/·{ 'HI.I SlIf/J In JO IO DE ISI..-\;-';1) H IST ORI C.·\1. SOC I ET Y;1 l'oW .:R ~ "' R •. ~: T , I'RO\'I IJE SC E 6 , RIl O I)F. I ~ LAS l)

" ' ''COR II . e " " " , " •• ,iJ • • , WilL G . Ro IJ" ..'p.h_~ l .,nu. , ,~u>. J•., s , CuPl'OltD P. ~lo ~ . "nN , Li~,••;.,.II ......... II . K~u~ , T" .,.... CLuIl....N A, Cot.u~ " :!.n , H" ••" • .4,....;-',

J .• • H. ..J, l<JuJ lIi" p" •• s...... , .". "'.. • • ,,,, ... "-~Ji,,

1m , •• " . , .... . " • • I•• • 'i.i... . . ' .... 'nh'p" .

RHODE I SLANDHISTORY

I sseE/) Qt ' ,U n RL)" ,~ T PROrIDESCI, RHODE ISUSIJ

T,~BL£ O F CO.\TI,"TS

TH E PRO \'IDE:'\ L E ~1.\ R t-\.ET HO l 'Si':.vx n ITs :,,\ U< a IBORHOOJ)

11'h .. Eorl}' Rrco.dJ ol l h, 'rot, ,, "I P ' Ot ,jd " l a ( l' ro\, j d ~ n r ~ , 18<12·19 15 1,v. II, p , 88.

t l oid .. v . 2, 1-' . LlO.

I" JOIl ~ I h ' T C lll " ~ <: ,1>\', F..\ .I..\.

T H}: E.-\R l.Y TOW S of Providence Wi!" developed alon g the T ownrstree-t w hich [ollowr-d the fOU r"(' of t he- pre-ern Sou th Main andXorth Main !otreet" from \\" id ellden In Olney. For mo-t of its len.~h

the street Tan parallel to the shore at ;1Il eleva tion a few fer-t abovetidewater. A ,g ra\(' ll ~ beach extended Irom Mik- End Con \ wheret hree-....ay sigualliabi- no w cont rol traflic jams east of Point SiredBridge ) nonherlv to the mouth of ~ Iosha-suck River at Smith Street .On the \H'!olerly shore We~ bo!.."'-' t Point projected int o the stream nearthe present in terse r-rion (If \\"r"lmi n~ler SlnTt and \ \ ·.a;;hin.s::ton Row.Below the point the rnur-hv shon- of Providence River follo.... edapproximately the line, of Pine and Eddy "lT l'rl~ : and north of irthe ....a tcrs o f t he co ve, Ied by \ \"CxIIM;;qua IUl'kl't River from the » estand ~Irn;ha,,-"uf k River Irum rhe uorth. covered the prc!'("nt Exrh;lIlgt"Pla t-e, ~I emof ial Square and the rail road prupertv .

T he home lot" were located on the inland ~idr of the T O.... nest reet. and the fa rm " were 0 11 the \\(',,( side of the rive r beyond\ \ ' e~ htK"f't Point. " Pa",,, in/o: 10 ,,'(; fro m thr T o.... nc side 10 \ \"ay lx>~ St" tt

side,' according to the rern rds of a town Ilwt'lin.s:: in 1704. W;I" madeby "Cannooes & B oate-, R i(ki n...-: ,'(; Carlin~ & S.... Imming UH r (IfCa tte ll from .... ide to .... id(': '! ,\ ." t',lrly a.... l!ifiO a trntle hrid~t· wa ....rrertcd / hu t for want of prop n lll.dlll t'n. lIlt(' it 1)('(';1 111 (' impassableafter a [rw ~ t'ar!i and cvcntuallv wa" wa"lwd <lway .

T he next hridg('. erected in 171 1. wa .... fnurn-en flTt wide an d ran" fro m the T owne ., idl' of (I)(' .....tlt watn . , , Iwgining aga inst yc westEnd of th e loti whereon Ih nl"lI ,\ hhotl hi." IhH' lIing hom e [now :!()

,­,

116

, 0.;

101

128

1 2 ~

127

117

E S GLISH ELM

I" Horaef' G . Belcher

THr. PllovmE" Cr. !o.1 .' IIIK'·.T HOl' ''E "so IT ;'\U GH aOIl H OOO

h, John Hu'chins Cad,·. F..-\.l.A.

ENc<USH ELM

Lx Ou> P"WTl'UT

800k R•.vtew.

" h,," ...r ~ l, h '" Lou... n..., E. T iU.y

[rq .rnduc..d on fronl cov... )

1'A, (Hit 1:" l:lish ,I", , ,,, illu Slf41,d 411 tI" cO"tr is 011 uull,"1 ',~u lI l " li " ,ollAt mo sl SIIII,I)' o f /-:"'01""" ,Ims. I t ltll llds Oil ,h , S ocit ty 's IlIu'" III ,ht ({""tr

01 B'" , fi ' and Cha ri" f'i,ld 11. tt' S alld was pla nltd abou t /790 " S h" s b"nd, l"min,d b)' bo,i" !!l Ill"'" b)' ,h .. Ha" I, 1I 1',tt C ompany. •

1'11, in '..,tSI ill Ih, , I", s " 'I ' h , Sori'ly', p,op" ,)' h"s b.,,, dtlll ons l,attd byIh , " Sporllt 01 au' ",,,,,b , n to " """I app,lIllo . call 1,i b'' fio.,, to bt ..ltd fo 'pttlt,,,i" l1 ~lI tu I.... ""ri ~,o , u ' i lll: Ih ,m /"'''.1 di..." .... Up to fh t p,rstll l " fill1101 tht So n tly's mrmbrrsh'p h ,SJ "'tid, dOllal,ons '0 Ih , r.., I" " d. T his is Ihrl?'lIr.1 " ,..mb rr ,vrr 10 " ,.1)' '0 tI lImil" . app ,o/ 4"d illdud' $ mo"y P"SO IlS ..,110lit', oullldt Hllodt / sl4nd

The l' rondcncc .llaTh t H ouse 1952 Th r l'rocidence o\lm krt /l ouJe

~I ark l"t Square] -t.rndr-th. ~'\: :-() lW:-''' rhc wa ter unto Ill(' hill fa lkd\"a ~ ho~·t ," l near the pre-em Turks Head , From that poim acountry road followed an old Indian trail along the present \\'(' ~ bO:""('1a nd Broad -trren.. to Pa"" IU:\(·t, \\ ith another mad branfhin,~ toPlainfield . Connecticut .

~I arket Square had i t~ origin in II JR. in which vcar a hi~hwa\

was laid OUI h~ order of the tow n rounr-il "from th'e T O\.n ~tnTt~westwa rd : 1>0Wlti0 the salt water River : W here the Greate nrid~f'

now standeth thai (:oelh mer the River 10 \rayba~' I : laking inthe old 1'0\\11 wharfc : Ikg i l1 l1 in~ au the north Ea.«1 Comer of Co!.Abbots st ill hou~ and from thence . . . 123: foot to a white stonestur k in : the Ground : lX'ing abo .1 Comer of Col . Abbo ts Land ."The Towne ~tn'tOI , already a ccm urv old, was closeb built up withhouses alol1/o; ib 1' .1:-1 border ; and on its west border, extending downto Ihe river, \\en' the lots on which shops. distilleries, war~hou~,wharves. and a fr \\ dwellings were erected. From the Towne street,nearlv opposite the Abbott Srill House, Rosemarv Lane ( It OW Co llegrStrcer ) ran lip thr hillside to the Congregational church (southeastcorner of Collecc and Benefit }, erected in I n3. The town wharf,ju-t south of the bridgr-, was a mooring for fishing Haft and ahangout for \"('nder.- "r fish and lobsters.

