RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Rhode Island >> Washington County >> AltonIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Rhode Island


The Commemorative Quarter for Rhode Island







Welcome to Alton ...

Alton is located in Washington County<1>.



While we don't have a date for the founding of Alton, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1897.

When the people of Alton refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Altonian<2>

Alton is 60 feet [18 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Alton lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Alton is located in the (401) area code.

Websites for Alton ...

Junior League:   www.jlri.org/

Communities Also Named Alton ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 37 communities that are also named Alton - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia (2), Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (3), Kentucky, Louisiana (2), Maine, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario (3), Pennsylvania, Texas (2), Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Alton.

Communities near Alton ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Alton.

  • Norwich
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwich
    • Norwich is located in New London County (CT)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 38,619 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwich <4>
  • Groton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Groton have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton
    • Groton is located in New London County (CT)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 38,258 people
  • Coventry
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coventry have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry
    • Coventry is located in Kent County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,931 people
  • South Kingstown
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Kingstown
    • South Kingstown is located in Washington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 30,454 people
  • North Kingstown
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Kingstown have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Kingstown
    • North Kingstown is located in Washington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,278 people
  • Westerly
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westerly have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westerly
    • Westerly is located in Washington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,328 people
  • Stonington
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonington have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonington
    • Stonington is located in New London County (CT)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,566 people
  • Narragansett
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Narragansett have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narragansett
    • Narragansett is located in Washington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,309 people
  • Ledyard
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ledyard have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledyard
    • Ledyard is located in New London County (CT)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,579 people
  • East Greenwich
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Greenwich have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Greenwich
    • East Greenwich is located in Kent County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,141 people

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Alton. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Alton.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Alton. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alton.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Alton. See our Newspapers Page for Alton.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Alton ...

Looking for more information about Alton? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Alton, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Alton.

Adding Alton to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Alton in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Alton was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Alton post office opened in 1897.

We also found Alton on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Rhode Island (1911).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Alton.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Rhode Island: https://www.ri.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of the state's counties, including Washington, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Alton refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Alton may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Alton - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<6>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/









 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 29 Nov 2024