Watch Hill, Rhode Island

Watch Hill
Coastal Neighborhood
Panorama of Watch Hill
Panorama of Watch Hill
Map
CountryUnited States
StateRhode Island
TownWesterly
Area
 • Total
0.82 sq mi (2.1 km2)
 • Water0.014 sq mi (0.04 km2)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
212

Watch Hill is an affluent coastal neighborhood and census-designated place in the town of Westerly, Rhode Island. The population was 154 at the 2010 census.[1] It sits at the most-southwestern point in Rhode Island. It came to prominence in the late 19th and early 20th century as an exclusive summer resort, with wealthy families building sprawling Victorian-style "cottages" along the peninsula. Watch Hill is characterized by The New York Times as a community "with a strong sense of privacy and of discreetly used wealth," in contrast with "the overpowering castles of the very rich" in nearby Newport.[2]

  1. ^ "Summary Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  2. ^ Bongartza, Roy (July 5, 1981). "Watch Hill to Point Judith - 20 Miles of Summer Fun". The New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2015.