Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Washington County, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.
Newspapers
- B.D.A. Topics (Bradford, R.I.)1926-19??
- Block Island Press (Block Island, Newport County, R.I.)1903-19??
- Block Island Topics (Block Island, R.I.)1913-19??
- Block Island Wireless (Block Island, R.I.)1903-19??
- Bradfast (Bradford, R.I.)1925-1925
- Hill and Dale (Westerly, R.I.)1911-19??
- Hope Valley Advertiser (Hope Valley, R.I.)1894-19??
- Hope Valley Advertiser (Hope Valley, Washington Co., R.I.)1881-1883
- Narragansett Herald (Narragansett Pier, R.I.)1877-1???
- Narragansett Herald, Hopkinton Gazette and North Kingstown Courier (Narragansett Pier, R.I.)1876-1877
- Narragansett Times (Wakefield, R.I.)1855-1856
- Narragansett Times (Wakefield, R.I.)1859-1864
- Narragansett Times (Wakefield, R.I.)1889-Current
- Narragansett Times and Washington County Advertiser (Wakefield, R.I.)1864-1889
- Quonset Scout (Quonset Point [North Kingstown, R.I.])1941-1973
- Rhode-Island Advocate (Kingston, R.I.)1831-183?
- Seaside Topics (Watch Hill, R.I.)1905-19??
- Seaside Topics (Westerly, R.I.)1914-19??
- Sentinel and Advertiser (Hope Valley, R.I.)1883-1894
- Shannock Weekly Sentinel (Shannock, Washington Co., R.I.)1882-1883
- South County Chronicle (West Kingston, R.I.)1893-189?
- South County Journal (Wakefield, R.I.)1858-1859
- Stillman's Idea (Westerly, R.I.)1885-1???
- The American Federalist (Westerly, R.I.)1887-18??
- The Common Cause (Westerly, R.I.)1904-1905
- The Daily Tribune (Westerly, R.I.)1889-1890
- The Literary Echo (Westerly, R.I.)1851-1851
- The Literary Echo, and Pawcatuck Advertiser (Westerly, R.I.)1851-1854
- The Live Yankee (Westerly, R.I.)1879-18??
- The Narragansett Pier Breeze (Narragansett Pier, R.I.)1917-1918
- The Narragansett Weekly (Westerly, R.I.)1858-1878
- The News (Westerly, R.I.)1873-188?
- The Rhode Island Telephone & Genealogical and Historical Repository (Wickford, R.I.)1883-1884
- The Seashore Breeze (Pleasant View, R.I.)1909-191?
- The Standard (Wickford, R.I.)1890-1914
- The Standard (Wickford, R.I.)1941-1958
- The Straight-Edge (Westerly, R.I.)1881-188?
- The Wakefield Advertiser (Wakefield, R.I.)1851-185?
- The Watch Hill Social Register (Watch Hill, R.I.)1935-193?
- The Weekly Pendulum, and General Advertiser for Kent and Washington Counties (East Greenwich, R.I.)1854-1856
- The Westerly Daily Sun (Westerly, R.I.)1893-1905
- The Westerly Daily Tribune (Westerly [R.I.])1890-1898
- The Westerly Echo, & Pawcatuck Advertiser (Westerly, R.I.)1854-1858
- The Westerly Herald (Westerly, R.I.)1899-190?
- The Westerly Journal (Westerly, R.I.)1888-189?
- The Westerly News (Westerly, R.I.)1884-1884
- The Westerly News (Westerly, R.I.)1916-19??
- The Westerly News and Rhode Island Telephone (Westerly and Wickford, R.I.)1884-1887
- The Westerly Sun (Westerly, R.I.)1905-Current
- The Westerly Times (Westerly, R.I.)1901-19??
- The Wickford Standard (Wickford, R.I.)1914-1941
- Watch Hill Life (Watch Hill, R.I.)1894-19??
- Watch Hill Surf (Watch Hill, R.I.)1888-18??
- Watch Hill Topics (Watch Hill, R.I.)1904-1904
- Westerly Daily Tribune (Westerly, R.I.)1888-1889
- Westerly Enterprise (Westerly, R.I.)1867-186?
- Westerly Narragansett Weekly (Westerly, Washington Co., R.I.)1878-1899
- Wickford Standard (Wickford, R.I.)1888-1890
- Wood River Advertiser (Hope Valley, R.I.)1876-1880
See the repository's descriptions and search options
Repository access note: Selected newspaper titles cataloged by the Library of Congress with explicit county geography. Priority is given to titles beginning by 1950; up to five later titles are included where no earlier dated title is listed for that county. Dates describe publication history, not the issues available at a library. Multiple format records with the same title, place and dates are grouped. The catalog may describe paper, microfilm or online resources. Open ends and the word Current reflect the catalog description; confirm present availability and exact holdings with the libraries listed on the linked record.
Sources: the catalogs and repository descriptions linked on the entries above. Selected inventories do not establish complete coverage of every record type or online access to original documents. Read the repository access note for source dates and limitations.
Where to find the records
- Find Washington County's official website
We haven't checked this county's website yet, so this opens a web search. Look for an address ending in .gov, then find the town or city clerk.
- The town or city clerk
In Rhode Island, land evidence, probate and births, marriages and deaths are kept by each town, not the county.
- The Rhode Island State Archives
In Providence: colonial and state records, state censuses and older vital records. Historic court records are at the Supreme Court Judicial Records Center in Pawtucket.
- Rhode Island State Archivesfree
The state archives in Providence, with colonial and state records, state censuses and older vital records.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Rhode Island, Washington" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Providence County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Providence County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1729, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Rhode Island's counties have no government; town clerks keep land, probate and vital records. James N. Arnold's published Vital Record of Rhode Island transcribes town records from 1636 to 1850.