Sitting atop the massive granite cliffs on Conanicut Island is the Fort Wetherill, a former Coast Artillery fort. A smaller British fort that was used during the Revolutionary War, known as Fort Dumpling, was also once located within Wetherill.

Tracing its history back to the 1770s, the Fort Wetherill is a real historic site placed in the Dumpling Rock site. It was once the home of the British troops, although it was abandoned in 1779 when the forces were evacuated to the city of Newport. The fort constructed by the US Army was called Fort Louis, but the name Fort Dumpling stuck to the place better.

The small area was expanded later on in the late 1800s. This was the start of today?s Fort Wetherill that served during the two World Wars during the 20th century. It was then transformed into the Fort Wetherill State Park after the state of Rhode Island acquired it in 1972.