Roger Williams owned a large tract of land in this neighborhood, and it remained farmland into the 19 th Century. A successful racetrack opened in 1851. A large piece of Roger Williams' land was given to the city of Providence by his family to be turned into Roger Williams Park in 1871. Residential development in the following decades in response to the new  trolley lines, turned the area in the next decades into a homogenous, affluent middle class suburb with many well designed one family homes from the late 19 th and early 20 th Century.

For further information on Washington Park, consult the Providence Plan website.
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