Wickford History Walk & Cocktail Party
Saturday August 15th, 2:00PM Start
Rain Date: Saturday August 22nd
How Wickford worked: the Story of the Village in the 18th & 19th Centuries
Attention history enthusiasts this BCRI-organized event was sold out last year and is back by popular demand! We’re also opening it up to our friends from the Harvard and Cornell alumni clubs of Rhode Island. Oh, and there’s even a cocktail party afterwards!
Join Town Historian Tim Cranston for this walking tour of historic Wickford Village. Tim is a fascinating expert on the local history of Wickford and beyond.
Come learn about the founding of Wickford Village (named in 1663), how it became one of the 5 busiest seaports in “the colonies” for a hundred years, how it operated in the Colonial and Federal periods, as well as the unique set of circumstances that allowed this historic village to survive into the 21st century virtually intact.
The walking tour will be held on Saturday August 15th, 2026 starting at 2pm. (Rain date is August 22nd starting at the same time). The walk begins at the Town Wharf parking lot at the end of Main Street (directions below).
The tour will last 90 to 120 minutes, depending on the number of questions. Following the tour there will be a cocktail party at the nearby Wickford home of Jim Griffeth Brown ‘79/HBS ‘84 and Emily Liu Cornell ‘84. The gathering will feature wines, beers, hors d’oeuvres, and hob knobbing with your fellow Harvardians, Brunonians and Cornellians and their guests.
Tickets are sure to go fast and capacity is limited, so be sure to get your spot now by registering on the Brown Club of RI website!
Not too familiar with Wickford?
Wickford was “named” in 1663 and formally platted in 1709, and has played an important role in the early history of the fledgling colonies. Read this article about Wickford in the Providence Journal: “This RI downtown was named one of the most charming in the U.S. by HGTV. It's not Newport”. Wickford was also recently voted #1 Historic Small Town by USA Today. So how did it survive so intact? You’ll have to join us to find out!
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About Tim Cranston
Tim Cranston can trace his Rhode Island roots back to 1637 when his ancestor John Cranston, a young boy of 12, was sent to the “colonies” by his father, a chaplain to King Charles, as he feared retribution would be rained down upon the boy by Cromwell during the long period of turmoil in England. Upon arrival he walked down the gangway to the young streets of Portsmouth and Newport and would later become colonial Governor. His son Samuel would one day marry the grand-daughter of Roger Williams, and eventually would become the longest standing governor in Rhode Island history. The Cranston family eventually went on to settle in the villages of Wickford and Swamptown.
Today that long standing lineage, and inherent Rhode Island sense of place, is personified by Tim Cranston, self-proclaimed arbiter of all things “Swamp Yankee,” and local historian of Ye Old North Kingstown and South County, and all of Rhode Island. His popular local history column has run in the South County Independent for +20 year, earnings two RI Press Association "Spirit of RI" and three PreserveRI Education Awards. The culmination of Tim Cranston’s efforts to learn about the details of the history of the village of Wickford, once the RI Colony’s second most important seaport, is the “Walking in Olde Wickford” guidebook series, a four volume set of handbooks to the history of this critically important South County village.”
Check out this video for an example of Tim Cranston in action.
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS ON THE BROWN CLUB WEBSITE
What You Need to Know
What: Historic walking tour of Wickford Village, in North Kingstown, RI by town historian Tim Cranston.
Where: Meet at the Wickford Town Dock (see below for GPS details)
Date: Saturday August 15th, 2026 (rain date is Saturday August 22nd at same time)
Time: Walking tour starts at 2pm and lasts until 3:30-4pm depending on questions. Please arrive a few minutes early
Duration: the tour runs 90-120 minutes
Afterparty: the tour will be followed by a cocktail party at the nearby Wickford home of Jim Griffeth, Brown ‘79/HBS ‘84, and Emily, Liu Cornell ‘84
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Getting There and Parking The tour begins at the Wickford Town Dock where there is plenty of free parking. Just enter “Wickford Town Dock, North Kingstown, RI” into your GPS and you’ll have no trouble finding it. Along the way you’ll drive down Main street where you’ll preview the meticulously preserved and picturesque colonial section As you pull into the parking lot at the dock, look for the group assembling there with Tim. |
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