Warwick and the rest of Rhode Island started out as part of the western coast of Africa more than 500 million years ago.
Tectonic forces gradually moved what is now Rhode Island toward the North American continent where it collided and stuck, creating the Appalachian Mountains in the process. A series of ice ages changed the landscape over time through the approach and retreat of glaciers, which scraped a channel into the land that separated an archipelago from the mainland and filled what is now Narragansett Bay. About 3,000 years after the glaciers cleared out, humans moved in; evidence indicates that people have been living in the greater Warwick area for somewhere between 10,000 and 12,000 years. These hunter-gatherers transitioned into the native tribes more familiar today, with the Narragansett (members of the Algonquian tribe) Indians being the primary occupants of the Rhode Island area before Europeans settled the area.
The first European known to have visited the Narragansett Bay area was Giovani Verrazzano, who briefly touched down in the region during an expedition in 1524. Dutch explorer Adriaen Block navigated and mapped the Narragansett Bay about 80 years later, and Dutch fur traders followed to capitalize on the abundant resources in the region. Exposure to European-borne diseases began to take a toll on the resident native tribes, and the debilitated Indians started to let go of territories to willing buyers. In 1642, the Narragansett tribe sold the site where Warwick now stands to a group led by Samuel Gorton. Gorton was a man of extreme religious views, and he not only quarreled with authorities in Massachusetts but also with his fellow religious refugees in the newly-formed Rhode Island colony. So, Gorton and his followers found their own corner of Rhode Island, soon to be joined by other independent-minded or persecuted groups.
The state's reputation as a haven for individualists earned it the nickname "Rogues Island," particularly when coupled with Rhode Island's encouragement of privateering during wartime. Warwick also contributed to the notorious "Triangular Trade" perpetrated in Newport in which Caribbean molasses was imported to Newport, where it was made into rum that was shipped to Africa to trade for slaves, who were then transported to the Caribbean to be sold for molasses that would make its way back to Newport. Rhode Island remained the leading slave trader of the colonies until a partial ban was placed on importation of slaves in 1774; in 1784, Rhode Island enacted legislation that declared free all children born to slaves in the state, thus gradually emancipating the enforced workers about 55 years before the Civil War.
In the 1760s the Triangular Trade and maritime industries were flourishing along coastal Rhode Island, interesting the British government. A series of laws were enacted to limit the molasses, sugar, and rum trades; Rhode Island entrepreneurs responded by taking to smuggling. British customs officials stepped up enforcement activities, until one particularly aggressive British ship, The Gaspee, ran aground in the Narragansett Bay while chasing smugglers. Warwick locals set fire to the ship as a protest against British interference with the trade of the colonies—this was a seminal event leading up to the American Revolution.
Warwick gave the American War of Independence one of its most noted patriots in Nathanael Greene, who was second in command to General George Washington. With a victory in the War of Independence, the colonies had to figure out how to organize themselves; Rhode Island was the last of the original 13 colonies to ratify the proposed constitution, out of concern for loss of state's rights and because the dominant Quaker culture was opposed to the compromise it required on the issue of slavery. But sign Rhode Island did, independently deciding to ban slavery over the ensuing five years. Ironically, the cotton mill spurred the area's industrial revolution in the late 1700s, using materials gained by the back-breaking forced labor of imported Africans.
In spite of the contradiction, Warwick and other towns on water (which functioned then as the primary source of power) built textile and metalworking mills. The War of 1812 and other conflicts made goods from abroad difficult to obtain, making Rhode Island cloth, lace, jewelry and other items the only available in town. Warwick and similar communities benefited from their position near ports that could move their wares up and down the coast. The expansion of railroad systems later in the 1800s facilitated movement of Rhode Island-produced goods to points west. Jobs in the mills pulled in former agricultural workers seeking a better pay-off for their labor and recent immigrants, particularly the Irish, who were looking for work. The incoming homogenous groups created the villages that comprise modern-day Warwick, as they settled in separate communities that retained the flavor of homes far away.
The mid-1800s were a time of prosperity and industrial progress for Warwick and Rhode Island. The Triangular Trade had been replaced by the China Trade, with locally-produced goods such as textiles and crops being traded in Asia for exotic items. Here at home, the country had begun to fracture, however, and Rhode Island was somewhat torn when it came to picking a side. Warwick and a number of other Rhode Island towns had woven themselves wealth and reputation in textile mills supplied by southern, slave-owning plantations. Concurrently, Rhode Island had preemptively abolished slavery and had a large contingent of Quakers pushing for the state to join the Union. When the war commenced in 1861, Rhode Island sided with the blue and again contributed mightily to the war effort, while also seeing a marked increase in need for cloth and worked metal produced in its factories.
Warwick industry continued to boom after the Civil War; at the same time, the region became more accessible to more people with the development of the automobile and continued expansion of passenger train service. Warwick's lovely beaches started to generate a buzz as a tourist destination, no doubt assisted by the proximity of Newport and its yachting set. World War I took a toll on the population of Warwick, but local industry received another boost that lasted until the Great Depression hit in the late 1920s. Mills closed abruptly, and displaced workers found themselves building local schools and roads as part of government aid programs.
World War II stimulated the economy again to some extent, and Warwick was back to moderate levels of industrial production and residential construction. T.F. Green Airport was commandeered by the U.S. Army in a move that, along with Newport's Naval installation, generated a major military presence in the small state that is still felt today. Control of the airfield was returned to the State of Rhode Island in 1946.
The end of the war heralded a significant shift in Warwick—families from the Providence area, attempting to escape the travails of big city life, started to migrate into Warwick, creating a need for expanded infrastructure, housing, and schools. Retail trade gradually began to develop into the fastest growing economic sector; the Midland Mall (now called the Rhode Island Mall) and the Warwick Mall put Warwick on the map and attracted shoppers from across the New England region.
After enduring a series of natural disasters—hurricanes in 1954 and 1955, and a record snowfall in 1978 that shut down the city for several days—Warwick continues to hum along, not to the sound of factories and mills but to the whir of cash registers at the largest malls in the state. Even more than the siren call of good shopping deals, visitors and new residents are drawn to Warwick by the water, the ebb and flow of which reflect the history of this tough, adaptable town.
Historical Information: Warwick Historical Society, 25 Roger Williams Circle, Warwick, RI 02888; telephone (401)467-7447. Rhode Island Historical Society, 121 Hope Street, Providence, RI 02906; telephone (401)273-8107