Park Square, Rhode Island

41°59′00″N 71°30′57″W / 41.9833°N 71.5157°W / 41.9833; -71.5157

Park Square is an area on Rhode Island Route 146A in North Smithfield and Woonsocket, Rhode Island, near the intersection of Park Avenue and Route 146A. It is 12 miles from Providence and near Union Village.

History

In the early twentieth century, Park Square was the site of Oak Knoll Farm, a large ice cream business which had been expanded by Charles Metcalf Smith.^[1] At that time, the Park Square area contained a diner, a gas station, an amusement park in North Smithfield, and in Woonsocket, a trolley barn and fairground, where an annual fair started being held in the 1860s by the Woonsocket Agricultural and Horticultural Society.^[2] A carnival is still held yearly in the area at a field owned by the Church of Lady Queen of Martyrs, and the Woonsocket High School football team plays on nearby Barry Field. The historic Frank Wilbur House is located near Park Square.

Businesses

Park Square is currently home to many businesses, including Citizen's Bank (previously an Oldstone Bank), Park Square Urgent Care (previously a pharmacy and lunch counter), Park Square Florist, Park Square Wine & Spirits, Burger King, Wendy's, McDonald's (previously the site of Square One and Howard Johnson's), Pearl's Candy & Nuts, Ocean State Job Lot (previously Almac's until 1995), Super Stop & Shop (previously the site of a Mammoth Mart (later Mars until 1990), Star Market, and Kentucky Beef (later Burger Chef). Rehabilitation Hospital of Rhode Island (built in 1965 as Fogarty Hospital and named after Congressman John E. Fogarty) is also located in the Square.^[3]

1774 Caleb Aldrich milestone on Rt. 146A near Landmark Hospital
2002 photo of the 1774 milestone

External links and references

^ The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (NEW YORK THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETV, INC., 1920), pg. 135 https://archive.org/stream/historyofstateof08bick/historyofstateof08bick_djvu.txt
^ Historic and Architectural Resources of North Smithfield, Rhode Island: A Preliminary Report http://www.preservation.ri.gov/pdfs_zips_downloads/survey_pdfs/north_smithfield.pdf
^ Walter Nebiker, The History of North Smithfield (Somersworth, NH: New England History Press, 1976). The McDonald's in Park Square sits on the site of the former Square One Restaurant and a prior restaurant.

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[1] The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (NEW YORK THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETV, INC., 1920), pg. 135 https://archive.org/stream/historyofstateof08bick/historyofstateof08bick_djvu.txt

[2] Historic and Architectural Resources of North Smithfield, Rhode Island: A Preliminary Report http://www.preservation.ri.gov/pdfs_zips_downloads/survey_pdfs/north_smithfield.pdf

[3] Walter Nebiker, The History of North Smithfield (Somersworth, NH: New England History Press, 1976). The McDonald's in Park Square sits on the site of the former Square One Restaurant and a prior restaurant.

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