Random Stories
Donigian Park and a Legacy of Pollution
In 2009, a group of volunteers stepped into the Woonasquatucket River at Donigian Park wearing waist-high heavy rubber boots and sturdy gloves to protect against the river’s pollution. Donigian Park in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence had…
Jeremiah Dexter: Preserving Rhode Island History
One famous feature of Providence is the great age of many of the houses. Walking around downtown Providence or the surrounding neighborhoods and towns, we commonly see houses and buildings that are over 100 years old. Well, the house built by…
Green End Fort, Middletown
In 1778, when the British built a defensive line of earthworks to protect Newport from the besieging American troops, the Battery at Green End stood near the southern end of that line. A sinuous mound of earth and a grassy open area with a steep…
The Legacy of the Rochambeau House
The house was named for Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau (1725-1807), the French General who fought alongside George Washington in several critical endeavors—including the siege of Yorktown and the Battle of the Chesapeake—in…
Chocolateville's Sweet Legacy
In the 1780s, a visitor traveling through the Blackstone River Valley might have smelled the rich aroma of roasting cacao beans wafting from a small wooden building as they passed through the hamlet of Central Falls. Americans consumed chocolate…
Female Supporters Express Their Gratitude
While the Dorr Rebellion is of course centered in Rhode Island, the conflict became national news, and leaders across the country took sides. One such leader, Connecticut Governor Chauncey Cleveland, a Democrat, was a known supporter of Thomas…
Take a Tour
Taverns to Temperance - A Spirited Tour of Old Barrington Village
5 Locations ~ Curated by Stephen Venuti, Board Member-Barrington Preservation SocietyOrganizing New Bedford: Women Who Mobilized Change
6 Locations ~ Curated by Tom Begley for Lighting the Way: Historic Women of the SouthCoastFeatured Stories
Valley Queen Mill
From “Kentucky Jeans” to “Fruit of the Loom” to the world’s most popular soaps and cosmetics, the “lower mill” at Riverpoint has seen a lot of fame!
The Greene Manufacturing Company built a small spinning mill here on the South Branch just above its…
The Celebrity Club: Best Jazz in Providence
On November 18, 1949, at 56 Randall Street, in the mostly poor, mostly black, Randall Square neighborhood, local African Americans crowded into the new Celebrity Club bar. It wasn’t quite finished, but the crowd didn’t pay much attention to the…
Anthony Mill
“A prettier mill you will not find.” Built in 1873 the Italianate Anthony Mill has the distinction of being one of the best mills – architecturally speaking – in the entire state. When it was built, it was the largest building in Rhode Island. At…
Rhode Tour
A project by the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage, the Rhode Island Historical Society and the Rhode Island Council for the HumanitiesRhode Tour is a statewide mobile historical smartphone application. Captivating places, intriguing people, and exciting events fill Rhode Island's history. Rhode Tour offers a new way to interact with these untold tales of the state's past. Using stories, sounds, and images, history comes alive on Rhode Tour.
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