In the summers, Providence residents waded into Mashapaug Pond to get clean – or, more precisely, for spiritual cleansing. "The choir would sing and the Word was preached before the candidate entered the water to have his sins washed away," recalled Ralph Simmons, a member of the Pond Street Baptist Church in the 1930s. The polluted pond is no longer used for baptisms, but Mashapaug Pond remains connected to organized worship, spiritual practice, and faith-based communities. These activities, and the sites where they occur, have changed over the years as places of worship follow their congregations’ movement around the city.
Today, one of the oldest visible sites near the pond is the Congregation of the Sons of Israel and David Cemetery on Reservoir Avenue, dating back to 1856, and now associated with Temple Beth-El. Needing a burial ground where family and friends could come to remember their loved ones, Providence’s small Jewish community purchased property near Mashapaug Pond. At the time, the new cemetery was far removed from the city’s urban core. Now, the cemetery sits wedged between busy roads and shopping sites.
As the neighborhoods near Mashapaug Pond have changed, other religious congregations have come and gone, sometimes leaving no trace. Pond Street Baptist Church, frequented by many African American and Native American families who once lived in West Elmwood, has moved several times before settling in its current location in south Providence.
On the western side of the pond, a small brown-shingled building at the corner of Balch and Calhoun Avenues once housed a mission of the Roger Williams Cranston Street Baptist Church. The mission ministered to the spiritual and humanitarian needs of the West Elmwood community by providing food and clothing as well as special activities for neighborhood children. When the city bulldozed the area to construct the Huntington Expressway Industrial Park, the mission was forced to close.
Some buildings have served multiple congregations over the years. In 1901, the Westminster Congregational Society constructed a small, rubblestone, gothic revival chapel on 126 Adelaide Avenue to serve its worshippers. By 1959, the church had been repurposed by the Friendship United Methodist Church, a Swedish group founded in South Providence. Most recently operated as the Hood Memorial Church (A.M.E), the building now stands vacant, reflecting the continuing changes in neighborhood demographics.
Some congregations have recently moved into the area, converting existing spaces for religious use in order to welcome local residents. In 2009, the Renaissance Church relocated to the Mashapaug Commons shopping center – the former site of the Gorham Manufacturing Company. The church now resides in a storefront that once housed Hollywood Video. The congregation feels strongly about establishing connections with the local community, and the church is regularly used for community meetings, including those organized by the Urban Pond Procession and Alvarez High School students. Across the pond, the New Dimension Church occupies a spacious building at the edge of the Huntington Expressway Industrial Park. For both parishes, large parking lots nearby make it easy for members to drive in from homes throughout the metro area.
Still in use as an active burying ground, the Sons of Israel and David Cemetery is an enduring site of identity for a Jewish community that has grown and moved over time. Temple Beth-El relocated to Providence’s East Side but the congregation tries to stay connected to their cemetery. Each spring, the congregation makes a pilgrimage to the cemetery for a service to remember the dead. Kenneth Orenstein, the chairman of the Cemetery Management Committee and a member of the Beth-El congregation, also arranges clean up days when children and their parents can care for the cemetery and learn about its history by looking at headstones and monuments. These activities make the cemetery a place where generations can come together to understand and honor their shared heritage.
Discussion Questions
As you travel around the area, how are faith-based communities connecting with neighborhoods and the pond? What do faith-based congregations contribute to community life?What does the history of religious sites tell us about the history of Providence?
How has urban growth and change affected the spaces used by faith-based communities?
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]]>Rhode Island has a long history of industrial manufacturing. Slater Mill, on the banks of the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, is considered the “birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution.” By the early 1800s, that fervor for manufacturing had spread, and companies, like the Gorham Manufacturing Company, appeared throughout the state. Known for its world-class products in bronze and silver, Gorham left behind a toxic legacy at the site where its Mashapaug Pond factory operated for nearly 100 years.
Today, the Gorham Manufacturing Company is infamous in the Reservoir Triangle neighborhood for polluting the water, soil, and air of the community. For all of the nineteenth century, and most of the twentieth century, there were few restrictions on companies’ use of potentially harmful materials. At Gorham, workers regularly used cleaners with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), solvents, heavy metals such as lead, and other contaminants. With little thought to the environmental impact, these pollutants leached into the surrounding soil and water.
By the 1960s, industrial manufacturing had largely left Rhode Island and other states, and Americans were left to deal with the waste that factories had produced. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), established in 1970, set guidelines to control industrial dumping and provided ways to force polluters to clean up contaminated sites. Two years later, the Clean Water Act of 1972, set water quality standards and prohibited the dumping industrial waste directly into waterways.
