Westerly at a Glance:

Westerly is a town on the south shore of Washington County, Rhode Island, and was founded in 1669. It is Rhode Island's westernmost town. The Pawcatuck River flows on the western border of Westerly. The Pawcatuck River also serves as the boundary between Westerly and Pawcatuck, Connecticut. Along the coast of Westerly lie salt ponds, which serve as shallow reeflike pools, whose outer walls form the long, white beaches for which the town became renowned. From west to east, these ponds are called Maschaug Pond, Winnapaug Pond, and Quonochontaug Pond. The town also has a fresh water lake, Chapman's Pond, which is undergoing revitalization. Famous beaches, from west to east are Watch Hill Beach, East Beach, Misquamicut Beach, Westerly Town Beach, and Weekapaug Beach. Westerly sits atop a glacial moraine, a series of small hills of debris left behind by receding glaciers in the last Ice Age. A pristine sample of the moraine encompasses a 140-acre preserve, owned in perpetuity by the Westerly Land Trust. Within the trust land are the rare "kettle" formations that extend out under the sea to Block Island.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 74.8 square miles, of which 44.7 square miles is water.
Westerly consists of a number of small villages. Downtown Westerly, on the Pawcatuck River, is the municipal seat of the area, with the old town post office, library, YMCA, railroad station police headquarters, granite buildings and Wilcox Park. Other villages are Watch Hill (with its beaches and summer cottages - and the Misquamicut Club), Misquamicut (a beachfront community with small amounts of nightlife and lots of hotels), Winnapaug (with its public golf courses.), Weekapaug, Dunn's Corners, Bradford(a village with its own post office and postal zip code), Shelter Harbor (a private residential community with its new private golf course, the Shelter Harbor Golf Club), Avondale (with antique colonial and Queen Anne style homes), Potter Hill (where the Town Forest is located), and White Rock.
Westerly's governmental structure is comprised of a seven-member Town Council and a Town Manager.