Rhode Island’s preservation landscape includes more than 17,500 National Register properties, nearly 20,000 resources in the State Register, 45 National Historic Landmarks, and substantial public and tax-credit support for restoration. The figures below separate current summaries, the 2021 grant round, and tax-credit agreements by their contract dates.
Contents
- Statewide register statistics
- The 2021 State Preservation Grant round
- Grant awards by community and project
- Tax-credit agreements signed in 2013 and 2014
- Agreements signed from 2017 through 2022
- Agreements signed from 2023 through January 2026
Statewide register statistics
The Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission’s statewide summary reports more than 17,500 Rhode Island properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places. That is a current summary accessed in 2026, rather than a dated annual count. It describes the scale of the state’s nationally recognized inventory, but the supplied figure is expressed as “more than” 17,500 rather than an exact total.
The commission’s State Register page, updated January 8, 2021, gives a second measure: nearly 20,000 historic and prehistoric resources. This State Register total includes National Register properties as well as additional resources judged locally significant. Because the two summaries use different register definitions and dates, they should not be subtracted from one another or treated as a single unduplicated inventory.
At the highest national designation level, the commission’s National Historic Landmarks summary lists 45 Rhode Island National Historic Landmarks. The landmarks span buildings, historic districts, structures, and archaeological sites. Together, the three figures show three layers of preservation recognition: a National Register inventory of more than 17,500 properties, a broader State Register measure of nearly 20,000 resources, and 45 especially significant National Historic Landmarks.
The 2021 State Preservation Grant round
The State Preservation Grant recipients page records 35 applications for capital-preservation projects in the 2021 Rhode Island State Preservation Grant round. Of those applications, 18 projects were approved for more than $1.18 million. The awards covered 12 Rhode Island towns.
The application and award counts describe different stages of the same round: 35 applications entered the process, while 18 projects received approval. The award total is also reported as “more than” $1.18 million, so it should be read as a lower-bound description rather than an exact sum. The 12-town geography indicates that the approved work extended beyond one preservation center or one county-sized cluster, although the supplied figures do not provide a statewide town-by-town denominator.
The 2021 awards also show the range of project sizes. The smallest named award in the supplied list was $11,900 for Foster Preservation Society’s Blacksmith Shop in Foster. Other awards were $26,825 for East Providence Historical Society in East Providence, $28,200 for Linden Place in Bristol, and $30,000 for the Vernon House in Newport. These amounts represent individual grant awards in the 2021 round, not total restoration costs.
Grant awards by community and project
The same commission list identifies a group of larger 2021 awards. Cogswell Tower in Central Falls received $150,000, while La Farge Restoration Fund in Newport also received $150,000. Fort Adams Trust in Newport received $122,500, and Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol received $112,000.
Several projects received awards between $48,000 and $88,500. The Museum of Natural History and Planetarium in Providence received $88,500. The Historic Metcalf-Franklin Farm Preservation Association in Cumberland received $75,000, and The Elms in Newport received $74,250. Watson Farm Barn in Jamestown received $69,000, Pawtucket Public Library in Pawtucket received $58,100, and John Brown House in Providence received $48,000. The Steel Yard in Providence received $36,400.
| 2021 project | Community | State Preservation Grant |
|---|---|---|
| Cogswell Tower | Central Falls | $150,000 |
| La Farge Restoration Fund | Newport | $150,000 |
| Fort Adams Trust | Newport | $122,500 |
| Herreshoff Marine Museum | Bristol | $112,000 |
| Museum of Natural History and Planetarium | Providence | $88,500 |
| Historic Metcalf-Franklin Farm Preservation Association | Cumberland | $75,000 |
| The Elms | Newport | $74,250 |
| Watson Farm Barn | Jamestown | $69,000 |
| Pawtucket Public Library | Pawtucket | $58,100 |
| John Brown House | Providence | $48,000 |
| The Steel Yard | Providence | $36,400 |
The distribution includes museums, houses, farms, libraries, industrial or civic structures, and a military site. It also includes multiple Newport recipients—La Farge Restoration Fund, Fort Adams Trust, The Elms, and the Vernon House—alongside projects in Bristol, Central Falls, Cumberland, East Providence, Foster, Jamestown, Pawtucket, and Providence. The award list therefore connects statewide preservation funding with a varied set of local-history assets.
Tax-credit agreements signed in 2013 and 2014
The Rhode Island Division of Taxation’s historic tax-credit agreement list, labeled Historic Preservation Tax Credits 2013, records a series of agreements contracted from December 19, 2013, through March 26, 2014. The figures below are agreement amounts recorded by the Division of Taxation; they are not presented here as construction costs or as independently verified project expenditures.
