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










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Rhode Island

The Commemorative Quarter for Rhode Island





Welcome to Bristol ...

Bristol is located in Bristol County<1> and is the County Seat for Bristol County.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Bristol, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1773.

Bristol is 110 feet [34 m] above sea level.<2>.

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

Area Code for Bristol: 401

The ZIP code for Bristol: 02809<3>

Communities Also Named Bristol ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 44 communities that are also named Bristol - they are located in Arkansas, California (2), Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois (2), Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (2), Louisiana (2), Maine, Manitoba, Maryland (2), Michigan (3), Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada (2), New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New York, Nova Scotia, Ohio (2), Pennsylvania, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia (2), Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

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

Websites for Bristol ...

Junior League:   www.jlri.org/

Communities near Bristol ...

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

  • Providence
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • New Bedford
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Fall River
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Warwick
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Cranston
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Pawtucket
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Taunton
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • East Providence
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Attleboro
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Dartmouth
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dartmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dartmouth
    • Dartmouth is located in Bristol County (MA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 33,926 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 Bristol. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Bristol.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Bristol. 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 Bristol.

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

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Bristol ...

Looking for more information about Bristol? 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 Bristol, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Bristol.

Adding Bristol to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Bristol 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 Bristol was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

X2X - From that list, the Bristol post office opened in 1773.

We also found Bristol in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Bristol.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bristol. 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 Bristol, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Bristol - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Bristol). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Bristol or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<4>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.
<5>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

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




 

Copyright 2025
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: 22 Apr 2025