Metatoxet Hotel

The Metatoxet Hotel was built by John H. Caswell in 1866-67. It was a small, family hotel initially, with 29 rooms, but was enlarged over the years to accommodate 250 guests. It was set back from Kingstown Road about 300 feet, and had a large lawn and many shade trees. It was sold to A.R. Edwards around 1910 and renamed the European Hotel. Some believe the name change was an attempt to attract certain clientele with “European Plan” accommodations (i.e., charging for the room only, not means). In 1920 it was purchased by Elizabeth Brown Wood (the daughter of Peleg Brown) in 1920 and renamed The Beachwood, but was destroyed by fire in 1958. The hotel stood where The Beachwood Apartments (Kingstown Road, across from the Narragansett Public Library) now stand.