England.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040926002746/http://www.historicnewengland.org/visit/homes/casey.htm Historic New England, Casey Farm]</ref>

Saunderstown is largely rural and is home to 6,245 people at a population density of 412 people per square mile. The racial makeup is 96.1% white, 0.4% black, 1.1% Asian, 1.2% Hispanic, and 0.2% other.

Saunderstown has a median household income of $135,514.

==Historic district== The Saunderstown Historic District encompasses a section of Saunderstown which developed as a boatbuilding center and summer resort area in the late 19th century. It is centered on Ferry Road, Willett Road, and Waterway, between Boston Neck Road and Narragansett Bay. In addition to being home to a number of shipyards, several owned by members of the Saunders family, the area also became noted as a summer resort, hosting Benoni Lockwood and Frances Willing Wharton (a cousin to writer Edith Wharton), as well as the architect and artist Christopher Grant LaFarge, son of the artist John La Farge. This area is mainly residential, with wood-frame houses one or two stories in height, with vernacular styling. Non-residential buildings include a country store, recreation center (which was formerly a fire barn), and the Saunderstown Post Office, which was built in 1902 as a Baptist church.<ref name=NRHP>{{cite web |url=http://www.preservation.ri.gov/pdfs_zips_downloads/national_pdfs/north_kingstown/noki_historic-resources-of-north-kingstown.pdf |title=Historic Resources of North Kingstown |pages=17–32, 86 |publisher=Rhode Island Preservation |access-date=November 11, 2014}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

{{North Kingstown, Rhode Island}} {{Washington County, Rhode Island}} {{NRHP in Washington County, Rhode Island}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Historic districts in Washington County, Rhode Island Category:National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Rhode Island Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island Category:Narragansett, Rhode Island Category:North Kingstown, Rhode Island Category:Providence metropolitan area Category:Villages in Rhode Island Category:Villages in Washington County, Rhode Island