Photo: Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Richard Smith came to New England from England and, in the late 1630s, set up a trading post at Cocumscussoc, on a cove north of what is now Wickford. Roger Williams, founder of Providence, also had a trading post nearby and traded with the Narragansett there.
Smith built a fortified house that colonists called a “castle.” It became a center of trade and a meeting place for colonists and Native leaders.
King Philip’s War
In December 1675, during King Philip’s War, colonial troops gathered at Smith’s house before marching to the Great Swamp, where they attacked a fortified Narragansett village. Many Narragansett were killed.
In 1676 Narragansett warriors burned Smith’s house. His son, Richard Smith Jr., rebuilt it in 1678. Colonists killed in the Great Swamp Fight were buried in a mass grave nearby, now marked with a memorial.
Smith’s Castle today
The rebuilt house, enlarged over the years, is one of the oldest houses in Rhode Island. It is now a museum, Smith’s Castle, run by a nonprofit. It is open for tours in season and hosts colonial-era events and gardens.
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