The " ,greal bridue." as it W ;IS ca lled, was II~ princi pallv hy thefarmers who hrnught their produce 10 tow n from the ag ricultura llands on Weyho:;''i('1side. Follnwin,l:' its r<"placement by a lIt·w bridgt',finamTd b~ ,I IOlla )' in 17H ':' a hay wa rd was set up lIt'ar ill' ea~ter ly

ahlllml'luliwfI'hy ("~Ia hli:-hin ,!:: Ihe area as a market center, r ommonh·kmm n a:- th,' ~larkcl Place. Th i~ hrid!::e was ca rried awa\' in Ih;'gH'at :-torm t,f ( )l!ohl'r :!·l. l i 61 , and '~\'as rehuih ll and opn wd in1764, IlI'ad~ dllllhk the width l)f the origina l ~truClure. at thl· I' X pt' l\ ~l"

of tht · fo lony. .-\ fl'w ~ ea rs lat <"r ,I lottny was .onducted for bui lding'a d raw in tIlt' brid,!::t·, (ln mitting \1':<'''1' 1... from the \\·e,..t h ulin todoc k a~ far north 01:- Bowl"1l Str.e (.~

"/ bid" ,' ,l l, p, !I1,~/i>id , . " , 'I, p, i 8. I'h r Ahhott Still 1I0u." was ,'[O'n,'d ca , li: lU " t a 'p",

,tr;,ddli,,!! Ih, ' l>rl',,'m lforth"...st ,'orn,', of Suu th ....bin and COll"R" .I,," '\>, Itis IIut tu I.w ...",ju,,·d with ,\ 11 hou ', dwrllir":: ritrd aoo.... .

;'Ju hn R, BMlktt , Hu o,d. ol lhr C"lor ,>, o{ Nh odr t , I,," d ., 11'" " idr " ....,656 .(81)5 1, ", 5 , p, WO, Ilt-rr aft n (i t,'d '" H.t .CU.

"~I b id" ~ \'. Ii, 1-" 2'H:;Willia lll R, Staph'" .~ll lla ll , , { Ihr '1'0" -" "I p", ,'id n, u , ( I' ,-m 'id" lf<'r ,

18 4:1 1, p, 2U5,

In 1762 the Colony House was crcr tcd cast of the T owne street.one-quarter mile nort h of the bridge, and in a shop on the oppositeside of the street Postmaster William Goddard comm enced publica ­tion of the Providence Gazette in the s am e ~("ar. Beforr- the I}('\ \

bridge was erected the A bbou SliII House was acquired by judgej enckes who converted it for bu-inos purpc..r.-l-":' and opened a shopon the ground floor. The Gazette \\as published 0 11 the second ~tory

from 176:1 until 176S when the print ing olllf f' was agai n moved 10the vicinitv of the Colony House ( 100 Nort h .\ l ain Street }. J ohnCarter acquired owner- hip uf the (;a ::.etft' in 1168 and succeed edGoddard as po!-tmasll"r. Four yea rs later he erect ed a house 0 11

Gaol Lane ( :\Ieet ing SlrtTt ) in which his pr inting office, pc. >!'t office.and boo k shop was established al "thr sign of Shakespeare's Head : "This home is still ~tal1dillJ.: at :!I :\It'elin~ Street.

The first move for the antion of a marke-t house was made in17SR bv David Bucklin , who perinoncd the General Asscmblv forpermissi on 10 have a building erected on town propt.'rt y near theeast end of \r('~ bo:;.'<t,t Bridge, a project whi ch failed of r ons urnma­lion . Ten years la ter the Ga : rlte published a letter !stfl-s."ing the needof a market hOll~" hut a,gain the matter was dropped. Finally inAugust. 1771 , in n'SpolI~' 10 a pt:tition ~ i/o; nt'd by a number of tow ns­people, th e CcneralAssemblv ,c: r;1II Il'11 a lo!t l' 'l' for raisi ng a sufficientsum for the joint purpc.J:-e of paving the street leading to the CourtHome (:\orth and South Court st re-ets ] and erecting a publ icmarket on the town's land neM Ihf' hrid.~e ,~ tht" kJ{"ation ori c:ina ll ~ '

proposed hy :\I r. Buckl ill.The St'hemc of Ihl' loll ery was pllhli!<ht'd in the (;tl :f'tte in its i~uI'

of April 2R. 1772. namin,g as di n't ·lors ~Io~'s Brown. J ames Lll\'('II.J)a\'id Harri~ , and Eli:-ha ~I (lwry , J r. Thc' pron'l'ds pro\Td to Iw:-uillfit"nt for Ihl" IIndt"rlakin,c:,

Thl' town's b nd 1'>(· II"I'It·d as a ~i lt· for ttu' ma rkl,t hotlse. and prt>­\'iollsly known as tht" -'f arkl'l Plan', was idelltified by Ihl.. T ownCou llcil in th e yea r of tht" lotlt 'ry a,,, ttu' Parade. :\ numl wr of :-tn>('(swere renam ed at th at tinu'," il1vokin ,t.:' n 'rta in f hangn in thl~ \·jcinityof the bridge. The T owlH' Mn'c' l hl'c';mH' \" ater St nTt (now Sou th:\I ain ) wHth of tht' Pa rade and King Strc . t (now North ~Ia in )

northr rly 10 th, ' Court Housc' lo!. ~la rht St rc.1 extended from Ihl..~R. / ,C ,R" ", 7,/,. :16,!' R..rord Hool. 0 D",'d" 21l ( I ) , III

100 Th e Proculcnce Xlarkrt /I0lH!' (Jr tolx-r 195:? The l' raridence .llarkr / tlou sc 101

Parad e a(TOSS the bridjn- to "t he- parting of the road by J acohWhitman " (now Turks Head Build ing ) . Weyhosset Street led fro mWhitm an 's Corner to .:\ Iuddy Dock ( Dorrance Stree t ) ami con ­tinued to Ab b on Square as Broad Str l'et. T wo highways laid ou tin the midd le of the century, each origina lly identi fied as " tht, backstreet." were na med . rcspertivclv , \\'('stm im tn St ree t and BenefitStreet. Rosema ry Lane was rt-n amcd Hanove r Street (now Co llege }.

T hree well-know n townsmen dwelt on King St ree t facing thePa rade : namely. Dr. Eph raim Bowe n at the corner of H an overSt rer-t; JOM'ph j enckcs. one-time gO\'{'l'Jlor of the colony; and jabezRowen. soon 10 he lieutenant gmTrnor. whose house was erectedopposite the bridge in I H .i on the site of Da niel Abbo tt 's earlierdwelling. Th is hom e in later years was known as the M an ufa ct urersHotel. No rth of the bridge, wh err- the Schoo l of Design Aud itoriumno w stands, was a row of wooden hou ses.

.-\ s a site for a ma rket house the Parade had littl e in its favor exceptits centra l locat ion. T he area sout h of the bridge was ungraded anduni m proved and, in the words of an eve-wi tness. was "a deep. filthydoc k, in wh ich the tide water flowed up 10 the west line of the mainstreet ."!" T he bridge abutments , elevated some ten feet abovelow water line. were in alignment with the present eas terly line ofCana l St reet and the roadway from the bridge to King St reet ra nabout mid way ln-twecn the M ar ket House an d th e Schoo l of DesignAud itori um as rhev sta nd todav. T he abutments on \ \ 'e\ lxlsse t sidelined w it h the present cast face of the Hospital T rust B u ild in~ .

Und er an a,gTt'ement in Aug ust . 177'2, between ~ 1 (lS('s Brown ,director of the lcutr-rv. and J oh n Wiley. the latter filled the land up tothe level of tilt' hrid ,l!;e. I

' T Ill' to ..... n records for that year include astatement by C harles Keen "for my plow plowing down roa d tot ln- college to get di rt to fill up th e 1(J!."]~ A ~ear la ter John Brownwas appointed at town nHTting to build a retain ing wal l beneaththe hridge from the abutment to "t he first rrusscl.' a distanrr- (Ifthi rty feet; to extend thr- wa ll eighty-li\'l' feet sourhcrlv on the bed

'''J oh n .-\. Howland in a " a"I<h",. 'II " """ 'I in!\" of V"'I,'r an Ci tin"" prinlrdin Provid ,n a J ou rn al. Ma rch 15, 188 :1,

IJ P rovid,, !lt·,· '1-0Wll Papers, R.I .II ,S., v. 2, p _ .'i-I , no . ~bfi . H ,' rl'a fl n rit"d'" P.T P.

