Richard Smith, a religious dissident from Gloucester, England who had originally settled in the Plymouth Colony's town of Taunton, established a trading post on Narragansett Bay near the mouth of Cocumscussoc Brook. In 1637, Smith built what appears to have been a rather grand, gabled house on the site, which Williams in his letters described as the first English house in the area. This house was also heavily fortified, and thus became known as Smith's Castle.

  The Castle is an award winning historic site where four centuries of Rhode Island history are preserved and interpreted through tours, historic reenactments and educational programs for both adults and children.