The river was specified as the western boundary of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in the original charter of 1663.

It spent several hours at Westerly-Pawcatuck, near the bridge connecting Rhode Island and Connecticut, while several hundred spectators gathered to see it.

[5] The bridge in downtown Westerly-Pawcatuck was closed for several weeks until the river had gone down enough for divers to inspect it for safety.

[5] The Pawcatuck River's source is Worden Pond in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.

It proceeds generally west and southwest through the villages of Kenyon, Carolina, and Bradford, Rhode Island.