History

Courtesy of the Middletown Historical Society:
http://www.middletownhistory.org/

Middletown, in Newport County, is located in lower Narragansett Bay about twenty-five miles southeast of Providence And about one mile from downtown Newport. Its name derives from its location; Middletown occupies the middle section of Aquidneck Island. The town's 14.7 square-mile area lies between Portsmouth to the north and Newport to the southwest. Rhode Island Sound, Narragansett Bay, and the Sakonnet River bound the community on the south, west, and east, respectively.

Middletown's major transportation arteries--West Main Road (Route 114) and East Main Road (Route 138)--which meet at Two Mile Corner, make connections with bridges to the south and north. Bus service is available, and the Newport State Airport, which accommodates private aircraft, provides charter flights and feeder service to other air fields. A rail line runs along the shore of Narragansett Bay, but carries only freight.

Aquidneck Island is one of the earliest colonial settlement sites in Rhode Island. Portsmouth was founded in 1638 and Newport 2 in 1639. Middletown was part of Newport until it was set off in 1731.

Geology and Landforms

The Narragansett Basin, covering most of eastern Rhode Island and composed of sedimentary rocks (conglomerate, shale, and some coal), was formed some 300 million years ago, and since then weathering and erosion, including the leveling effect of continental glaciation, have resulted in a gently rolling surface with a rich loam soil higher in natural fertility than any other soils in the state. Because most of Middletown was farmed from the late seventeenth through the mid-twentieth centuries, there are few wooded areas today. Several small hills, with summit elevations ranging from about 100 feet to about 250 feet above sea level, punctuate Middletown's landscape; the highest elevation, slightly over 250 feet, is at Slate Hill, along East Main Road at the Portsmouth line. The undulating topography and water frontage provide a diversified and beautiful natural landscape which has always been one of Middletown's attractions.

At the south end of Middletown a more rugged and dramatic landscape is presented by an area of outcropping conglomerate rocks with bold rock faces and a series of parallel ridges, including Paradise Rocks, Hanging Rock, and Purgatory. Hanging Rock, a vast conglomerate ledge frequented by Bishop Berkeley (the noted eighteenth-century divine), and nearby Purgatory, with its deep, wave-worn chasm and bedrock of "stretched pebbles," are among the most interesting and important geological features of Rhode Island. Along the south coast, the Atlantic shoreline offers dramatic contrasts ranging from a rugged and rocky coast culminating at Easton Point and Sachuest Point to flat expanses of sandy beach at Easton's Beach, Second (Sachuest) Beach, and Third Beach., Part of Sachuest and the nearby Paradise Hills are still in a natural state and are set aside as wildlife sanctuaries. Middletown's waterways are small, little more than seasonal brooks, but there are three large ponds at the south end of town--Nelson Pond and Gardiner Pond at the south end of the Paradise Hills and Green End Pond along the Newport line.

European Settlement

Indians inhabited the Narragansett Bay region for thousands of years before its discovery by European settlers, and the native American way of life, as determined from some archeological research and casual gathering of artifacts, is traditionally assumed to have been an exploitative economy based on the resources of the land and sea.

Before the coming of Europeans, there was a lengthy war between the Narragansetts and the Wampanoags. Emerging victorious and eventually subduing several other tribes were the Narragansetts, the largest of the Algonquin family which inhabited New England and who had dominion over the islands of Narragansett Bay when the first white men arrived.

The first European to make contact with Indians in the Narragansett Bay region was Giovanni da Verrazano, in 1524. He remained for only a few days, but by 1614 Dutch traders were conducting an active business with the Indians in the Bay. When Roger Williams arrived in 1636, Canonicus and Miantonomi were the sachems of the Narragansetts.

