5 Things You Must Do in Warwick

Warwick Car Rental

Warwick, Rhode Island (population 86,000), is 49 miles south of Boston, Massachusetts. The city is considered part of the Providence - Fall River - Warwick metropolitan area. Warwick was founded by Samuel Gorton in 1642, and has witnessed major events in American history. Warwick was decimated during King Philip's War (1675-76) and was the site of the first shot fired during the American Revolution against the British schooner Gaspée.
 
1 –   Historic generals’ homes: Gen. James Mitchell Varnum served during the Revolutionary War. He bought the land that his home is on from John Peirce for $90 in 1773. Gen. Lafayette visited the house many times. In 1939, the house was made into a museum. Warwick is also the home of Revolutionary War Gen. Nathanael Greene, George Washington's second-in-command and acknowledged by many historians as the most capable and significant general of the Revolutionary effort. His home west of town is open for tours.

2 –   Roger Williams Park Zoo: In nearby Providence, Rhode Island's only zoo shelters over 957 animals, with some 156 different species on display at any given time, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians and insects. The Bearwatch exhibit houses Kobe, a seven-month-old polar bear born at the zoo. You can view underwater videos of Kobe and his mother, Trixie, and learn interesting facts about the species in general.

3 –   Museum of Natural History and Planetarium: In Providence is Rhode Island's only natural history museum and its only planetarium. Among the natural history collections are 175,000 preserved plants and animals such as insects, mollusk shells, birds, and mammals. There are also 15,000 earth science specimens consisting of rocks, minerals, and animal and plant fossils. The cultural collections consist of about 20,000 archaeological artifacts, mostly from North America. They also contain 4,000 ethnographic objects such as baskets, textiles, tools, and carvings with special emphasis on Oceania and Native North America.

4 –   Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology: This facility on the Brown University campus is on 376 acres of woodland on the shores of Mount Hope Bay, across from Warwick. It offers exhibits on ethnography and archaeology, and is one of the finest centers in New England for research on Native American material culture. Its holdings include 73,000 archaeological artifacts and 15,000 ethnographic artifacts. The museum also contains significant material from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

5 –   Goddard Memorial State Park: Rhode Island’s most popular metropolitan park offers a beautiful natural environment with lawns, playing fields, and forested areas with a variety of trees from all over the world, including 62 deciduous and 19 evergreen species. Visitors can enjoy a nine-hole golf course, an equestrian show area, 18 miles of bridle trails, picnic tables, game fields, and a performing arts center for weddings, concerts, picnics, and special events.