Weekapaug, Rhode Island

Weekapaug is a small fire district in southern Washington County, Rhode Island. It is part of the town of Westerly, Rhode Island, and is a small beachfront community. Weekapaug lies in the Eastern Time Zone and observes daylight saving time. 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 convert|300|acre|km2 of what was to become Weekapaug. Weekapaug is a Native American word meaning "end of pond". Niantics, Pequots, and Narrangansetts were found in this area before early settlers arrived.

In 1938 the Weekapaug Inn and nearly all the houses along the beach in Weekapaug were destroyed by a hurricane. The Inn was rebuilt in one year, but most of the beach near the inn remains undeveloped and part of this area has been designated as an environmental preserve.

Two large saltwater ponds, Winnapaug Pond 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 breachways are lined with rock jetties. Most of the rock is granite which was readily available in Westerly and used to be its number one industry. The breachway and jetties on Winnapaug were completed on May 5th, 1954. The permanent breachway leading to Quonochontaug was completed on October 31st 1961.

Weekapaug also has the distinction of having a Phish song named after it.

In the Family Guy movie, . a cut-away mentions the town of Weekapaug as the location of a fictional establishment, [http://www.wackywavinginflatablearmflailingtubeman.com/ Al Harrington's Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man Emporium and Warehouse] .

External links

* http://www.weekapaugfoundation.com/
* http://www.weekapauglife.com/

Notes

References

* Wonderful World of Weekapaug, 2004, Weekapaug Foundation of Conservation
* http://espo.gso.uri.edu/~kford/habitat/history/timeline.html
* http://www.rhode-island-luxury-homes.com/Weekapaug_Real_Estate.html