A sailboat swings on one of the town’s few transient moorings.

“Resilient” is the word that comes to mind once you get to know the town of Warren, Rhode Island. While admittedly less glamorous than its yachtier neighbors to the south, Warren has ridden the changing tides of prosperity to emerge as a boating destination filled with hidden charms. And a boatload of history.

In colonial times, Warren was known as Sowams, home of the Pokanoke tribe of the Wampanoags and its leader, Massasoit. Today, Massasoit Spring on Baker Street marks the location of the sachem’s home.

After Massasoit’s death, relations between the settlers and the Wampanoags deteriorated, eventually leading to King Philip’s War, which devastated Warren and surrounding communities. Warren experienced more destruction during the Revolutionary War, and it took the town close to a decade to recover economically.

By the mid-1800s’, Warren had re-established itself as a whaling and shipbuilding port. Shipbuilders’ and captains’ homes of the 17- and 1800’s, many sporting unique, maritime-inspired flourishes, are among the architecturally significant structures sprinkled along the narrow streets of downtown and the waterfront.

Today, boatbuilding is alive and well in Warren. Tad Jones of Dyer Boats still runs the business started by his grandfather, Bill Dyer, who opened a boat shop on the banks of the Warren River back in 1938. The company continues to build the popular Dyer 29 cruiser and the Dyer Dhow sailing dinghy out of its shop, “The Anchorage.”

At the opposite end of the Water Street, steel-hulled ferries, workboats, fishing trawlers, and small cruise ships roll off the ways at Blount Boats, which has built over 300 vessels since its start in the late 1940s, when the company was founded by Luther Blount.

The East Bay Bike Path winds through the heart of Warren.

Textile manufacturing also played a role in Warren’s history, as evidenced by the former cotton mill built by Warren Manufacturing in 1896. The red mill buildings, which also served a home to the American Tourister luggage company, have been renovated as waterfront housing and commercial space.

Another long-standing industry that continues to flourish in Warren is shellfishing. The town is known for its fiercely independent quahog fishermen, who rake hardshell clams from the bay bottom in their fleet of weathered skiffs, many sporting homemade plywood shelters. Many of the harvested bivalves are purchased by Blount Fine Foods on Water Street, a major processor and distributor of clam products. The public can purchase fresh clams and chowders at the company’s retail store opposite the processing plant.

While the quahog is king these days, for a time Warren was known as the largest provider of oysters in the world. However, between increasing pollution in the early 1900s and the Hurricane of 1938, nearly the entire population of Narragansett Bay oysters was wiped out.

Luther Blount, founder of Blount Boats and Blount Fine Foods, was not only a shipbuilder, businessman, and entrepreneur, but a staunch supporter of the bay’s ecology and its economic impact on the town. In 1976 he launched an initiative to restore the local oyster population that involved creating a manmade salt pond on nearby Prudence Island, where he experimented with growing oysters. Professors and students from Roger Williams University began working with him in the early 2000’s, which eventually led to the creation of the school’s Blount Shellfish Hatchery.

A cruising couple heads north along the Warren River, which separates the towns of Warren and Barrington.

Warren’s rich and varied history as a working town is echoed in its architecture and no-nonsense vibe. Recent years have seen an influx of independent businesses to the local thoroughfares of Main and Water Streets. Unique boutiques, restaurants, galleries, and eclectic apparel shops have moved in, along with Rhode Island’s first food-focused small-business incubator, Hope & Main. Warren is also one of the state’s nine tax-free arts districts, which has created a thriving artists community.

As mentioned, restaurants abound in Warren. Among them are longtime favorites the Wharf Tavern, Tav Vino’s, and Trafford, all located on the river and featuring docks where boaters can tie up. If you’re seeking more casual fare, grab a lobster roll, fried clam plate, burger or cup of chowder at the Blount Clam Shack. Many more eateries can be found on the adjoining streets within easy walking distance of the waterfront.

Despite its lengthy waterfront, Warren doesn’t offer much in the way of transient-boater accommodations, so boaters seeking marina amenities must look to Barrington, on the opposite side of the Warren River. The Warren harbormaster’s office maintains four transient moorings with dinghy tie-up at the Town Wharf, which also features a small ramp that can accommodate boats up to 25 feet at high tide. It’s also a good spot to launch a kayak. Another small but steep public ramp with limited parking is available behind the sewage-treatment plant, off Water Street. Larger, all-tide public ramps can be found in Bristol and Barrington.

Not all aquatic action in Warren happens on the Warren River, however. On the east side of town, boaters can explore a quieter setting on the Kickemuit River (Wampanoag for “at the great spring”) and the Warren Reservoir. “The Kick” is also a popular spot for kayaking and paddleboarding, as well as birdwatching, as the surrounding marshland attracts many species of waterfowl, raptors and wading birds.

Quiet, but never boring, Warren is will surely leave you satisfied—and pleasantly surprised.