Prescott Farm in Middletown in Newport County, Rhode Island — The American Northeast (New England)
Welcome to Prescott Farm
Visitors are welcome to enjoy our historic buildings and open space.
The Newport Restoration Foundation maintains this 40-acre site to provide a glimpse into Aquidneck Island's rural past. The area shaded in green on this map is open to the public from dawn to dusk. The Nichols-Overing house and other buildings north of the stream are private residents.
Where Past Meets Present
1638
Religious dissenters, exiled from Massachusetts Bay Colony, acquired the land from native Narragansetts to form Portsmouth, the first European settlement on Aquidneck Island.
1730s
The Nichols family built a lavish Georgian home on this site.
1771
The house and surrounding farm were purchased as a country retreat by Henry Overing, a wealthy Newport merchant.
1771
British General Prescott made his summer headquarters here during the Revolutionary War. Prescott's capture by American patriot William Barton gave the site its name.
1969
Doris Duke, preservationist and heiress, purchased this farm for the Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF) to preserve rapidly disappearing open space and provide a home for endangered colonial-era buildings.
[Captions:]
Robert Sherman Windmill 1812
A masterwork
this page online
Kitchen Garden 2005
Inspired by the gardens that sustained 18th-century farming families. Managed by University of Rhode Island Master Gardeners using modern organic techniques.
Nichols-Overing House c.1730s
A grand country house, this is the only building original to the site.
Guard House c.1700s
This small gambrel-roofed building was once a kitchen addition on the back of the Nichols-Overing House.
Sweet-Anthony House c.1730
This typical middle-class farmhouse, once located farther south on West Main Road, was moved to Prescott Farm in 1970.
Hicks House c.1715
The Hicks House, once home to a Bristol ferryman and his family, was originally located in Portsmouth.
Erected by Newport Restoration Foundation.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Colonial Era • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1638.
Location. 41° 33.207′ N, 71° 17.439′ W. Marker is in Middletown, Rhode Island, in Newport County. It
Regionally, this marker is on Narragansett Bay and in Newport and Aquidneck Island. It is also in the American Northeast, in New England, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Summer Headquarters (a few steps from this marker); Prescott’s Headquarters (within shouting distance of this marker); Wind at Work (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); World War I Memorial Tower (approx. 3.1 miles away); Green End Fort (approx. 3.4 miles away); The Black Regiment (approx. 3.7 miles away); The 1st Rhode Island Regiment and the Battle of Rhode Island (approx. 3.7 miles away); Site of the Battle of Rhode Island (approx. 3.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Middletown.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 21, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 9 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 21, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
