Historical U.S facts for kids

This article shows the total population numbers for Washington County, Rhode Island, broken down by its towns, from 1900 to 2000. These numbers come from the U.S. Census.

Just like most places in New England, Washington County has always been fully divided into official towns. There are no areas in the county that are not part of a town. This means that if you add up the population of all the towns, you should get the total population for the county.

In Rhode Island, there are two types of official communities: towns and cities. Washington County has only ever had towns, not cities. Long ago, Rhode Island also had "districts." These were like small, new towns that didn't have all the same rights as a full town. For example, the town of Narragansett started as a district in the early 1900s.

For more details on how towns work in New England, you can check out the New England town article.

Changes in Washington County Towns Since 1900

Sometimes, the official status or borders of towns can change. Here are a couple of important changes that happened in Washington County:

• 1901: Narragansett, which was a district, officially became a full town.
• 1963: The town of New Shoreham used to be part of Newport County. In 1963, it joined Washington County.

Washington County Population by Year

The U.S. Census counts everyone living in the country every ten years. Here's how Washington County's population changed from 1900 to 2000, showing the total for the county and then for each town.

1900 Census Totals

County Total: 24,154

• Westerly: 7,541
• South Kingstown: 4,972
• North Kingstown: 4,194
• Hopkinton: 2,602
• Narragansett (district): 1,523
• Richmond: 1,506
• Charlestown: 975
• Exeter: 841

1910 Census Totals

County Total: 24,942

• Westerly: 8,696
• South Kingstown: 5,176
• North Kingstown: 4,048
• Hopkinton: 2,324
• Richmond: 1,633
• Narragansett: 1,250
• Charlestown: 1,037
• Exeter: 778

1920 Census Totals

County Total: 24,932

• Westerly: 9,952
• South Kingstown: 5,181
• North Kingstown: 3,397
• Hopkinton: 2,316
• Richmond: 1,301
• Exeter: 1,033
• Narragansett: 993
• Charlestown: 759

1930 Census Totals

County Total: 29,334

• Westerly: 10,997
• South Kingstown: 6,010
• North Kingstown: 4,279
• Hopkinton: 2,823
• Richmond: 1,535
• Exeter: 1,314
• Narragansett: 1,258
• Charlestown: 1,118

1940 Census Totals

County Total: 32,493

• Westerly: 11,199
• South Kingstown: 7,282
• North Kingstown: 4,604
• Hopkinton: 3,230
• Exeter: 1,790
• Richmond: 1,629
• Narragansett: 1,560
• Charlestown: 1,199

1950 Census Totals

County Total: 48,542

• North Kingstown: 14,810
• Westerly: 12,380
• South Kingstown: 10,148
• Hopkinton: 3,676
• Narragansett: 2,288
• Exeter: 1,870
• Richmond: 1,772
• Charlestown: 1,598

1960 Census Totals

County Total: 59,054

• North Kingstown: 18,977
• Westerly: 14,267
• South Kingstown: 11,942
• Hopkinton: 4,174
• Narragansett: 3,444
• Exeter: 2,298
• Richmond: 1,986
• Charlestown: 1,966

1970 Census Totals

County Total: 85,706

• North Kingstown: 29,793
• Westerly: 17,248
• South Kingstown: 16,913
• Narragansett: 7,138
• Hopkinton: 5,392
• Exeter: 3,245
• Charlestown: 2,863
• Richmond: 2,625
• New Shoreham: 489

1980 Census Totals

County Total: 93,317

• North Kingstown: 21,938
• South Kingstown: 20,414
• Westerly: 18,580
• Narragansett: 12,088
• Hopkinton: 6,406
• Charlestown: 4,800
• Exeter: 4,453
• Richmond: 4,018
• New Shoreham: 620

1990 Census Totals

County Total: 110,006

• South Kingstown: 24,612
• North Kingstown: 23,786
• Westerly: 21,605
• Narragansett: 15,004
• Hopkinton: 6,873
• Charlestown: 6,478
• Exeter: 5,461
• Richmond: 5,351
• New Shoreham: 836

2000 Census Totals

County Total: 123,546

• South Kingstown: 27,921
• North Kingstown: 26,326
• Westerly: 22,966
• Narragansett: 16,361
• Charlestown: 7,859
• Hopkinton: 7,836
• Richmond: 7,222
• Exeter: 6,045
• New Shoreham: 1,010

About Census Revisions

Sometimes, the U.S. Census Bureau makes small changes to the population numbers after they are first released. This happens when they find errors or get more accurate information.

For example, the 1970 total for Washington County was first reported as 83,586, but it was later updated to 85,706. The population for North Kingstown in 1970 was also updated from 27,673 to 29,793.

Similarly, for the 1990 Census, the population for South Kingstown was first reported as 24,631 and for Narragansett as 14,985. These numbers were later changed to 24,612 for South Kingstown and 15,004 for Narragansett. It seems these changes were made to fix a mistake in how people were counted between these two towns. The total population for both towns combined stayed the same, so the county total was not affected.