J~ lbj"" " , 2, p. ,'1 7, no. 17:1 .

of the river , ten feet in height . to the end of the town land : and tocomplete the filling of the area ."

Plans for th e M arket HOllS<' were prepared by joseph Brown andStep hen H opkins. Presum a bly Brown, who already had designedthe Co llege Edi fice, con trib uted the architectura l features and Hop­kins wa s concerned w it h de tai ls of the genera l plan . TIlt' excavationswere commenced ~I a y '25, 17i3.

From cert ain bills rendered for work ami materials it is possibleto fol low the construction of the Ma rket HOtlM,.' t For J une, 1773,there an' sta tements from J oseph j c.....en for digging nut the cellar ;from J eh u Smi th for t-arring timber ; and from J am es Field for fourcords of bu ilding stone. T he Gazette reported J une I:? tha t "Tuesda ylast the first stone of th e Ma rket-House w as laid b y Nic hola s BrownEsq ." In Aug ust bills we-re rendered by Zep hcniab Andrews formason w ork ; Nathaniel a nd Elisha Burr for brick : Asa H opkinsfor making a rches; and G rtTn and Arnold for nai ls. lime, cha lk­board for arches. and "one ga llon of ru m for the raising." AmosHorton filed a statement O ctober 20 for nailing board all underfloors. and another !'\O\TmhIT 5 for work from j un e t on the cella rwa ll. Bills were pa id in Ijeo-mbcr for general supplies includin g~4'2 feet of w atcr table of Conncr-tirut stone: oak hoard and pineplank ; an d " ru m for th e raising." In the same month me ntionwas made of th e erec tion of a wha rf for landing brick and thea rriva l at the wharf of 70,000 bricks.

Apparently work was suspended for the winter with the wallsraised to the second floor level. T he next ent ries arc (or j une.I i74 : Green and Arn old for ca rting timber and William Semansfor repai ring sca ffolding and a rches. Am os Horton presented a billJ uly 6 for cutt ing and la ~ in g- the water table, delive red on the job sixmonths previously: this was "ogee" in profile and set di rectly ab ovethe brick belt course O\'Cr th e arches. Asa Hopkins's statemen t thatmont h had some q ua int entries: "makciug timber and puring iton the wa lls to prevent its spread ing . .. mendin g the lx-arns andjovsts which was broke n & Assisring to git the timber Down fromthe Courthouse yard for roof a THI upper floor . . . Shifting- the 2dfloor wh ich was put on wrong by the reason of the mar ks being

131bid., v. 2, p. 75, nO. 5H.Hlbid. , various em ries in v. 2.

1 0~ (kttlocr 195'2 103

.....om out Dra.r:-ing: on the' pav ements w he'll brought fro m the Court ­house vard."! "

T ..... o hill... rendered la ta in t he ~e";lr Me' of :; i~ifil'alHr in recon­~Inu·ti n,e the building's ori.r:-illal status. One was, (rom (;rel." l1 andAr nold for ,elali ng tw ent v-rw u w indo..... s w ith .'l2H ~lIar('!; of 8 b~

10 ~l a!o..<,.I" That w ould 1)1' seven ..... indo ..... s on each side and three011 each end in the seco nd ~tory and one in ea ch J,::a rr et ~ahle end ,wit h twentv-Iour pa ne- in each w indow. The othe r ..... ;t!' [nun Ham­mond a nd Smith includi ng items fur J9 Y:: ."'Iua re!' roof hoardin g: ,'2 1.000 vhinuk-s. 165 feet of jet , 160 fe,'t bedmol d. ~ H- (,'("t g:abl,'cor nice. 29 !'CJ.uares. garret flour, one large scuttle in the ro of, OIlI'

]:l-fcM)t ladder, 158 f,'el jet plank. and 8 cellar w ind ow frames.H

All of this dearly indicate!'. a g;l!)k roof above the second ~tory,

pitched like the present roof. w ith a .....ood cornie"e and rakemouldings.

From hills rendered ill Iii'j for lumber. b oarding. nails, lirm-,laths, and for "completi ng 20 dou rw a~ ~ and door!'. and fa~t enin~"it w oukl seem tha t the :-.ITllnd !'Wr~ ..... .l~ part itioned (or ollin's d ur ingtha i ~("ar.l ' In I iii len stal ls \\ert· erected O il the ground IlIMlr a ndwere rented to produce nu-rchant-, and !'("al('!; a mi ..... ei.d lt!' ..... r-rcinstalled."

T h(" fif10l ~tory de- it::n, empl(J~i nt:: th e u~ of ru .c; t::ed anl\('~ ina ll the IlIIl~ide ..... al b. prO\'idnl a \ cr~ l1rxihle plan that \\ a~ ~u"'- "pli hle

to man ~ alct'ra lion!' in latC'r ~ean. wilhout affectin.c; Ihe ,1.: e" IWfill \\ 0111

~Irurture. There' appears 10 he nn record of the o~i~inal floor plan.I :\' ide lll l ~ t here wa ... a eelJa r,~~I \\h ir h may han" oce n ilt IllI" e;I~1

end of the building. of a Icll.l:th to inrlude three arches U ll (',H h ~ ide

wall, thl' floor ahow it loca ted a t Iht" pr r.-.cnt fif.".1 floor le\('1. .-\ 1 onetim" thert' wa !> a d<Mlrway in th,' e" ....t a rch of the nort h fMad e,z,\\ hkh may haH btT Il origina l, The other wa ll a rrh,~ o\('r therd lu M,t·tion were prohahl y tilled wilh wind ow ... a!'. at preM'nt , ho thahll\" .tIl l! below the firs.t lIoor. Stair~ W('fe dOllht!e....... loc ltitd !lear

' :' /I>i<l" " . 2, p _ I:n , no. 7:15.1O; //'i<l., " .2 , 1'_ 118,no.7 18.1'1 /bid., \' . 2, p. 123, no, 7:lf;.I ' / bi <l" v . :1, II. 23, no. 'oil4 : p. 27, 110, '12:1: 1'- :\1> , no_ 'I.'ltll\l lbid., " . 4, p_ I t, no , I:H'1.Z"/bid .. \'. 2, p. 80, no_ 5tl5, Itn ni" 'd hill, ~I a ~ to S"'pl"'ll\hn, 17n, for , In"" ,

n un, I'lo...in~, r ;utino:, tillin o:, , r ..fJoldino:, ..nd dio:o:i))~ th,' rel!.'r.zISh".. n in photograph l.l ~ ..n r a. 18ti7.

t he entrance door, leading to the ce llar ami second storv. T he' walla rches in the ..... r,.1 part nf the building" bcvond the cella r . wereopen 10 th e ground."

W ith the completion nf th e ~I a rkl" t House and the improvementHf it!'. surroundines the Parade her-ar ne th e civic renter. It w 01s therein the nighl uf ~lan-h :!, Ji i 5" th a t the men and ..... omen of Provi­dcnce show ed their f(-:- i ~t l."n f e 10 unjust laxa tion h~' burning Britishrea. as recorde d on a tablet erected on the build in g: in J894 by theGaspee C hapt er of the Dau ghters of th e Am erican Revolution .

