Trinity Church was founded exactly a century after the American Revolution ended.

In 1883, Ocean Avenue, where our church sits today, was a dirt road as were most others in the area. The nearest place of Episcopal worship was Grace Church in Providence.

This was a matter of concern to some Pawtuxet residents, notably Miss Julia Burge, recently arrived from Wickford, where she had lived with her father, an Episcopal rector. Miss Burge helped form the Mission Chapel group, dedicated to starting a parish in Pawtuxet. Members first met to worship on Aug. 12, 1883, at the home of John Austin, at the corner of Ocean and Fort Avenues.

The Austin home no longer exists; neither does much documentation of the fledgling parish. But we do know that the group raised funds to buy and renovate a building for use as Trinity Chapel. One record places that building on Fair Street in Warwick; other records suggest it was Guild Hall at Commercial and Sheldon Streets in Cranston. The group did at some point acquire Guild Hall and used it a variety of ways. The only question is whether its first service was as Trinity Chapel.

The first rector was the Reverend Samuel Webb, provided by Grace Church, to which Trinity was attached as a mission church.

It wasn’t until 1903 that the church got its first full-time rector, the Rev. J. Hugo Klaren. The rector contributed $5,000 and helped parishioners raise another $5,000 to build the core of the Gothic structure that is our church today. Bishop William M. McVickar dedicated the new church in October 1910. Five years later, with a $5,000 gift from Lyza B. Nickerson, the church acquired an organ. That same year the vestry purchased the land west of the church, which included a house that was variously used as a rectory and an annex until it was demolished in 1935.

Trinity achieved status as an independent parish in 1925 after functioning as a mission church for 42 years.

The decade following World War II was one of expansion for the parish. In 1944, the church purchased the property east of the building, the site of the present education building. In 1949, a parish hall was built under the church building. In 1957, the church built a two-story education building connected on two levels to the parish hall and the church.

The rector with the longest tenure at Trinity–The Rev. Harrington M. Gordon–came to Trinity in 1960 and served until his retirement in 1994. Upon his retirement, he was named Rector Emeritus. The Rev. P. Wayne Runner succeeded Father Gordon and served from 1995 until early 2010. He was followed by the Rev. Marsue Harris (through November 2014) and the Rev. Mitchell Lindemann (through March 2022). In August 2022, Trinity called the Rev. Tanya Watt as Priest-in-Charge.Mother Tanya’s ministry at Trinity began on September 1, 2022 and lasted until January 28, 2024, when she left to join her husband, also a priest, who accepted an out-of-state call. The Rev. Susan Wrathall is our interim Priest-in-Charge as we undertake a new self-study and search. Please visit the Clergy page to learn more about her!