Town file
South Kingstown, Rhode Island
South Kingstown, Rhode Island (Washington County, Rhode Island) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 55, "The Neighborhood Cannibal" (31 January 2018). South Kingstown is a town of about 30,000 people in Washington County, Rhode Island, in the south-central part of that small state.
- Town
- South Kingstown
- County
- Washington County
- State
- Rhode Island
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 55
- Approximate location
- 41.411, -71.547
Episode 55 / 31 January 2018 / 138 min / full
The Neighborhood Cannibal
"South Kingstown, Rhode Island, in the south-central part of this tiny state; Washington County, zip code 02881, area code 401" about 0:07:41
The case: Murder of Jason Foreman (May 18th, 1975). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2018
- Population
- 30,000
- Median age
- 37.4
- Median household income
- about $72,000 a year
- Median home value
- $320,800
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $1,120 a month
- Cost of living
- 135
- Religious
- about 47%
- Property crime
- ▼ about half the national average
- Violent crime
- ▼ about a third less
- Reward offered for Jason Foreman
- $6,500
History, in brief
- The area was named after the Narragansett, an Algonquin tribe who lived there. about 0:09:34
- The first European to buy a parcel of land from the natives was Roger Williams. about 0:10:07
- Roger Williams established a trading post in Wickford in 1637. about 0:10:15
- In 1640 a rival trader, Roger Smith, built his own post, Smith's Castle, just north of Wickford. about 0:10:35
- Smith's plantation became the gathering place for religious services, political town meetings and social events. about 0:11:07
- The Narragansett country pledged loyalty to King Charles and was known as the King's Province. about 0:12:44
- In 1664 a royal commission under Charles II stepped in to adjudicate the conflicting border claims. about 0:12:50
- The settlements were named to flatter the king; Kingstown was later split into North and South Kingstown. about 0:13:10
- Slavery and plantations in southern Rhode Island peaked in the mid-1700s, with black and native slaves. about 0:16:51
- In 1770 the silversmith Samuel Casey was sentenced to death for counterfeiting coins and the whole town broke him out of jail. about 0:17:08
- George Washington spent the night in the area several times during the Revolutionary War. about 0:17:50
- After the Revolutionary War King's County became Washington County. about 0:18:34
- Rhode Island tried to block ratification of parts of the Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention. about 0:19:09
- Granite was found in the area in the 1800s. about 0:20:19
- The University of Rhode Island is in the town. about 0:20:25
- Locals were called swamp Yankees: poor in origin, fiercely independent, stubborn, obstinate and uninformed about the outside world. about 0:20:51
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Little Compton, Rhode Island21 miles
- Cranston, Rhode Island25 miles
- Barrington, Rhode Island25 miles
- Warren, Rhode Island26 miles
- Foster, Rhode Island28 miles
- East Providence, Rhode Island29 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.