During th e wa r the French tr oops paid a number of visits 10

Providen ce. ;\ n'q lln t from th e qllart('fma~t ('r !.":I'nera l to appro-priare the ~ Iarket HOIIM' to ....tore the ha .t:: .c;aJ.:l· of the armv i....reported in ihe town n-rords of April 9. 178 1. Permission wn....wanted him " tu make IN' of the Upper Loft s ()f till' ~Iarket HouseBuilding as lon~ as ln- shal l want the .....'11ll 1' for till' Use of the saidArm y on Condit ion of hi!'. layin ~ a Ti~hl double Floor in the xliddlcLoft and Keeping and Leavi ng the Windows and th ai part of saidBuilding' whi ch shall he improved by the Arm v in a.... good Repairas th e same is no w ( s;l \'i ll~ the natural Decay ) and bu ilding suc h aPair of St a in. ;(!' he mav thin k propn ill suc h place as shal l bed irected ..' z:t O n April IB the town further agreed 10 provideq uarters for th ,' Frt'lH"h officers and 10 ma ke availilbl,' the "lowerroom" of Ihe ~tarkct Hou~. The troo?, a rrh-ed in june andc....tahli ...hed a camp l1<'ar Ihe prc:;.cnt H ;l~w ..rd I)ark. R(Khambf'auwa.... .guC' t tlf D" PIlI ~ (;O\l."rIlor Bowen at hi~ home" on Ihe Parade.Col on el de \'inm,:nil and Iwo of hi... aid('!; ~ta~t'd with j U:-.I·ph Brow nin his dweJli n~ ere("{,'d in 1774 ( ~t ill ....Ian d int:: 01 1 SO So uth ~tain

Slree l ) and th,· Comh" de Fen,en lod .c;ed with :"i cholas Brow n in ahotl"C ..... h ich ~{(MM I on a !'. ite 0ppo1'ite the w" ~1 rront of Ihl." pre'."rntCourt Home. Ahout fifty olhn olfic f'f!' Wt'f(' q uarlt'n 'd in Ihe townin \'ariou!' hOIlH......Zt

At a town nHTlin .L: ~Iaf("h 23, I iB2, il wa .... " n'!iolwd that wh enthl' French t roop!'. ~h all han' dOlle makinJ,:: 11M' (If th,' market and....hall han' ddin'rn! th ,' ....;tnl(' up a ,~a in for th, ' (1M' of tilt' town that~ Ir. janH'!'. l.awn·nlT h,' pnmittt'd to illlpro\l' a r o C>lll in the llpP"r

~~Sho...n in t' " o: ra" i",( Ct . 18:\ll.~" P .T . P .• \" . ti, p. :12, no, 2407.z ~ Ho...a rd \\' , Pr... ."n , ' ·R<><· ha", I..."u "nd thr Fr ..no-h T rt>o l" in I' ro,·idr " ....: ·

fl ./_lI i. !. .'\or . (; ,,11.. ,-.1 7,1'_ I

104 The Providence J/ark"t House O ClOht'T 1952 T he I' rOI'idO IU' .\Jllrkel lit/lilt'

part thereof for an insurance office [the first of record in Provid ence]011 his agreeing" with the commi tt ee w ho have the can"of th e markethouse , for the use of the same and paying as much rent as anyoth er penon will offe r 10 ,gin: for the sa me roc m.?" Hv a townresolution the followin,l:" Jll ly B Theodore Foster. a l a~·wr. waspermitted to ()(TUpy a room in the market house bu ilding ':011 sameconditions as gra nted to Lawrcnce ." ~ t,

In t 71H the Parade and the wharf were paved by Zephania hAndrews,27 and trees and posts were set ou t under direction ofNicholas Brown. " T he "paving" expt'IlSCS incurred by the tow ninclu ded posts, trees, sruw hire. an d seven ga llons of rum.

At a town meeting' Jul y ~~, 1785, Ca pta in Benjamin H oppin wa sproclaimed clerk of the market and Dr. Eph raim Bowen , JamesAr nold. Nic holas Brown , and Ar thur F"I1I1('r, J r. , were named acommim-c " to ta ke th e whole cha rg'e and command of the markethouse and to put it under protx'r regulations, as they shall th ink best ,to fit out th e stalls, and the mark et hou se cella r, a t vend ue, and thatthe ~' be ernpowcrr-d to a ppoint a su itable person to collect suchcustomary wharffagc and storage in th e cella r as sha ll becom e duefor a rticles lan de d Oil the market house w harf, or sto red in themarker house cella r."Z!' This en t ry on the town records was signedh y Theodore Fosler , town clerk.

Pursua nt to an art by the Ge neral Assembly in 1790 providing fora louer v to ra ise t::moo,~" Weybosse1 Bridge was agai n re built in1792, 120 feel long betw een abutment walls and 56 feet wide , witha draw of th e lift type, The east abutment was moved ou t into theriver to the line of the wal l built by J oh n Brow n in t 77J a nd wascontinued nort herly to the present Stee ple Street. The sho re wasfilled to the hciulu of the wal l, and a new highway ( now C analStn'('t ) was constructed.

In 17~3 the town clerk 's office was established in the MarketHouse. Two years later the town purch ased the Cong rega t iona lC hurch at Benefit and College streets ( vaca ted on com ple tio n of

~:,p:r P., v , ti, 1'. 118, no, 2740.~':1b;d.

~;Ib;d .. v. 9,1" 75, no, :175li.~~/bid., \'. 'l,~. 'I, no. :t 'l fl ll ,~"Ibid. , \" , S, p. I:\0, no. H'I8.'\"U,I .C .II .. \'. 10, p. :1 '15.

a new meeting house at the corner of Benefi t and Benevolent strt-ets }.named it t he T own House . and fitted it for tow n \1M'S, retaining theclerk's office in the ~larket House.

In 1797 St. John's Lodge of M asons received permission to builda thir d story on the M arket Hou se for its ll~' and at its expellSl.'.T he old roof was removed. the outside walls raised. and a new gahleroof and cornice added. gi\'ing the structure its presen t form. ;\tablet hearing a masonic emblem was placed in the west gahle, wherethe d ock is now located. and a roo f ba lustrade was built above thecor n ice. O n De cember 27, 1n17, the mow masonic hall, the firstin R hode Island , was dedicated by Grand ~lasl{'r j nbcz Bowen , asmemorialized by a bron ze tablet erected on the building in 1916.

By th e dose of the centu ry the Parad e had become almost en tirelya business a rea, and the first stories of most of the houses surrou nd ingit had hccn converted into shops. The Exchange Coffee House, athree-story ga mbrel-roof build ing, was built ncar the bridge atth e r-orur-r of the new water fron t SHeet an d one Hoor became thepost ollin' and office of the Gazette ill I i9J, John Carter, its pub­lisher, a lso ma inta ined a sta tionery and book shop and for several~Tars was assorian-d with \ \' illia lll \ r ilkin!'oll, who succeeded him a ,~

postm aster.In a second olli('iallisting of street names in 1805,~\ the former

Towne Street was renamed Ma in Sr rec t ; Ha nover Street was r-hangedto College Street; and the new street no rth of the Pa rade, on whic-hthe Coffee House stood, was named warer Street ( now Canal ),

In the early ~Tars of the nin eteenth century a business t rend wasunder way on We yrn)s."et side. T he Exch ange Bank was establishedat the northwest corner of \restminste r an d Excha nge streets inIRO I; the Washington Insurance Company erected a building nearthe end of the Great Bridge ( now Washington Row ) in IB02; andthe post office was moved in th at year hy Dr. Benjamin We~t , SHe­

r rsso r to \Vilkinson as postm aster, to \Vh itman Block (T urks H eadBuild ing ) . In 1813 the Union Ban k Huilding was err-e-n-d. part ofwhich is still sta nding at 10 Westm inster Street.

On Septe mbe r 23, IB IS, occurred th e G reat Sto rm with a galeof extreme violenrr-, accom panied hy a tide that rosr- to a heightof 11 feet 9Y~ inches above mean high wa ter. ;\ tablet set on the

JlPro\,id..nee T o wn Council f'rou"'ding" ". H,~. 535.

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lOR The l ' roridence Xl arl:et 110 /1 51' Octobe-r The Pmridcnce Xl arket I/o lise IO~1

vla rket House shows the line three and a ha lf feet above the side­walk. Extensive damage was caused. including- the demolition ofWeyho., <;("t Bridge. .-\her the wreckage had lx-cn cleared away thetown inaugurated a program of waterfron t improvements. T he newbr idge, nine tv-fivc feet in width, supported on pill's driven in theriver bed am! completed in J ll l ~ · . IRI/). was a fixed spa n. rlosingProvid ence RiH r to navigation at that point. Har bo r lines wereestablished, one hundred fifteen feet apart at th e bridge an d divergingas they extended down the river. So ut h \rater Street was laid outsoutherlv from the Parade to Fox Point in 18 17. thirty feet wide andtwentv-five feet from the east ha rbor line. West Water ( now Dyer )Street was constructed along the west harbo r line frum the bridgeto Lon g Wh arf ( huilt about 1798. now C usto m House Street ),WaitT (Ca nal) Street was extended to Smi th Stree-t in 1825, andCove Street was const ructed 0 11 what is now the south roa dway ofExchange Place, T wo bridges wert' huilt by the Providence \\"ash­inuton Insuran ce Co mpany with the au thori ty of the town in 1828,om- located north of and parallel to \\ 'eyboss{,t Bridge, la ter knownas w ashington Bridge, exten ding Cove Street easterly to water(Canal) St reet an d th e other at right angles, erected over the westba nk of the river, coincidi ng with the present washington Row. Inth at year the Blackstone Canal to worcester was ope ned, its terminuslocat ed in a boat basi n no rth of a ca uSt:way which extend ed nort h­westerl y across the na rrow end of the con' from the presen t H ay­market Street.