Textron, Inc., bought Gorham’s assets shortly before the passage of the Clean Water Act. In doing so they became responsible for the cleanup of the Gorham site, including Mashapaug Cove and the ground water. With help from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Textron has funded the effort to make the Gorham site safe for human use. It is a long process that is taking many years. Thus far, Textron has completed the ground remediation of the area that is now home to Alvarez High School and the Mashapaug Commons shopping center. Air filtration systems have also been added to both the school, shopping center, and nearby homes on Adelaide Avenue, ensuring the safety of local residents.
Further cleanup work includes covering contaminated soil with clean infill, dredging the Gorham “cove” of Mashapaug Pond to remove toxic sediment, and undertaking groundwater remediation throughout the area. Although it has been a slow process, this parcel will soon be safe for human recreational use. Eventually, the polluted land will hold a new neighborhood park and athletic fields for Alvarez High School.
Today, high levels of heavy metals, VOCs, PAHs, and dioxin are still found in the sediment of Mashapaug Cove. Carp, bass, and perch swim valiantly through the water, collecting chemical contaminants in their tissues. None of the fish in the pond are safe for human consumption. It is impossible to know whether these toxins are due solely to Gorham or if they have continually accumulated through storm-water runoff. Despite the extensive remediation work, Mashapaug Pond and the fish within it will remain contaminated, a legacy of the state’s industrial heritage.
Discussion Questions
Why weren’t people concerned about environmental pollution until the late twentieth century?What responsibilities should companies like Textron have regarding the cleanup of pollution from previous centuries?
How can we help to avoid further pollution of our natural environment?
What might it be like to attend a school built on top of formerly toxic land?
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]]>Imagine walking around this site in 1899, when the Gorham Manufacturing Company was the most famous producer of silver utensils, tea services and decorative items in the world. In the central building, you could find offices, a museum of silverwork, and a library. A stylish “casino” had a dining room and underground bowling alley. An enormous workshop called the foundry blazed with heat to melt bronze for statues and plaques. In front of the fourteen buildings stood a statue of the Greek god of fire, Vulcan. And even though industrial waste from the factory was dumped into Mashapaug Pond, the grounds were spotless – trash-free and well-landscaped.
Today, some people who worked at Gorham remember the factory’s artistry and great work atmosphere, while others think of trouble with management and the effect of the company’s waste on the health of Mashapaug Pond.
Managers at Gorham wanted to turn a profit, but also believed in providing their workers with benefits and a good salary – a system called welfare capitalism. Starting in the early twentieth century, workers received benefits like medical insurance, vacation time, bonuses, paid holidays and education. Supervisors hoped these benefits would create “loyalty and cooperation” and raise morale. Silver designer Jeffrey Herman remembered that he “felt like we were a family there.” From the 1930s on, workers also joined unions to negotiate with management in case of problems, though the first strike at Gorham didn’t occur until 1958.Jobs manufacturing silver flatware were steady and well-paid, but could be difficult and dangerous. Robin Tagliaferri, whose grandfather worked in the foundry, remembers stories of him coming home feverish and shivering from working near the fires. Smoke, debris, and dangerous chemicals were produced in the factory. Early machinery was also used without safety guards, risking workers’ fingers. Safety conditions only improved after national health and safety rules were established in first half of the twentieth century.
In 1967, another company, Textron, acquired Gorham. That same year, workers went on strike because of changes to the factory’s system of incentives, or pay based on how many pieces a worker made. Organizers of the steelworker’s union coordinated more strikes over the years to protest violated contracts, promotions of newer employees over more experienced coworkers, and impossibly high workloads. One strike lasted for over seven months, showing the employees’ unity and determination, but taking a toll on their livelihoods. Meanwhile, rising costs and the declining popularity of silver flatware weakened the Gorham company. In the 1980s, the company shrunk from thousands of employees to hundreds, moving its manufacturing to Smithfield, Rhode Island, and then to New Jersey.
If you visited this site in 1997, just before the former factory buildings were torn down, you would see the large structures without windows, crowded by vines. No businesses wanted to buy the property, and the brick and wood were thought to be too damaged to save. Today, the only physical remains of Gorham are the toxins in the pond and soil.
Discussion Questions
Would you apply for a job at Gorham, if it still existed today? Why or why not?
Why might Gorham workers have gone on strike in the 1960s and 70s? What kind of effect do you think that a strike had on the workers and their families?
Why do you think the first strike at Gorham only happened in 1958, over a century after the factory was founded?
If things were unsafe where you worked, what would you do?
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]]>In 1873, an economic depression gripped the country and threatened the future of the Gorham Manufacturing Company. The company’s skilled metalworkers and innovative designers had a reputation for creating quality goods, but none of these things mattered if people couldn’t afford to purchase the company’s products.
