Ellison “Tarzan” Brown, the Narragansett runner who won Boston twice
Ellison "Tarzan" Brown won the Boston Marathon in 1936 and 1939 and ran in the 1936 Olympics. A hill on…
Section
Founders
The people, families and institutions that shape South County.
Ruth Buzzi, the Westerly-born comic of Laugh-In
Ruth Buzzi was born in Westerly in 1936 and became a television star on Laugh-In, known for her hairnet-wearing character…
Richard Smith and the trading post that became Smith’s Castle
Richard Smith set up a trading post at Cocumscussoc in the 1630s. The house that replaced it after King Philip's…
Samuel Ward, the Westerly farmer who served in the Continental Congress
Samuel Ward farmed in Westerly, served as Rhode Island governor and sat in the Continental Congress until his death in…
Gilbert Stuart, the Saunderstown painter behind the dollar bill portrait
Gilbert Stuart was born in 1755 above his father's snuff mill in Saunderstown. His unfinished portrait of George Washington is…
Oliver Hazard Perry, the South Kingstown sailor who won Lake Erie
Born in South Kingstown in 1785, Oliver Hazard Perry led the American fleet to victory at the Battle of Lake…
Matthew C. Perry, the commodore from a South County family
Matthew Calbraith Perry, younger brother of Oliver Hazard Perry, led the naval expedition that opened Japan to American trade in…
Ninigret, the Niantic sachem who kept his people out of King Philip’s War
Ninigret led the Eastern Niantic in what is now Charlestown and Westerly in the 1600s. He kept his people out…
Edward Everett Hale and his summers in Matunuck
The author of "The Man Without a Country" spent summers for decades in Matunuck, where he wrote and hosted guests.
Hannah Robinson and the tower that keeps her story on Tower Hill
Hannah Robinson, daughter of a wealthy South Kingstown planter, defied her father to marry and died young. A lookout tower…