In 1820 the first sidewalks were huilt in the town an d the firststre et lam ps installed, In the same year the .Hallujacturl'fs andFarmers lUUT/1Il1 was founded with offices in the Coffee House. In1824 the first l'roridence Directory was p ublished hy Brown andDanforth, the last pri nters of the Gazette (which ceased publicationin 1825 ) at their print ing olli('(' in Abbo tt Sti ll House, O f sign ificanceill the "list of names of streets. etc." in the directory is "::\Ia rketSquare," superseding the Parade in name.

Three no tewort hy buildings: Fra nklin House, Roger \\'ill iam~

Hank Building, and G ranite Block. all designed b y J oh n HoldenGreene, were erected on Market Sq uare in 1823-24. The FranklinHouse had a fivr- stor v facade with a distinc tive roof parapt·t onXlain Str!:'(· t; and a court yard at the rear. run-red from Col lege H ill,

1

ga n~ ent ry 10 the main floor on the second level, where the taproom was located. T he hotel her-arne the l'topping place for theBoston and Nr-w York ~tage coaches. The front of the RogerW illiams Bank Build ing, adjoining it to the north, was composed oflive stories of large ....-indows ill a granite [rnmcwru-k, r-rowrn-d h~

a scu lptured para pet. Of similar wall construction was the (;ranlleBlock. a four-story business building located between M ain Stn-etand the Coffc(' House 0 11 the nort h side of the square. T he westside of Main Stree t, from Market Square to Steeple Street. waspopularly known as Chca psid« am! was the fashionable shoppingcenter of the period. On Sou th Water Street a row of bric k ware­houses extended southerly from \la rkt'l Square.

Art er Providenc e had received a ('ily charter in 1832, the CityCo uncil met in the Market House. :\ two-story addition. seven feetwide , was b uilt at the r-ast e-nd of the building in 1833 with at-rrnra l projection 14 feet wide and Iour feci deep. It was designedby j ames C. Bucklin and provid ed a new entrance and stairway,Balustrades of the Greek t~ p(' were installed above the \\ing andover the main cornice of the building. .-\ few yearl' later a basementwas built in the western pa rt of the buildinjr, hitherto opeTl to theground: the first storv line was raised and windows were installed illthe arch ed openings. The basement was used as a mar ket , ,\l'(T:-'~

10 wh ich was provided by bulkhead ent rances and sleep l'IOJl(' stt'ps.

We yhos."I.·1 Bridge was again rebuilt in 1R4:~ 10 a width of 1:1:)feet . its sou thcrlv line nearly para llel with an d sorrn- fifteen fr-et southof th e sou th line of the Market HOllM'. In the same year the Washing­ton Buildings, designed by Bucklin , were built on the west side ofWashington Row , replacing the form er washington Build ing of1802. The Cm"C basin was cons tructed in 1347. together with re-tain ­ing walls exte nd ing from its easter ly rim 10 provide a channel intothe Providence River. and the remainder of the or iginal rovr , castand sout h of the basin , was filled. T he rai lroad de pot, de~ign{'d byThom as :\. Te fft, was r- rrctr-d Oil the sout h border of the basin. andthe area sout h of it was named Exchan ge Place, Exchange Bridgcwas constructed across the new channel. from Exchange Place toCa na l Street ( the nor therly parI of the preM'llt Mcmoriol Square )ill 1848. In the same vear Dyer St reet. laid out from Eddy Sireel10 Lon g W harf in 1 8 ~5 , was extended northerlv across the slips

110 T hr l' roridcncr .llarA r! I/ O/o r 19-'"'2 T he Proridencc .\larArt H ouse 111

flanking: that wharf ( :mto l11 House Street ) to rhc great hrid.L:c toinclude the form er Wt~t Water Srrret . wh ich Wil:- widened hy theremova l of thr- t'a :-I end of th e Union Bank Building. Both D ver andSout h water :-Irret:-. wr-rr- lined with wharves for saili ng H':>o."t'I:-.

In aGo the Whal Ch t,f'r Block (Hill sta nding at ~U ~ l arkt'l

Squa re). do-igncd by C. ( ; . a nd J. R. Hall. was b uilt on the :-iwof th e ~ l a n u(M t urr r.< Hotel adjacen t to the Roger W illiam :- BankBuilding. Soon afterwa rds two business bui ldings repl aced IIIl' Co llt'l'Hou--r-, These wcrr- all bro wn-roue structures. O ric inallv the cen terentra nce Ilf What Chrt'r lUo(k ", a:- an open art-hwav, extendingthrough th e buildiug : this provided access to a building erected inthe rea r ill IB5fi. de-igned by T efft for the Provi dence Ga:- Company,a corporation which had commenced rnanufacruring gas and laying:main... for street lig:ht~ ri.ght ye'lr.< previously. T he post office waslocated in whar Ch eer Bloc k unti l the Federa l Build ing wa~ opened011 Custom House SIHTt in IR5/.

Extensive altrration:- \\('rr made to the interior of the ~la rkrt

House in IR6:1 -6fi, providinc quarter!' for pracricallv all city depart­ment:-,;l;: and for rwclvc Yt'i\r!' thr-reafu- r it was known as the Ci lyBuilding. O fTin ':>o Wt'rr provided in the first ~tory an d baeerncnt forthe ('i ty treasu rer , ("ity ;ltIdi tor , t'o lkrtor of t axe~ , ~upt-finlend('1lI ofhl';llth , th t' I hid~ o( tht' poli( e and fire (kpa rt lllt'nb, .tnd other ollil'('f:­and hure;lIl ~. In thl' :-(Tnnd ~tory were Ihe l11ayor~ ollin" (:-o uthl'a:-tro rner ). the' llIuni cipa l co urt ( northcil1ot corner ), ('ily dl' rk I \\( ':>otrnd ). and the a:>o.~t':>o.'1lr of taxl"~ ( ~m t h ~idc ). Tht' third ~tory ( \'a ra tt'dby the ~1a!i( JIl ~ ill 18;->3 ) contained the council cha m hl'r on thl' \\ l'~t

and Ihl' ald t'fnwn \ ( ha mhl'r on Ihe I"a~ t. Plumhi n~ a nd ht'a ling~y~tt'm~, rt',nfll vall lt ~ , and ~peakill,g tuhn were im talkd .

.-\ ftt'r thl' openi ng" of the Ci ty Build ing, U.'l. ' of tht , T own HOll ~e '

on BI'n t'fit StnTt wa~ con tinllnl for a ~ h(J rt tinw a:- a wa rc! f(MltTl

and fif(' t'ng: illt, :>ota tion, and it wa~ thell torn down. O n its sit(, tl1l'I'rO\,idl'n("t' ( :OIlIlIYCOlirt 1I 00 1 ~t~ . dl'~ i ,gnl'll by Stone and Car'pt'ntt'r,wa~ ('rl'clt'd and ded ic'a tnl in lxii .Hor~(' ('a r l il1 l'~ \\en' pu t in operati on Oil thl' d ty ~t1"('e t~ in 11ll;,!

and a pa,'-...<'ngef dq)ot wa:- t'fl"ltl'd hy th e Un ion Railroad Cnmpan ~

in 18n7, :-uppo rlt'd O il pilt'1o d ri\T1l in the riwr nort h of and ad jan'llt10 W(' y hn:>o.~\'t Bridge, Th(' wid t'n ing" of Collq:::l' SUT!"I ,lIld i l~

[

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cxtcn...ion to So uth Walc' r SlrtTl in 1867 forced the filzing of theAbbott SliII House. The river n'lai lling: wa lls were extended sout h­crly to C rawford Stn't't in IM7;-) and Crawford Bridge was erectedas a fixed ~pan. ('~tahli~hin~ a J1('W head of navigation. The bridgewas 130 fccr wide. its t'mb prujl,(till~ ;11 rie ht ang:lN' northerly toWt'yl)()!;."t"t Brid ge with pill' :>ouPI)tl rl:>o driven in the rive r he-d leavinga rive r opening i 5 feet \\ ide. The rxu-n..ions provided added wid thsfor South \ \"atl" r a nd DH'r streets.

