Saunderstown, Rhode Island

	Saunderstown Historic District
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. Historic district
	House in the historic district
Location	Narragansett and North Kingstown, Rhode Island
Area	79 acres (32 ha)
Built	1856
Architectural style	Colonial Revival, Bungalow/Craftsman
MPS	North Kingstown MRA
NRHP reference No.	85001647
Added to NRHP	July 19, 1985

Saunderstown is a small village and historic district in the towns of Narragansett and North Kingstown in Washington County, 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]}

Quick Facts Location, Area ...

Close

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

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.

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 famous 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.^[4]