When East Greenwich was established as the Kent County seat in 1750 the first courthouse was constructed on this site. In 1775, it was the practice of the General Assembly to rotate among the five Rhode Island counties. When the wheel landed on East Greenwich in 1764 the legislature established the school that would become Brown University; in 1775 the legislature passed the resolution that created the United States Navy. That original building was replaced in 1804 with this handsome Federal-style structure built by Oliver Wickes, a Revolutionary War veteran. Wickes added some Revolutionary-era styling as well with the square tower and decorative corner quoins. History continued to be made here (or at least close by) - in September 1842 the convention for the framing of the Rhode Island Constitution met here but when the heating system failed the meeting was adjourned and the final vote actually taken in the Methodist church several blocks away.
In the early days the courtyard had on one side of its walk a liberty pole and on the other a whipping post. The building, by far the largest structure in Kent County in its day, s listed in the National Register of Historic Places. After 1854 the General Assembly restricted its activities to Providence and Newport but the building continued in use as a Courthourse and cases were heard here until 1978. After many years of vacancy and neglect the Courthouse was given a $2.3 million make-over for re-use as the East Greenwich Town Hall.
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