Misquamicut, RI

Misquamicut is a Washington County census-designated place and fire district in the town of Westerly, stretched between the Atlantic Ocean and Winnapaug Pond. The beach began as Pleasant View, became Misquamicut in 1928, and was rebuilt after hurricanes in 1938, 1944, and 1954. Rhode Island opened Misquamicut State Beach in 1959 on a state-owned stretch of oceanfront; Atlantic Beach Park and the commercial beach strip add other pieces to the summer map. The place is a coastal Rhode Island community shaped by cottages, storms, state beachland, and the narrow road between ocean and pond.