Wakefield Land and Investment Company stock certificate c1890 (Rhode Island) 

RI land development. Great vignette of an American Eagle with shields and arrows. Unissued and not cancelled. Circa 1890 from company incorporation. Dated 189_ on the certificate. Approximately 10 x 8 inches. 

Incorporated in 1890, The Wakefield Land and Investment Company was formed to develop pieces of area land for manufacturing and industrial purposes, transforming fabric mills into other industrial purposes.

Wakefield is a village in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States, and the commercial center of South Kingstown. Together with the village of Peace Dale, it is treated by the U.S. Census as a component of the census-designated place identified as Wakefield-Peacedale. South Kingstown was founded in 1722 when Kings Towne was split into two parts. South Kingstown included the area that later became Narragansett.

Wakefield was a focus for settlement due to its location on the Saugatucket River and the old Post Road, which was laid out early in the 18th century. Settlement began in the early 18th century with establishment of a small mill on the Saugatucket River.

A tavern and stagecoach stop were established in 1745 and a snuff mill was built around 1765. The textile industry began to become an important source of economic activity in 1807 when a carding mill was established on the Saugatucket River.

Kenyon's Department Store was founded in 1856. A carriage manufacturing operation was established in 1874, and in 1876 the Narragansett Pier Railroad started operation, with a station in Wakefield. In 1877, the South Kingstown Town Hall was built in the village. A bank and several other major businesses arrived in the 1880s.

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