Yet, as with many maritime venues, Watch Hill and its sister communities up the Pawcatuck River always served as year-round homes to watermen of all sorts. Whaling captains once lived in Lotteryville, partyboat captains sailed down the Pawcatuck to meet passengers at the Watch Hill docks, and fishermen provided fresh fare from the river and sea. Ships were built and lives were lost, and a century of maritime industries have come and gone.