Culture
The town is considered a more staid and family-oriented community when compared to glittering Newport, the better-known summer getaway in Rhode Island. Bay Street in Watch Hill is lined with shops, restaurants, and businesses. East Beach and Napatree Point are the main beaches in Watch Hill.
Mansions
Watch Hill is probably most noted for its expensive mansions (most constructed during the 19th century). The waterfront was once lined with huge Victorian hotels. However, fire and hurricanes destroyed almost all during the 20th century. The two remaining hotels, The Ocean House and the Watch Hill Inn, went through major renovations during the 2000s. The Ocean House was originally opened in 1868, torn down in 2005, rebuilt and reopened in 2010. The Watch Hill Inn & Annex now contains modern residential condos as well.
Fort Mansfield
One point of interest in Watch Hill is the ruins of Fort Mansfield, an old coastal artillery post situated at the end of Napatree Point. It was one of a series of such forts constructed to guard the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound as part of the coastal defense network for New York City during the Spanish–American War. It was in operation between 1901 and 1909. After closing over the course of several years, the land was sold in 1926, and all the government buildings were demolished during the winter of 1928–29. The three concrete gun emplacements have been left behind, and still remain there to this day.
Some of the fortified gun emplacements of old Fort Mansfield have survived and while overgrown, offers adventurers tunnels and underground rooms to explore. Occasionally at low tide some of remains of the Battery Connell can be seen. As the sea and sand shift, old weapons and sometimes artifacts from the hurricane are revealed.
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Watch Hill Lighthouse
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The remains of Fort Mansfield on Napatree Point
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—Mrs. H. O. Ward (1824–1899)