Originally organized in 1935, the Wickford Yacht Club’s first clubhouse on Cornelius Island was
destroyed in the Hurricane of 1938.

The present club began with our first commodore’s wife, Mary Grace Batton, who told Fenton
Batton that “children who live by the sea ought to learn how to sail.”

In another part of town, Ralph Vale, a teacher at North Kingstown High School met with
interested community members who were enthusiastic about re-starting a yacht club. A new
club was formed and incorporated in May 1963 with twenty-two families. The current clubhouse
on Pleasant St. was purchased in 1968. 

The originators of the WYC stated its mission to be: "To foster the sport of yachting and to
provide suitable facilities and activities for its members."