150 year-old Sheldon Furniture in S. Kingstown to become boutique hotel

The store has been a landmark in Wakefield for over a century and a half

Many things have changed in South Kingstown over the past century and a half: Narragansett ceded; the town’s population increased sixfold , from about 5,000 to over 30,000 people; and historic stores and mills have gone out of business.

One thing that remained steady throughout that time, however, was Sheldon Furniture. Founded by John L. Sheldon, a U.S. Cavalry veteran from the Philippine-American War, the store originally opened in 1875, south of the Saugatucket Bridge. In 1899, the family expanded the business by physically moving the store to Main Street.