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, Rhode Island. West Kingston, another South Kingstown village, was the traditional county seat of Washington County. Since 1991, the Washington County Courthouse has been in Wakefield. The Sheriff's Office which handles corrections is also in Wakefield. The Wakefield village center along Main Street (old Boston Post Road) between Belmont Avenue and Columbia Street was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 as Wakefield Historic District, with boundary increases in 2019 and 2022. The district is significant for being an early commercial and industrial center. The district includes 53 properties over an area of . History 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. By 1822, the village had about 60 residents and consisted of nine houses, a store, the carding mill, a grist mill, a saw mill, and a blacksmith shop. A Baptist church was built in 1830 and an Episcopal church followed in 1840. The local textile mill continued to operate and expand through the 19th century, but in the mid-century, as nearby Peace Dale grew as a manufacturing center and factories were established in other water power sites in the area, Wakefield became the commercial center of South Kingstown. It underwent considerable growth in the 1840s, including the development of some major retail stores. A Roman Catholic priest was assigned to Wakefield in 1852 and the first Catholic church was built two years later. 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. It is now a bike trail called the William C. O'Neill Bike Path. In 1877, the South Kingstown Town