The December 2013 agreements included $675,909 for Heaton and Cowing Mill on December 19, $652,852 for the Gately Building on December 20, and $250,000 for Merchants Bank Building on December 23. Early January agreements recorded $76,928 for Arnold Saunders House on January 2, $4,000,000 for Eagle Street Lofts on January 3, and $2,500,000 for Lymansville Company Mill, also on January 3.
On February 7, 2014, the list records $77,000 for 4-6 Front Street at Ashton and $1,478,314 for Ashton Village. The George C Arnold Building agreement was $150,000 on February 13. The following day, February 14, agreements were recorded for $197,050 for Kenrick-Prentice-Tirrochi House, $2,500,000 for Kinsley Building, and $62,500 for Bush Company Building. The Columbia Building agreement was $250,000 on February 17.
March 2014 records include $1,125,000 for Lanphear Livery Stable, also called Holdredge Garage, on March 4; $1,850,000 for American Wire on March 10; $250,000 for Teste Block on March 21; $500,000 for Narragansett Hotel Garage, also on March 21; and $130,000 for Mr. and Mrs. Albert C. White House on March 26. These entries show that the period included both multimillion-dollar mill or loft projects and smaller agreements below $200,000.
Agreements signed from 2017 through 2022
The Division of Taxation list records $1,935,000 for Bernon Mills, contracted October 23, 2017, and $1,250,000 for Woolworth Building, contracted March 12, 2018. The Mechanical Fabric Company Complex, Buildings 1, 2, and 4, had a $1,687,500 agreement dated June 28, 2019.
Two 2020 agreements were also above $2 million: $2,487,500 for Stedman and Fuller/Bourn Rubber/Phillips-Baker Rubber Co. on January 21, and $2,125,000 for Studley Building on February 14. The Arctic Mill agreement reached $5,000,000 on June 24, 2021.
The 2022 entries included $2,500,000 for Leader Weaving Company Weaving Shed and Office on March 4. On June 27, the list records both a $82,500 agreement for Old Custom House and a $5,000,000 agreement for Wanskuck Mill. The contrast between those two same-date amounts illustrates the range of projects represented in the agreement list, from a comparatively small historic property agreement to a major mill project.
| Contract date | Project | Recorded agreement |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 23, 2017 | Bernon Mills | $1,935,000 |
| Mar. 12, 2018 | Woolworth Building | $1,250,000 |
| Jun. 28, 2019 | Mechanical Fabric Company Complex | $1,687,500 |
| Jan. 21, 2020 | Stedman and Fuller/Bourn Rubber/Phillips-Baker Rubber Co. | $2,487,500 |
| Feb. 14, 2020 | Studley Building | $2,125,000 |
| Jun. 24, 2021 | Arctic Mill | $5,000,000 |
| Mar. 4, 2022 | Leader Weaving Company Weaving Shed and Office | $2,500,000 |
| Jun. 27, 2022 | Wanskuck Mill | $5,000,000 |
Agreements signed from 2023 through January 2026
The later entries continue to include large mill, theater, school, commercial, and residential-reuse projects. Allen Printworks had a $5,000,000 agreement contracted July 31, 2023. The Majestic Theatre agreement was $2,460,286 on December 12, 2024.
On March 19, 2025, the list records $5,000,000 for Walker Lofts/Sayles Company Dye House and $1,550,000 for Tockwotten Home. Morris Clothes Shoppe had a $700,000 agreement on April 1, while Union Station Food Hall had a $2,467,972 agreement on April 25. The Wickford Elementary School agreement was $2,200,000 on September 4, followed the next day by $4,038,879 for Naushon Company Plant.
The November 20, 2025, entry for Wanskuck Mill’s Boiler House was $2,000,000. The list then records three January 2026 agreements: $750,000 for The Atlantic Inn on January 5, $400,000 for Oliver School on January 15, and $2,575,000 for Thayer School on January 20. These are contract dates in the tax-credit agreement list, not a forecast of future awards or a measure of completed work.
Across the 2023–January 2026 entries, the largest recorded amounts are $5,000,000 for Allen Printworks and Walker Lofts/Sayles Company Dye House. The smallest is $400,000 for Oliver School. Between them are agreements for adaptive-reuse and preservation projects such as the Majestic Theatre, Union Station Food Hall, Wickford Elementary School, Naushon Company Plant, and the two Wanskuck Mill entries. The source labels these records as historic preservation tax-credit agreements, so the amounts should be interpreted within that program’s reporting framework.
The statewide register counts, the 2021 grant round, and the dated tax-credit agreements measure different parts of preservation activity. Register figures describe recognized resources; grant statistics describe one capital-preservation funding round; and tax-credit entries describe agreements attached to specific projects and contract dates. Keeping those measurement types separate provides the clearest statistical picture of Rhode Island’s local history and heritage infrastructure.