History

Hotel History

Built in 1901, the front building served as the private residence of R. James Sullivan and came to be known as the "Youghal Cottage". Nine bedrooms and a small chapel were located on the second and third floors. The second floor was used by the owners and the third for the maids and butlers. In the early twenties it became a speak-easy where the vacationing elite would party til the early morning hours. Secret passage-ways are located in the basement and under the staircase to the second floor. The bedrooms on the second floor were transformed into small gambling rooms where roulette, black jack and craps were the late night entertainment.

As the years went by, the property went by several names such as "Narragansett Social Club", "Neptune Motor Inn" and most recently "Pier House Inn".

Major renovations have taken place since then; an addition of an ocean front courtyard cafe, a larger restaurant and better quality accommodations.

The Ocean Rose Inn is one of the last original ocean front Victorian inns in southern Rhode Island.

Narragansett History

Welcome - At the beginning of this century, Narragansett rivaled Newport as a favorite vacation spot of the wealthy.
Fashionable periodicals commented regularly on the social goings-on at "The Pier" (Narragansett).

One of the finest beaches in the Northeast lured the Aristocrats then, and vacationers today, who still return every summer.
The simple charm and lack of pretension distinguishes Narragansett from affluent resorts.

The sun shimmers on the waves at Narragansett Pier and there's a salty tang in the breeze. A walk along the seawall hugging
Ocean Road allows unlimited view of sea and crashing surf. Brisk offshore winds furl sails, and fishing boats head into nearby
ports with their catches.

Come, experience for yourself the many "pleasures and treasures" of Narragansett.

Narragansett was incorporated as a town in 1901. Prior to that time, it was part of South Kingstown,with local history dating back to 1675 when Roland Robinson settled in South County and purchased land from the Narragansett Indians in Pettaquamscutt and Pt. Judith Shipbuilding was an early industry with sailing vessels built on the Narrow River at Middlebridge. South Ferry, or Franklin Ferry, was a thriving community, offering ferry service to Jamestown and Newport for more than a hundred years in the early 1700's. South Ferry Church was a landmark on every sea captain's chart of Naragansett Bay.

Between 1888 and 1920 Naragansett was well-known as an elegant summer resort with a dozen more grand hotels and many large estates and "cottages". Probably the most prominent landmark was the Naragansett Casino, covering nearly one square block from Ocean Road to Mathewson Street. The towers on Ocean Road served as the main entrance and covered promenade, and are all that remain after a devestating fire in 1900. Most of the large hotels, all built in wood, were destroyed by fire during the early 1900's.

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