Ghosts of Rocky Point

A visit to the Rhode Island coast—and the ruins of an abandoned amusement park

The graffiti-covered walls of an old Rocky Point structure. (Robert Isenberg)

Rollercoasters. Haunted houses. Snacks by the sea. Every Rhode Islander of a certain age seems to have a memory of Rocky Point. The amusement park has long closed, but crumbling artifacts hint at this previous incarnation.

Notes & Addenda

• This area was once home to a Revolution-era defensive structure, Warwick Neck Fort. There don’t seem to be any traces of it, nor even searchable drawings from the time.
• The Rocky Point Amusement Park officially opened in 1847. How long ago was that? Well, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre was first published that year. Salt Lake City was founded by Mormon settlers. Abraham Lincoln was a 38-year-old representative living in a boarding house.
• The “possible arson” took place in 2004, when the park’s largest building, which had long been shuttered, caught fire. This has never been confirmed, and no suspects seem to have ever been arrested.