About Wakefield, Rhode Island

Wakefield is a village in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States, and the commercial center of South Kingstown. Together with the village of Peace Dale, it is treated by the U.S. Census as a component of the census-designated place identified as Wakefield-Peacedale. West Kingston, another South Kingstown village, was the traditional county seat of Washington County. Since 1991, the Washington County Courthouse has been in Wakefield. The Sheriff's Office which handles corrections is also in Wakefield. The Wakefield village center along Main Street (old Boston Post Road) between Belmont Avenue and Columbia Street was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 as Wakefield Historic District, with boundary increases in 2019 and 2022. The district is significant for being an early commercial and industrial center. The district includes 53 properties over an area of 400 acres (160 ha). Read More