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Welcome to Alton ...

Alton is located in Washington County<1>.

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
  • Groton
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton
    • Groton lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<4> to the west of Alton.
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 38,258 people
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Groton have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Google Maps centered on Groton
  • Coventry
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry
    • Coventry lies 18 miles [29 km]<4> to the north of Alton.
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,931 people
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coventry have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Google Maps centered on Coventry
  • South Kingstown
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Kingstown
    • South Kingstown lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<4> to the east of Alton.
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 30,454 people
    • Jump to Google Maps centered on South Kingstown
  • North Kingstown
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Kingstown
    • North Kingstown lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<4> to the northeast of Alton.
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,278 people
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Kingstown have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Google Maps centered on North Kingstown
  • Westerly
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westerly
    • Westerly lies 7 miles [11.3 km]<4> to the southwest of Alton.
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,328 people
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westerly have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Google Maps centered on Westerly
  • Stonington
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonington
    • Stonington lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<4> to the southwest of Alton.
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,566 people
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonington have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Google Maps centered on Stonington
  • Narragansett
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narragansett
    • Narragansett lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<4> to the east of Alton.
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,309 people
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Narragansett have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Google Maps centered on Narragansett
  • Ledyard
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledyard
    • Ledyard lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<4> to the west of Alton.
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,579 people
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ledyard have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Google Maps centered on Ledyard
  • East Greenwich
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Greenwich
    • East Greenwich lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<4> to the northeast of Alton.
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,141 people
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Greenwich have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Google Maps centered on East Greenwich

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.<7>

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Alton) to Point B.If you need the driving distance, we recommend that you use one of the Mapping Services listed on our Map Page for Alton. Since we usually use Google Maps for our own planning, we've provided the following link for your convenience: Google Map and Driving Directions starting from AltonOur distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4378, Longitude: -71.7168    
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>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.
<7>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

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




 

 

 

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This page was last modified/updated: 04 Jun 2023