Bonnet Early Years
Little Beach Long Ago
130 Bonnet Shores Road
Narragansett, RI 02882
(401) 789-4540
Narragansett, RI 02882
(401) 789-4540
History
Long time Bonnet resident, historian and Bonnet Card Ladies member, Emily “Lee” Listro passed away on November 18, 2024. She will be sorely missed by our Bonnet Community. Below is a link to her Library of Congress Interview on Bonnet Shores. Thank you, Lee, for all of your contributions to the Bonnet community throughout your lifetime. Your legacy will have impacts for decades to come!
Bonnet Shores Map 1933
Bonnet Shores Brochure 1932
Courtsey Thomas A. Burns, Photographer August 8, 1979
BONNET SHORES HISTORY
Bonnet Shores was mostly Wesquage Farm and Bonnet Point before the mid 19th century, thought to be called that because the shape of the Point looked a bit like the bonnet of a ship’s jib (a small sail at the bottom of the jib).
COURTSY OF DR. HERBERT UNDERHILL AND MRS. LEE LISTRO
Permission Pending
1928
The development of Bonnet Shores started as a summer residential community by the Belton Corporation. The original plans proposed a 9-hole golf course between Camden Avenue and Bonnet Shores Road.. Some house lots originally sold for $500. By 1935, 64 cottages had been built. The Beach Club history began in 1928
Between 1928 and 1938, Beach Club life was split between two locations. The Bonnet Shores Clubhouse and it’s attending social life were at the corner of Bonnet Shores Road and Colonel John Gardner Road. This was the center of Bonnet Shores’ social activities. The beach across the street from the then Clubhouse was called the Clubhouse Beach.The following is, for the most part, an anecdotal history of the Beach Club. We wish to thank Dr. Herbert Underhill, Jr. and Mrs. Lee Listro, both of whom provided so much of the history which is presented herein.
Beach Club in 1980 Courtesy of Dan Murphy