The area surrou nding till' river (lpt'llin~ soon became an 0rrnmarket where .'I.·Ttion~ of the high",ay~ were rented to venders. Inensuing ~car!' fru it and produce menhams established quarters inthe ground floors of South Watn and Dyer Street warehouses. andt r-acks were laid on Ihlr.>C hig-h\\ay~ on which freig ht cars. drawn bystrings of horses. hrouqht supplies to the dealers.

The ~larkel Hou-e was abandoned for ,ity U~ when the CityH all was opened in Hli8: and the buildi ll.l.!: was leased to the Provi­dence Board of Trade, w hu-h occupied the first ~tory and rentedrooms in the rest of the building. One of the ea rly' tenant ... was theRhode Isla nd EI('n r ie 1.iJ::ht ing Co mpa ny, a conce rn authorizedhy th e City Coun,il in 1882 " In erect 1)t )le~ and wires for cond ucting:elect ricity for light . heat and motive power to consumers." The firstarc lighls in the city Wl'rl' i n~ta lll'd h y llll" mmpa ny on ~ I arkt·t Sq uareand \rl"~tminster Stn'r t in tha t y('ar.

.:\"umerous changes w('n ' madt' in III\' ~ I arket House in ensu in~

ye'lrs. Entran ces Wl"fe plan'd in thl ' n'mral af(" hl"~ of the ide walkthat on Ih l" nort h leadi ng- to the Hoa rd (If T rade's quarte r and tha ton the sou th Orwn ill.l": into a :-tairway hall. T he second a nd Ihird~tofY wind ows were dl"rpt'lwd and largt'-pallt'd window .....1....h installed.T ht' first story wa.~ ~trippt,t1 of it ~ pa rt i t ion~ and conw rtrd int o a~i n,l::"1e room with iron pn~t~ il1 ~t alll't1 to MIPI)tlrt the ~(,col\d floor bram s.The foof bal ustrade wa.~ f('mo\'t'd , and thl' t'xler ior brick wall ... wl'rc,g-iVt'1I a ,oal of yellow pa int .

A cahle tramway Iillt' wa~ COllstfl u tn! from the' foot of Colll'gl' H illto Red Bridge and wa~ Il!ll'ra tt'll from 1 1l ~ IO to 1895. D uring tho~e

year~ t rolleys Mu-n'('lk d Iltnw t'a r~ Oil otlwr l i n l'~ , In 189:) trolleycaTS Wefl" pill ill 0lwration on th t, Rt'd Brid.L: l' fou tt'. aided hy arOllntrnH'ig ht systt'm O il Colkgc H ill, whir h wa~ IlMim ained unt ilthe st rrrt railway tlIll1wl wa~ 0lll'llt'l1 in 1 ~1] 4 , Civil' pro.l.::r('s.~ d ur ing

II~ T Ilt' Proridcnce .\farker Ho use O ctober 1952 Tn I' Proridrnce .\lllrker I/ n 1l5(, I U

the nineues included the fi lling of the Cove basin, the erection of anew rai lroad sta tion on Exchange Pla ce, the construct ion of 11('''''

ret aining wall~ for till' Providen ce River. and the erect ion of steelhridK~ in replao-mem of the former Wt'~bm,<;('t , \\'ashin ~ton ( re­named Bur nside} , Wa~hinKton Row , and Exch an ge bridges. TI lt'hon.c· cur dc-put O il ~[ilrkt·t Square' was removed: and the doc k,whic-h had h CT Il a feature (If its main entrance. was installed in th e'\H"!-t pediment of the ~brk('t House.

The erection of the Post Otllre Bridge, bet ween Burnside a ndExchan).'::c' htid).'::c"!- i n I~I(H, provided the fina l link in a con tinuo us..-pan (except for river openings ) 1147 fecr wide extending fromthe head of navigation at Crawford Street to the rail road viaduct[ erected 190R), In 19I:l the Roger W illiams Bank Building wastorn dow n and wa~ replaced b~ the ma rble-fronted Peoples Sa \'inWiBa nk, de-igned hy Clarke and H owl.".

T he Bo ard of Trade was reorganized as the Chamber of Corn­rm-rcc jn 19 I:l, Two ~l"aT'S lat er the- city renewed the Chambe r'slea-c of the ),larkt't House for a ten- veer te rm and, in conside ra tionof an inrreav-d ren tal. undertook a partial restoration of the build­in,g's exterior under supervision of Xorman ),1. Isham and J ohnH utchins Cadv . The work inclu ded a roo f balustrade and otherCo lonia l embellishme nts and the removal of pai nt from the brick­work. \I inor inter ior alte rations were ma de from time to time , an da IIt'W dn tric' clock was installed . The bu lkhead entrances, withstone I'h'P" It'ad in ~ from the sidewalk to the basement, had grad uallybee n eliminated an d the last to SUT\,j\'e w as in the center of th e w estwall, pwvidin~ aef t's... to qu a rteT'S of th l" busines... br;mch uf theProvidellr t' Puhlic Lih rary,

Pwm inellt ;1I 11011~ till' many .\I arkl"t House.' tena nls durin~ itsnl'C llpal1('~ hy the Board of T radl" and tht · Chamher of Commercf'were tIll' \I allvillt, Co m pa ny, Henr y Lippitt and C umpan\ ', Sih-t'rSprinJ,: BII 'a r h in ~ and Dyc'in,g Company', )'ferino .\Ianutan urill g( :ompany, Slwial \ Ianllfar turin,g Company, Kill i n~ ly .\Iali lifanm·illg Co mp;uly, John II , Orlllsbl'{' (co,tI) , G, A. Stock.....ell ( Brit ishVicc' COllsul ) , J ohn F, I.ellllon ( flour) , W illiam A. Dean (artpholOJ,:raplwr )• .:'\idlOls and \\'ill iams (barbers) , and the RhodeIsland POllltry As."od ,ltion ,

During World War I till' \\' ashin,glon Buildin KS on \\'ashill,l.,'1on

1I

Row were raz ed and ti lt' Hospital Trust Build in g was erected onthe site,

The ma rket era of the ),l arh,t Square vir-initj closed in 19~7 whena new produce' renter was opened till Harr is Avenue and the cit\te rminated the market g:anit'nc'rs'lea~ of hig:hway "p;u-es ad joiningthe rive r. Fort hwi th thc' environment of rbc M ar ket House becamethe scene of demolition an d n-constructjon ar riviries that rrmtjnuedalmos t without paiN' for nine ~ ('ars, Crawford Bridg:l" , together w ithits extensions a lon~ South water and f)~t' r streets. was reconstructedin stone. steel, and reinforced concrete. Two entire hloc ks, boundedb~ South \\'a ter, College. Benefit. Hopkins, South M ain . and Craw•ford streets were stripped hare of huildi n......... including: many old land­marks. South M ain St reet ",'a.. widened betw een Market Squarean d C ra wford Street. T he lines of College Street "ere revised-outherlv.Jeaving an area about 50 feet wide adjacent to the \I arkc,tHouse that " a!' later made into a lawn. The new Providence CoumvCuurt House ( 1!}2B.3J) was erected on the sou th side of Colll"g:1"Street: and the )'Ietcall Buildi ng (If the Rhod e Island School ofDesign was built in 1936 on the no rth side of the street . Bothbuildings were designed bv j ackson . R oberts on . and Adam!'. .-\ pclT'tion of the facade of Franklin HUllS(" h ' ilS pr eserved and incorporatedas a pa rt of the lat ter building.

