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
Area Code for Alton: 401
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.
Websites for Alton ...
Junior League: www.jlri.org/
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>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Norwich
- From Alton to Norwich
- Groton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west) - Coventry
(18 miles [29 km] to the north) - 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
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to South Kingstown
- From Alton to South Kingstown
- 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) - 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) - 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>
X2X - 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.
Off-the-Road Links ...
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/ |