Did You Know? Fun Facts About Warwick, RI

Warwick has a lot of familiar landmarks like the Warwick Mall, TF Green Airport, Goddard Park and Rocky Point. In today's edition of "Did You Know?", I will look into the history of most of these popular landmarks and share some information that most people from the area probably didn't know.

Fun Fact #1

T.F. Green Airport opened in 1931and was originally called Hillsgrove State Airport.

In 1938, the airport was renamed after Theodore Francis Green, who was RI's 57th governor and a long time RI Senator. In 2021, the airport went through a 3rd name change and is now known as Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport, mainly to increase general public awareness outside of RI to let them know that the state had an airport which offered domestic and international flights. Click here to learn more about the 20 Master Plan for the airport's expansion. And if you're ever driving by the airport, keep an eye our for the New England Patriots team plane.

Fun Fact #2

Warwick was a major hub for illegal trade and rum smuggling.

After the Molasses Act passed in 1733, (molasses was a main ingredient for rum), smugglers found it more profitable to avoid paying taxes on rum by setting sail from the areas around Warwick Cove, Mill Pond Cove and Pawtuxet.

Not So Fun Fact

RI had 30 rum distilleries, and some of the rum that was exported was used as trade currency to fuel the slave trade of those times. Eventually, RI became the central hub for the majority of ships transporting slaves into the country. If you want to learn more about RI's dark history with slave trading, leave a comment below and I will write another blog about this topic in the future.

Fun Fact #3

Goddard Park was one of multiple estates owned by Robert Goddard. He was a civil war officer and Rhode Island politician. Goddard's children gave the land to the state in 1927 as a memorial to their father. The park features a nine-hole golf course, an equestrian area with 18 miles of trails for horse back riding, a beach, canoeing area, several picnic areas with 355 picnic tables,11 game fields, and a performing arts center for weddings, concerts and other special events.

Fun Fact #4

An entirely different blog can be written about Rocky Point, so I will only mention the following two fun facts. President Rutherford B.Hayes was the first US president to ever use a telephone. He was addressing a group of civil war veterans during a clam bake at Rocky Point Park when Alexander Graham Bell called him directly from Providence.

Run Fact #5

Rocky Point used to have a baseball field where Sunday exhibition games would be played.

The most famous exhibition game to ever take place there happened on September 27, 1914 between the Providence Grays and the Chicago Cubs. This game is famous because Babe Ruth played for the Grays at the time. He pitched and hit a triple in the game. The more interesting fact is that if played by today's rules, the triple that Ruth hit would have been called a home run.

Real Estate Fact

The average sale price of homes in Warwick in 2023 was $377,156. If you are thinking of buying or selling a property in Warwick, contact me for a free consultation.

To read more blogs from the "Did You Know?" series, Click Here.