Suddenly, Gorham received a commission to create a silver service like no other in the world. Costing more than $1 million dollars to produce, this 24-person set of dishes, utensils, and decorative items consisted of 740 pieces, that, when completed, filled seventeen trunks. In all, it took nearly seven years to create this impressive collection for insurance magnate Henry Jewett Furber. The Furber commission defined the Gorham Manufacturing Company’s reputation as the country’s premier silver manufacturer for the next century.
The Gorham Manufacturing Company began in 1831, as a small partnership between two Providence silversmiths, Jabez Gorham and Henry Webster. By the 1860s, Gorham was the world’s leading producer of silverware. Even Mary Todd Lincoln purchased a Gorham silver tea service for use in the Lincoln White House.
Though the company initially focused on silver goods, Gorham also dramatically expanded its bronze casting facilities when it accepted a commission to cast “The Skirmisher,” a massive sculpture commemorating the battle of Gettysburg. By the 1890s, Gorham had the world’s largest bronze foundry. Gorham’s bronzes include such well-known pieces as the 12-foot-tall “Independent Man” atop the Rhode Island statehouse, the statue of George Washington in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, and the 1893 statue of Christopher Columbus erected at this location.
In 1900, the company showcased its work at the Paris Exposition Universelle. Receiving a grand prix and five gold medals, Gorham’s amazing display was a highlight of the exposition. As the century continued, however, Gorham’s fortunes ebbed. Interest in silver flatware waned in favor of modern products. The Great Depression decreased the company’s sales even more dramatically.
During World War II, Gorham virtually abandoned its civilian industries to focus on producing goods for the war effort. These included small arms parts, tank bearings, torpedo components, and millions of 40mm shell casings. After the war, Gorham struggled to retain its preeminence, and decreased demand and increased production costs plagued the company. In 1986, the company’s Providence facilities closed after nearly a century of operation.
Today, Gorham’s legacy lives on through the hundreds of bronzes that dot the American landscape and the company’s unique and highly collectable silver products.
Discussion Questions
Why might the sale of a silver tea set to Mary Todd Lincoln have helped Gorham silver become popular?How could Henry J. Furber afford to buy such an extravagant set of silver during a time when many Americans were struggling financially?
Why did Gorham Manufacturing Company have increased trouble selling their products in the twentieth century?
Why isn’t silver flatware as popular today? What do most people use instead?
Why might the residents of Providence have erected a statue to Christopher Columbus where they did? Would you put up a Columbus statue today? Where?
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]]>A school did not always stand on this ground. For nearly a century, the Gorham Manufacturing Company operated an extensive factory on the banks of Mashapaug Pond. Gorham left a complex legacy. While it brought thousands of well-paying jobs to the community, it also polluted the groundwater and soil. In the early 2000s, lawmakers suggested the now-vacant lot be used as a site for a new high school. Outraged residents protested that the site was toxic. With the addition of both a land remediation plan and an air filtration system to the construction blueprints, public opposition slowly subsided. Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School opened in 2006.
A school is more than a physical building, it is a community of those who learn and work together. Alvarez High School’s emphasis on community began with the school’s dedication in honor of Dr. Jorge Alvarez, a respected Providence teacher who pioneered innovative English as a Second Language programs. In this spirit, nearly ninety percent of Alvarez students are bilingual, and many are first-generation immigrants. Alvarez High School embraces its role as a local institution, but like many urban school districts, Providence is struggling to provide high quality education for all. Since the early 2010s, Alvarez High School has undertaken several initiatives, including a push toward project-based learning, to creatively address the educational needs of its diverse student body.A school strives for improvement. For Alvarez High School, this is on both an individual and environmental level. Since its opening, Alvarez High School has spearheaded various environmental rehabilitation efforts. In collaboration with the Urban Pond Procession and Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island, students’ scientific research and artistic pieces have been used to educate the community about the history of Mashapaug Pond’s contamination, and to share ways to rebuild the ecosystem. The newest initiative involves the development of outdoor sports fields.A school is a family. In 2013, low test scores, combined with a large increase in the number of younger students in the school system, prompted debate over converting Alvarez High School into a middle school. Community members and students rallied behind the school, and the outpouring of loyalty convinced the district to maintain the site as a high school. As one protesting student’s sign read, “Once an Eagle, always an Eagle.” In less than a decade, the school’s beginnings as a contaminated and protested construction site have been overshadowed by overwhelming community support.
Discussion QuestionsWhat roles do schools play in the community? What should be their role?
How is it good to have Alvarez at this site? How is it bad?
If you were a lawmaker, would you decide to build a school here? Why or why not? How would you make the decision?
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