Founded in 1750 as Lotteryville, the community took its name from a land lottery granted by the Rhode Island Assembly to Captain Joseph Pendleton to recoup the loss of his brigantine and its cargo on a return from the West Indies. It was renamed Avondale in 1893 when the U. S. Post Office decried the lottery label. It was the original seaport for the Westerly area, and its old houses were once home to whaling captains and sealers. Captain Pendleton's home, the great house, still stands on the Avondale Farm. On these shores Captain George Potter's company stood ready to repel the British in 1814.