Researching Your South Kingstown Home

  RESOURCES FOR RESEARCHING THE HISTORY OF YOUR SOUTH KINGSTOWN HOME

ONLINE: 

  1. South Kingstown Land Evidence Records. Here you create a free account with a username and password to enter the database.
  2. The Narragansett Times 1855-1980 Online Database. Provided by the South Kingstown Public Library, this resource is fully searchable by any keyword. 
  3. The 1870 Beers Map of South Kingstown. 
  4. The Atlas of the State of Rhode Island Map of South Kingstown, 1870, showing Rocky Brook, Peace Dale, and Wakefield  
  5. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of South Kingstown, 1885-1946. 
  6. Historic and Architectural Resources of South Kingstown, Rhode Island: A Preliminary Report. This 1984 report of historic homes and neighborhoods in the town provides a wide overview. Note that it was completed before the 1986 street-renumbering. 
  7. The South Kingstown Tax Assessor’s Online Database. This gives basic information about the size and design of the house along with current ownership. A small number of previous owners are listed, but not necessarily a full roster of everyone who has ever owned the property. The “Year Built” field gives at least a ballpark estimate of the age of a house. 
  8. History of Washington and Kent Counties, Rhode Island, 1889, by J. R. Cole. https://archive.org/details/cu31924028840011/page/n5/mode/2up
  9. Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission Historic Property Search

IN THE LIBRARY:

  1. 1857 Laminated Map of South Kingstown in the Rhode Island Room.
  2. 1891 Framed Map of Rocky Brook, Peace Dale, and Wakefield in the Rhode Island Room
  3. Rhode Island Vertical File folder on “Historic Homes--South Kingstown”
  4. Images of America books for Peace Dale, Wakefield, Matunuck, Kingston, South Shore
  5. Microfilm: Narragansett Times, 1981-2010; South County Independent, 1997-2010

ASK A LIBRARIAN:

You can make an individual appointment with the Local History Librarian to discover additional resources or identify more search strategies. Contact Jessica Wilson at jwilson@skpl.org or call 401-789-1555 xt 4110.