Providence County, Rhode Island: History
Providence County was constituted on June 22, 1703, as the County of Providence Plantations. It consisted of five towns, namely Providence, Warwick, Westerly, Kingstown, and Greenwich and encompassed territory in present-day Kent and Washington counties. Washington County was split off as King's County in 1729, while Kent County was split off in 1750. The town of Cumberland was acquired from Massachusetts and added to Providence County in 1746–47, and the towns of East Providence and Pawtucket were made part of Providence County when the final border with Massachusetts was settled in 1862.
County government in Rhode Island was abolished in 1842. Providence County, like other counties in Rhode Island, has no governmental functions (other than as court administrative and sheriff corrections boundaries which are part of state government).