Warwick, Rhode Island


Warwick is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States, and is the third-largest city in the state, with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 census. Warwick is located approximately south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, southwest of Boston, Massachusetts, and northeast of New York City.
Warwick was founded by Samuel Gorton in 1642 and has witnessed major events in American history. It was decimated during King Philip's War and was the site of the Gaspee Affair, the first act of armed resistance against the British, preceding even the Boston Tea Party, and a significant prelude to the American Revolution. Warwick was also the home of Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene, George Washington's second-in-command, and Civil War General George S. Greene, a hero of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Today, it is home to Rhode Island's main airport, T. F. Green Airport, which serves the Providence area and also functions as a reliever for Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. Warwick was also home to Rocky Point, which closed in 1995 and is now a state park.

Early history

Warwick was settled by Samuel Gorton in 1642. Narragansett Sachem Miantonomi sold him the Shawhomett Purchase for 144 fathoms of wampum. This included the towns of Coventry and West Warwick, Rhode Island. However, Sachems Sacononoco and Pumham claimed that Miantonomi had sold the land without asking for their approval. They took their case to Boston, where they placed their lands under Massachusetts rule. In 1643, Massachusetts Bay Colony sent a militia force to Shawomett to arrest Gorton and his followers. After a tense standoff, all but three of the Gortonists surrendered to the Massachusetts forces. Gorton then sailed back to England and sought a charter from the King. He was greatly assisted in gaining it by Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, so Gorton and his fellow settlers changed the name of their colony from Shawumet to Warwick.
The ongoing harassment from Massachusetts Bay Colony, however, caused the other three colonies on Narragansett Bay to unite with Warwick and get a British royal charter allowing them to form the Providence Plantations">Providence, Rhode Island">Providence Plantations.
In 1772, Warwick was the scene of the first violent act against the British Crown in the Gaspee Affair. Local patriots boarded the Gaspee, a revenue cutter that enforced the Stamp Act 1765 and Townshend Acts in Narragansett Bay. It was here that the first blood was spilled in the American Revolution when Gaspee's commanding officer Lt. Dudingston was shot and seriously wounded during the struggle for the ship. The Gaspee was stripped of all cannons and arms, then burned.
During the Revolution, Warwick militiamen participated in the battles of Montreal, Quebec (1775)|Quebec], Saratoga, Monmouth, and Trenton, and they were present for the British surrender at Yorktown (1781)|Yorktown] in 1781.

Transportation

Major traversing highways include:
Interstate 95 is the major thoroughfare of Rhode Island, with the first southbound exit in Warwick at Jefferson Boulevard, and ending with the Route 117 interchange, near the Apponaug rotaries. Interstate 295 connects to the main highway at exit 27, providing direct travel to Woonsocket and Massachusetts. Smaller routes include Route 37 connecting 295 to U.S. Route 1, and the Airport Connector Road.
The Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport is the main airport serving Rhode Island, and is located in Warwick. The name was changed from T.F. Green Airport in 2021. T. F. Green Airport is a station on the Providence/Stoughton Commuter Rail Line, providing weekday service to Providence Station and Boston's South Station.

Climate

Geography

Warwick is located at .
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Warwick's entire eastern edge is waterfront, starting with the Providence River at its northern border with Cranston. Conimicut Point marks the end of the river and the beginning of Narragansett Bay, which extends beyond the city's southern limit on its way to the Atlantic Ocean; two southern Warwick peninsulas, Warwick Neck and Potowomut, enclose the water to form Greenwich Bay.
Warwick is bordered by Cranston to the north, West Warwick to the west, and East Greenwich to the south. The city's southernmost neighborhood, Potowomut, is a semi-exclave, reachable by land only by passing through East Greenwich; through Potowomut, Warwick also shares a border with North Kingstown. Because of the North Kingstown border, Warwick borders two Rhode Island counties: Providence County and Washington County.
The following villages are located in Warwick:

Demographics

Warwick is officially a part of the Providence metropolitan area, which has a population of 1,600,852 in the 2010 census.

2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 82,823 people, 36,555 households, and 21,150 families in Warwick. The population density was. There were 38,625 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup was 85.69% white or European American, 2.11% black or African-American, 0.3% Native American or Alaska Native, 3.11% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, 2.58% from other races, and 6.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 6.06% of the population.
Of the 36,555 households, 22.5% had children under the age of 18; 42.6% were married couples living together; 30.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 33.8% of households consisted of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.3 and the average family size was 2.9. The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 25.3% of the population.
16.9% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.0 years. For every 100 females, the population had 108.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 112.4 males.
The 2016-2020 5-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $73,285 and the median family income was $90,027. Males had a median income of $51,057 versus $39,959 for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $44,491. Approximately, 3.8% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under the age of 18 and 9.2% of those ages 65 or over.

Government

YearGOPDEMOthers
2020 [United States presidential election in Rhode Island|2020]42.20% 19,57855.70% 25,8452.19% 1,018
201644.25% 18,33848.35% 20,0387.39% 3,064
201237.21% 15,02760.54% 24,4482.24% 905
200838.37% 16,54159.85% 25,8021.79% 770
200441.02% 16,64057.10% 23,1641.87% 760
200032.37% 12,74160.85% 23,9486.78% 2,669
199626.83% 10,41459.64% 23,15213.53% 5,254
199229.88% 13,34845.90% 20,50424.22% 10,822
198845.29% 18,05254.34% 21,6620.37% 149

Warwick is split into three districts in the Rhode Island Senate which are currently held by Democrats Michael McCaffrey, Jeanine Calkin, and Kendra Anderson. The town is a part of Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district, which is currently represented by Democrat Seth Magaziner. It is traditionally Democratic in presidential elections; no Republican has carried it in over three decades.

Economy

It is considered part of the. Before its dissolution, Eckerd Corporation had its headquarters in Warwick.
The ten largest employers in Warwick are Kent Memorial Hospital, Citizens Bank- Warwick Call Center, UPS, MetLife, City of Warwick, Leviton Manufacturing, Wal-Mart, Community College of Rhode Island, J.C. Penney, Kenney Manufacturing, and Inskip Automall.

Notable people

Local public schools are operated by Warwick Public Schools. Toll Gate High School and Pilgrim High School are the two comprehensive public high schools located in Warwick. The high schools are set for renovations in March 2025, a year after the city council issued a $350 million bond to rebuild them. The two public middle schools are Winman Junior High School and Warwick Veterans Junior High School. Aldrich Junior High School and Gorton Junior High School closed in 2016 as part of the school consolidation project. The school department is headed by superintendent Lynn Dambruch.
Bishop Hendricken High School is an all-male college preparatory Catholic high school located in Warwick. Rocky Hill School is a Pre-K–12 co-ed secular country day school located on Warwick's isolated Potowomut peninsula. The school lists an East Greenwich address, despite being geographically included as part of the city of Warwick.
The Community College of Rhode Island Knight Campus is also located in Warwick on the former Knight Estate.