In 1638, through the intercession of Roger Williams, Aquidneck Island was deeded by Canonicus and Miantonomi to John Clarke, William Coddington, Nicholas Easton, and several other exiles from the Massachusetts colony who established a settlement called Pocasset (later Portsmouth) at the northern end of the island. In 1639 a group led by Coddington, Clarke, and Easton left Portsmouth and started a new settlement at the southern end of Aquidneck, and the island was divided in half along the present boundary between Middletown and Portsmouth. What later became Middletown was included within the jurisdiction of Newport and since that time the history of Middletown has been closely associated with that of Newport.

Before the American Revolution, Newport developed into one of America's major urban centers and seaports. The outlying areas benefited by Newport's mercantile growth, and farmers found a ready market for their agricultural products there. That area, now Middletown, underwent a rural transformation in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, starting as early as 1640 when Nicholas Easton began farming near Sachuest Beach. Although little remains of the Easton Farm, other early farmhouses have survived. There are several good examples of the two-and-a-half-story, large, center-chimney dwellings--the Chase House, 88 Oliphant Lane; the Allen-King-Norman House, on Third Beach Road; the Peckham House, on 6 Baldwin Road; and the Coggeshall House, at 121 Greene Lane. The latter still retains its original agricultural environment and is part of a broader historical district which includes several other farmhouses which have been in the Coggeshall family for many decades.

The rural character of what is now Middletown appealed to Bishop George Berkeley, the Anglo-Irish philosopher. While awaiting promised funding for a college he hoped to found in Bermuda, Berkeley bought a ninety-six-acre tract "out in the woods."' He built a farmhouse and lived there from 1729 to 1731, devoting his days to agriculture and writing. Whitehall, his residence, named in memory of the old palace of the English kings, is entered in the National Register. The surrounding area, still in fields and retaining much of its rural flavor, is one of Middletown's potential National Register historic districts.

The rural Middletown countryside also appealed to merchants and other prominent Newport residents, who set up summer estates here, complete with fine gardens and landscaped grounds. The most pretentious extant eighteenth-century dwelling in Middletown is William Redwood's Country House (c. 1745), an estate which provides ample proof of the high-style country living enjoyed by Newport's early wealthy merchants.- Later, Quaker preacher David Buffum lived in the house.

By mid-century, a combination of circumstances--including the development of the land, a growing population, and resentment over unjust taxation--led to a petition to the General Assembly for political independence by Newport freeholders living in "the woods." As a result, Middletown was set off as a separate town in 1743.

A number of supporting institutions and services were also created during the eighteenth century. A school was built as early as 1701 or 1702 and, gradually, others were added throughout the town. The oldest extant schoolhouse in Middletown is the 1794 Peabody School on Third Beach Road, now used as a private residence.

A ferry service was started, probably in the eighteenth century, at a landing at what is now the east end of Green Avenue. Known as Taggart's Ferry, it carried produce from Little Compton destined for Newport and ran until about 1870. A windmill was located along Wyatt Road sometime before the Revolutionary War and later a small water-powered gristmill was put into operation along Bailey's Brook near Two Mile Corner, but there is no trace of either structure today.

Summary

The preliminary survey of Middletown conducted by the Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission identified seven districts and one hundred and five individual structures and sites of historic interest. These cultural resources reflect a broad spectrum of time, architectural trends, and events. Included are vernacular farmhouses and farm landscapes, some good examples of which are seen along West Main Road an d Mitchell Lane; luxurious mansions, notably the William Vernon House, the Hamilton Hoppin House, the Jacob Cram House, and William Redwood's Country House; one-room schoolhouses--Paradise School and the Peabody School; the extensive St. George's School, with its outstanding chapel; Whitehall, Bishop Berkeley's country place; the Berkeley Memorial Chapel and the Church of the Holy Cross; the Middletown Town Hall; a grange hall; an early motor court; an airport; a milestone; a library; two Revolutionary War fortifications; World War II structures, including observation towers and military housing; and several natural features known and appreciated for centuries--Purgatory Chasm, Hanging Rock, and the beaches.

Information provided by: RI Historical Preservation Commission