Wh en Providence observed its te rcentenarv in 1936 the MarketHouse was th e sole survivor of Co lonia l Providence in th e MarketSq ua re area. Duri ng ~ennat i(>ns of f'i\' ir development it had stoodcc mplacentlv. struc tura lly unchanged sinre its third stur~ had be'l' lladded in 1797. Bad da ys lay a head, how{'\'c'r , ill whic h its Co lonial('haraner, if no t its \ 'er~ exislc'nl'C'. was in jt'u pa rd~ ,

It may han bc.'en a S.1,e: in thc' roo f rid ,~c' thai first ca ught thc'walchful eye uf the Comm is.~ i orlt' r of Publ ic' Building!', Afte r ant'xaminatiun of the r(Klf stru ct ure and the third story walls heannounced, early in 19:1 B, that thl" hllild in,e: wa" 1I11Safe for OCCll ­

pam'y. The Cha mbe r of COmmt'lTc was ordl"f('d to , 'acate ami did1«J J uly I. Plan s fur f(Ton stnll,tic)lJ Wt'f(' madt· by the (" ity a rchitectand in AU,l{u"t the wor k of de mo lition was commc'nced. On Septem­1Jc'r 21 Prm 'idence was \'isited hy a hlJrr ir ;uJ(', ~rea ter in intensitythan the olle of 18 1.') and an 'oillpanini hy a t ide th at ro"e to a levelnearly two fl"t·t hig:hl"r tha ll in that ~ I'a r, as ma rkc'd hy a tahlet on

IH <k tolw l

th,' :\ Iarkt'l Iloll~ . .-\ lthOlu:::h t he "condemned" roof Irw,,"("" wereban-d a nd exposr-d 10 thr - eleme-nts when the hurr icane struc k. it j ...

inwTr:-t ing 10 record that they \\t'n' undnmazed b~ tilt' ga lt',

n ~ the rime- the en t ire roof a nd tilt" th ird storv wall " had been 1.11..:el1

dow II the people of Provid ence became UlIra"y a" to the fait' of thehistoric structure. Tilt' ,-ily architect announ ced tha t the oa k ruoflx-ams wo u ld II{" replaced by :-tn' [ trus-'('s: otheTwj!'o(' litt le infnrmu­linn was available. Cit~· olJi('ia l" were apathetic, "o m,' fa\'orill.t:" thehuildin g·... demolition . Xear the do~' of 19:\8 l ilt' Rh ode IslandChapter of the Amer ica n Institute" of Architects mad e a plea fur ana ut hen tic n-sroration . :\Iayof J ohn F. Collins. soon afu-r hieinauguration in jcnuarv. I !H9. ordered the preparation uf revisedplan» hy B. ( ; , V. Zr-tters troru, new city architect , with nu-mbers of11)(' Cha pter of .-\rchih'd s as consultants. \\'or k was resuuu-d ill~ Ia ~' (,f that ~ ,"ar a!' a " 'or ks I' ro'-'lT~" Administ ra tion project andthe exte rior was substuntiallv completed a year la ter. Thr- upperpart of the walls was re-built with bricks conforrninz 10 the ori ginal....il '· and a ~t<'d and concrete roof was r-rer'tcd and cov ered with sla te.TIll' -erond and third sto ry windows W(' I'(' resto red 10 their ori gina lsta rv. with ~ills raised and small panes (If g- Ias.~ insta lled . The windowsof t lu- arche-d openi ngs were rnk~ignn! with sas hes simila r to thost·of t ilt' FiN Baptist ~1t't' l in~ HOllN.~ . .-\ Colunial type of roof halm­Iradf' was huilt alx)\"e the main (·omin·. ~Ieanwhik interior ahera­tions \\ere under w'a ~. includin g- new partil ions. fireproof stai rwa y....and 11t';ltinc:. plumhing. de<'tric. ;md sprinkler ...ystt·m.... a project inwhich th,' archi lt"ftural nmsultanl.o. had nil hand . Befon ' tht , t'nd of194() the pa rt ially n'lllp letl'd alt t'fatiolls w('rt· SIJ"'p('JJ(led. and forIhl' I1I'Xt dl'Cade Iht· hu ilding was \'acanl.

T he R hod t' Island School of D~i ,gn Aud ito rium. dt' ...iglwd byPhil ip D. Cn·er. W ;I ... t'rt'ctl"d nn thl" block north of thl' ~ lark"1 HOllst,in 1940. rt'pbri ng th t" Granile Bkl("k and adjacenl ...trtKturl"o.

During Ih,' m llN ' of \ \"or ld \ \' a r II """t'ral "hnrt i"e .\Lu mpl:­\\,'f(' madt, to ('om ph'lc' t he rt·h;lhilitatioll of Ihe ~la l' k t,t It nust'. ,\pfOp,,~a l w<\ ... made ill 1~H:) for lc 'a:-ing IIIl' huih.lill~ to the ~t a lC' fOla J u\t'nilt' Court. Plan... \,en' pn'pan'd for Ihal purpo."!.·. Inn tht'C"l'Il:-trunion t·"'timatt'" w,'rt' high, and Iht' plan w,,~ ahandotlt'd .

l 'lIdl'r a dt'l'd :-i~ed hy' ~l aYllr Denni:- J. Robt-rt~ ~Iay '1 7. ! 9-1-R .Ih,' I ' it ~ g-an' th,' ~ I a rke t HOIN ' II, t he Rhll(!t' Island Srhool. ,f Ilc",ig-n

, .

for t'duca liollal and corpom« pllrpeN·... with the provi ...ion th at tht·exterior of the build ing shou ld he mainta ined and preser ved illconfnrmi tv wi th its historical an-hir er tural cha racter. TIlt" schoo lesurn-, ...ino- the r-rert ion (If it:- fln-t buildinc on \\";t1t'mMIl St reer inIH~ 12 . ha d expanded III include all of tl)(' him k bounded hy \\"alt-r­nu n. Xun h ~laill . Cullegc, and Bcucfu "'Ir("('b c'xCl'pl the \ ,"hat( :h,·t'f B10rk ( now known a... the Textron Building }. Thr Lnr-st acqui­...it jun had br-e-n the Peoples Sa vings Bank . purch.e-ed a fn-r the hankh;1I1 moved to a 11("\\ building .11 H:J "',."lmin"'ler Street. The sc hool

a uditoriu m, as already recorded . occu pied the block north of the" arkel House.

In Apri l, 1949, the Sc-hool of Design announced the "n gagt'lllelllof J ohn H utch ins Cad y as architect and the O llin ' of Hulli... Frenc ha... engilltTr to develo p plans for adapting the ~ l a rkt· t II 111Jst' forst hool purplJ:-.t':', III thr- fall of that ~t'ar. while plans were un der" a ~. the buildin g W;I:- partially renovated a nd S('f"\(-J a:-headq uarter­for rhe annual Red Feather ca mpa ign. The gen eral coutrar t fora!lt"ring and rehabilitat ing lilt' ~larkel House ";1:- awa rded 10 . \ . C.Ik al:- Compan y. and \\ ork "as commr-no-d ~lanh I. l ~I ,~lll ,

The pl.n» were drawn to provide quarters for the denannu-nts ,of.In hitcctun-, latll!:o.t·apl' ardlilt"f!lIre. and dt·...ign. EXt'u lti\t· olIi lt·~

,lIld a p uhl ir exhihilioll roo m \\t'f(' b id oul on lilt' fir.-t floor: d Ols.'"mum ... and d ra ughling mom ... in Ihl' upper .o.lo r;1"o and ll;ist' IlH.'"IlI ,TIlt' firt'" pmof ~t aif\\a~s and thl" toi k t room... . huilt in 19 -10 . " 1'TI '

f('I,linn! \\i th modifil 'ation s: in olher re~pt'd:- Ihe inlt'r ior Wil~

<tltuo...! t'lltirdy altt'red . T he hoiler roolll wa ... discnntillllt·f! a nd1111' hcaling. ("!("("tric. and le lephone liJ1('s wert· (ollnccu·d by lJIukr­g-fOulld pip'·... wit h tilt' ~(· h(X)r ... f entra l ... ~ ... Iem,"'. Cnlonial pn'('edent"il ~ follo"l'd in arrhitedural de la il", "'Cl fa r a ... ulil ity and rt':-I rinion '"illlptJS("d by tilt" bui ldi n,e: la" ... " ()lIld perm it. Th,' mai n t"ntr ;tn(t' \\ ;1:­

t'StOl hlislwd 011 tht" :"'orlh ~ Ia ill StnTI t"Tld. in wh il h a I\('W dnnf\\;l ~

