Discover 8 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Little Compton (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Rhode Island Red Monument, Wilbor House, and Gray's Store. Also, be sure to include Sakonnet Light in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Little Compton (Rhode Island).
Table of Contents
Rhode Island Red Monument
Sculpture. The Rhode Island Red Monument in the hamlet of Adamsville of Little Compton, Rhode Island, at the intersection of Main Street, Adamsville Road, and Old Harbor Road, commemorates the Rhode Island Red breed of chicken, Rhode Island's state bird. The sculpture was completed in 1925 by Henry L. Norton from Winthrop, Massachusetts.
The text of the monument reads:
To commemorate the birthplace of the / Rhode Island Red breed of fowl which / originated near this location / --red fowls bred extensively by / the farmers of this district and later / named "Rhode Island Reds" and brought into / national prominence by the poultry fanciers -- this tablet placed by the / Rhode Island Red Club of America / with contributions of Rhode Island Red / breeders throughout the world / on land donated by / Deborah Manchester / 1925
The monument was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.[1]
Address: Intersection of Adamsville Road, Westport Harbor Road, and Main Street, Little Compton
Wilbor House
Museum in Little Compton, Rhode Island. The Wilbor House is a historic house museum at 548 West Main Road in Little Compton, Rhode Island, and currently serves as the headquarters of the Little Compton Historical Society. The property includes eight buildings of historical significance, six of which were part of the Wilbor farmstead, a complex that was used for farming between 1690, when the east end of the house was built, and 1955, when the property was acquired by the historical society. The house is a 2½-story wood-frame structure, whose oldest portion was probably a stone ender built by Samuel Wilbor, and whose western half was added c.1740, giving it a Georgian appearance. Two ells were added c.1860, and additiona expansions were made in 1967. The five farm outbuildings include an 18th-century outhouse, a c.1800 barn, and corn crib and carriage house, both of which were built c.1850. Two additional non-contributing structures are on the property, the frame of a c.1750 barn covered in modern materials, and a modern replica of an 18th-century schoolhouse.
The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.[2]
Gray's Store
Store in Little Compton, Rhode Island. Gray's General Store is a general store located at 4 Main Street in Adamsville, Rhode Island. Founded in 1788, it operated for almost 225 years and was reputed to be the oldest continually operating general store in the United States.
The store featured an old-fashioned marble soda fountain, cigar and tobacco cases, and Rhode Island johnnycakes. In 2007, U.S. Senator Jack Reed and then-Governor Donald Carcieri issued proclamations naming Gray's as the oldest continuously run general store in the country. The store was owned and operated by the same family since 1879, entailing seven generations. Gray's also was the location of the first post office in Little Compton, founded in 1804.
Gray's temporarily closed on Sunday, July 29, 2012, after the death of its proprietor due lack of interest in keeping the store open by relatives, citing that "the shop's finances aren't sustainable and a supermarket down the street has siphoned away business."
The store re-opened in the summer of 2013.[3]
Address: 4 Main Street, Little Compton
Sakonnet Light
Lighthouse. Sakonnet Light, built in 1884, is a sparkplug lighthouse near Sakonnet Point, Little Compton, Rhode Island, on the eastern side of the state.
The light was deactivated in 1954 after Hurricane Carol and was going to be destroyed, but local citizens protested, and eventually Carl and Carolyn Haffenreffer bought the lighthouse in 1961. Explaining his decision to purchase the lighthouse, Carl Haffenreffer said, "I was afraid someone was going to paint it pink or haul it away for scrap." The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The Friends of Sakonnet Lighthouse acquired the lighthouse in 1985, and it was reactivated by the United States Coast Guard in 1997. A $1.45 million restoration of the lighthouse it was completed in 2012. The Friends of the Sakonnet Light were awarded the 2012 Rhody Award by the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission for their work.[4]
Friends Meeting House and Cemetery
Cemetery. The Friends Meeting House and Cemetery is a historic Quaker meeting house and cemetery at 228A W. Main Road in Little Compton, Rhode Island. The meeting house is a two-story wood-frame structure built in 1815 by the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, on the site of their first meeting house built in 1700 on land granted to John Irish. The new meeting house used some materials from the original one. It was then modified in 1870.
The meeting house was used by Quakers until 1903, and was maintained by members of the Apponegansett Meeting House in Dartmouth, Massachusetts until 1946, when it was donated to the Little Compton Historical Society. It was the Society's first acquisition, and was subjected to a careful restoration beginning in 1963 to restore it to the condition it was in during 1815.
The cemetery, designated Rhode Island Historic Cemetery No. 7, is approximately a 71 foot by 41 foot (21.64m x 12.5m) rectangle located to the east (rear) of the meeting house. The earliest dated burials are from 1714 and 1729, and the latest is from 1903. There are 18 inscribed headstones in total, plus multiple uninscribed fleldstone and slate headstones.
The meeting house and cemetery were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.[5]
William Whalley Homestead
Farm in Little Compton, Rhode Island. The William Whalley Homestead is an historic farmstead in Little Compton, Rhode Island. The main house is a 1+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, probably built sometime between 1815 and 1830. The property includes a late 19th century gabled barn and a stone and wood outbuilding, and is bounded by a low stone wall. The main house is a fairly typical Cape style house, five bays wide, with a central chimney. The property as a whole is a well-preserved example of a typical 19th-century farmstead in the area.
The homestead was listed on the National Historic Register in 1988.[6]
Stone House Inn
Housing. The Stone House Inn, also known as the David Sisson House, located at 122 Sakonnet Point Road in Little Compton, Rhode Island, is a large four-story fieldstone residence – built in 1854 for David Sisson, a Providence-based industrialist – and its associated c.1886 barn. The structures sit on 2 acres of land overlooking Round Pond to the south, with a view of the Sakonnet River and Sakonnet Harbor to the west. When the house was completed, it was the largest single-family dwelling in that region and the only one built of stone.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.[7]
Brownell Library
Library
Address: 44 Commons PO Box 146, Little Compton