Weekapaug, Rhode Island
Encyclopedia
Washington County, Rhode Island
Washington County, commonly known colloquially as South County, is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Washington County borders Kent County to the north, New London County in Connecticut to the west, Suffolk County in New York to the southwest, the Atlantic...
. It is part of the town of Westerly, Rhode Island, and is a small beachfront community that is also a census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
. Weekapaug lies in the Eastern Time Zone and observes daylight saving time
Daylight saving time
Daylight saving time —also summer time in several countries including in British English and European official terminology —is the practice of temporarily advancing clocks during the summertime so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less...
. Weekapaug has many private roads running through it and isn't as well known as neighboring Watch Hill, Rhode Island. It has had summer cottages since 1877. Weekapaug was known as Noyes Beach from 1701 to 1899. It was named after Reverend James Noyes who had purchased 300 acres (1.2 km²) of what was to become Weekapaug. Weekapaug is a Native American word meaning "end of pond". Niantics, Pequots, and Narrangansetts lived in this area before early settlers arrived.
In 1899, Frederick and Phebe Buffum opened the Weekapaug Inn for a first summer season of guests.
On September 21, 1938, The Hurricane of 1938 swept the barrier beach clean of houses and irreparably damaged the Weekapaug Inn. See Fredrick C. Buffum's first hand account. The Weekapaug Inn was rebuilt and reopened for guests in June 1939.
Two large saltwater ponds, Winnapaug Pond
Winnapaug Pond
Winnapaug Pond is a breached saltwater pond in Westerly, Rhode Island, United States, connected to Block Island Sound by the Weekapaug Breachway, which was constructed during the mid-1950s. The lake is separated from the Atlantic by a large sandbar. In 2008, its overall water quality was assessed...
and Quonochontaug Pond, dominate the map of the area. The area just west of the breachway and channel that lead to Winnapaug pond defines the western area of Weekapaug and the breachway that leads to the Quonochontaug Pond is the eastern edge of the fire district. Both breachway
Breachway
A breachway is defined as the shore along a channel. Today the term is used to describe the whole area around where a channel meets the ocean. The Rhode Island coastline has many breachways on its map. Today's permanent breachways have rock jetties that line the sides of the channel to protect...
s are lined with rock jetties. Most of the rock
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
is granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
which was readily available in Westerly
Westerly
Westerly can refer to:* Westerly, Rhode Island, a town in the United States* The Westerlies, the prevailing winds in the middle latitudes* Westerly , a literary magazine from the University of Western Australia...
and used to be its number one industry. The breachway
Breachway
A breachway is defined as the shore along a channel. Today the term is used to describe the whole area around where a channel meets the ocean. The Rhode Island coastline has many breachways on its map. Today's permanent breachways have rock jetties that line the sides of the channel to protect...
and jetties on Winnapaug were completed on May 5, 1954. The permanent breachway
Breachway
A breachway is defined as the shore along a channel. Today the term is used to describe the whole area around where a channel meets the ocean. The Rhode Island coastline has many breachways on its map. Today's permanent breachways have rock jetties that line the sides of the channel to protect...
leading to Quonochontaug was completed on October 31 1961.
The song "Weekapaug Groove" by the band Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
is named after the area. The song does not appear on any of their studio albums, but does appear on many of their live albums, such as Slip Stitch and Pass
Slip Stitch and Pass
Slip Stitch and Pass is the second official live album by the American rock band Phish. It was released on October 28, 1997, by Elektra Records and has nine tracks from the band's March 1, 1997, show at the Markthalle in Hamburg, Germany, which was part of Phish's 1997 European Tour.Three of the...
.
In several episodes of Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, cut-aways mentions Weekapaug as the location of a fictional establishment, "Al Harrington's Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man Emporium and Warehouse".
External links
- http://www.weekapaugfoundation.com/
- Wonderful World of Weekapaug, 2004, Weekapaug Foundation of Conservation
- http://espo.gso.uri.edu/~kford/habitat/history/timeline.html