I\ a :- i ll ~t a l kd. it... dl':-ign influt'1J( I'd hy that "f Ihc' J, 'hn Bn o"n H(HI:-I'Oil POW('f Sire el'. (b k Irel':- \\ ('fe plan tc'd Oil thl" b\ln ...out h of thl'hll iltlin,e:,

Th(' reh,lhilila tcd ~ larket Hou"'C·. "ith ;1 ha rk t.: round of ('i, icrtl lllllleH"ia l, and hll ~ ill l's.'" u",,-fu hll's."'. \\01:- lJpt'!wd fur ('(hll"illion;1!pu rpuN.~S in Ihl' aulunm of 19:IU and \ \ ;1:- re-dedic;lted b~ I ' r,~ ident

hy An: C . R "'ITt -

[T ht" portion of r/" .~"'JTd ;QJ J><" ruinin!{ 10 R hod .. " land rollo"'$~I r. Raviu 'l a rt icfe.]

TH E 1:o.; II A h lT A:o.;TS and po lit ica l leaders of Rho d e Island d ur ingthe crit ical Yf";\rs 1711n and 17R7 fell under 1111' ker-n in' of th e COIl ­ru't t it-ut \ " its : 1.f'1Il 1lt'1Hopkins. IIavid H um ph revs. j ()c'l Barillw. andj ohn Trumbull. Thf'se pot't s of a Federalist mind collaborated OI l anow for ,gotlt'n work called T he Anarrhiad, a poelll which has n-.«r-ived littl e illuminat ing- rommenrarv throu ghout till' wars.' Thr­mob of Sha ys had to m ~las~dlll.'i(·t1 s asunde r : a nd Anarch , t h e­

poetic epito me of blnr k chaos. had (accord ing to th e W ils ) a "thriv­illg-O' sta te of affairs in Rhod e Island . So , in a series of lin ' ly paper!'numbered and t itled . lmer;crln .·l ntiqui tin, th e q uart t't verbally as­sa ulted the rising " rnoboc racv" in their neig-hboring -uue. .-\ smdvof the poem and its many all usions ill term... of the portrayed RhodeIsland scene is val uable nOI only for an understanding of th e fX J('mhUI also for a cla rificati on of Federnlist a ttitude toward Rh ode Islandami for a composite view of lilt' tur bulent situation as seen throughthe eyes of ('olllrmporary :"\'('w En g1amkrs.

O n ~ Ia y 3, 17116. Rh ode Island t-limbcd upon th e papn mone yba nd w agon h y ekrting j oh n Collins a... Go\"(~rnor and Da niel O ....'crtas Deputv-Covcmor over the Revolutionarv \\'a r Governo r. \\' illia rnGreene. and his ru nning- mate. Shortly after the elrct ion , a pafX'rmoney hank was S<"I up ; certificates wr-rc issued : and len der la ....sth ai attempted to stabilize the flew currency w ere enacted. Thelegislative de lega tion from rhe tow n of Providence opposed thesesteps. and their fears were soon ju-tificd as de pred ati on of the pa perpro m ptlvbegan." The General .-\. M"mhly th en made mandatory theaccepla ncc of the pa per bill.......uh jert ing those rdusin,1l: to accept the

-~ I r. Ra\·;t, il ...·orki nll: for hi~ dortora t" in ,\ " ... rira n I. i t rr a l u r ~ at :\ ~.... Yor kUni~,..rl it y.

' Luther G. R i !l ll: ~ , "d" Th r .~ naTc 1Jiad, Ulb l . Th.. poem o r i ll: i n;l ll ~ appe arr d inthe N,,, , !lm" n G,,:;, // r and Co "",.I ;cul .H II,l[Q:;; n '. Ortol...r 17Sf> In S..pr..rnh,·,1787. Vn non Parriueton in 'I"/' , (;o"" u l;CU I lI'il5, 1926, and L'·on Howard in'I' /', C o"",.I;c,,1 Will , [9 4:3, ha".. trit'd to dH"d some l i ~ ht lOll th.. work and it,had llrou nd ; but , t i11 th.. poem r..mai"s [M Il. 'h' OhSCUft" . T h i. , tu lly is ha,,'d pri·ITmri ly on n<' w m:. t... lals.

~Salllut"1 COr....n.. ,' rn old , lf isl"')' of ,/" SltSlr of R/' oJ , l d and , :\....' York, t8H ,\'01, 2, PI'. 520- '12.').

It '

,\ X.·\ RCH IX RHonE ISL\:'\DO ctober

'I

I'

I~, '"

On!,

HIE OR I(;):\A L M .\R KE T 1I0 l ' SE

I ~I

Dr a...in lt" h~ ,h.. au thor, 1952. ba d on doc ulIlC' nu I"'j' rll'rord.and t"urr ..nt m uur..mll'nU

lUi

~I ax W. Su llivan lIf the School of Df'l'iJ::'1l a l a rcr r monv December1 1 of th at ~ eM, '

T he ~f arKt"t Square vicinity was furt her cmbelli..hcd. betwee nI~l.'l () a nd I95:!. hy landscape improvements on public land west ofth e Court Hou-clx-twcen Sout h xtuin and South \\'a lt'r stre-ets. Theproj crt , financed hy private suhstTipti nn.... included a wide brickpathw ay rent c' ring on th r- buil din g, Hankrd on th e north and southh~ two rrec-lim-d memo ria l p.1rKS dedica ted , rcspcr-tivelv, to HenryH. Gardner. jr.. a Providen ce lawver .... ho 10$1 hi... life in World WarII . and F. Ellis j ackson . architl'tl ' of the Court HOllS('. who d ie-d in1950.

11R . 1narch ill R hnd.. Jstand O n O!X'1 11!1

new cur n'l\l'Y to fines and kl:\.~ of the r ights of a "frecman: " TIll'feared populism had 1'o(' i/('d cont rol in R hod c Islan d , And <I" thefarmers and ruhcr numerous debtors were solid lv behi nd the aeti\'it il-"of th e !o:'o\('rnnll'lll" tho1'o(' credi to rs who stood to IO!'(" by rhis t ransfer­en re to a paper sta nda rd hitterl y a ttac ked the ~y~t{"m. X oah \\"t'f~ter "

wri tin,g in the Provid ence {'nili'd SIt/It's Chronicle under the IN·II·dcn vm (If "Tom Thoughtful ." cried out th at " I he Devil" wa" inhis co um rvrneu. and -po-ificd th a t "a tender lau : is the Deril, '" H econt inued, "'\ \'Iwn J trust a man a sum of mon ey, I r x)X't·t he willreturn th e full value , , . But when mom. and ronve m ions " ppuS('the course of ju"til""" and Iq~i.~laturrs make paprr and old horses alegal render in a ll cases. the wo rld will exclaim with ollr voice, ynll

arr rogues , . , " l Indeed . \\'elJ"ter and hi" F edera list coho rt!" wereexrremel v shlx ked hy the' sta te of affa irs in R hod e Island . T he mobwa s, "cloth'd" with legal power: the di re need for a strong ce nt ra lgove rning force was ~rowin~ with each passing da y. And whe n theHart ford Wits su rveyed th i~ scene, Old A narch was observed oJX'r­a tin.g in a ll hi... chaotic ~Iory.

H um phrey» and Hopkin s had written a "dow-t ai ling" sta tementnear rhe conclusion of . lmnii"an A ntiquities .\'0 . J to the effert tha tt ht, "hl~~i n,~ (If paper mOlley and nlllfu~ion" a.' now expn i('I1("('d inRhud e h l,lIld , ,Ire pn'J ictt'J [in fut ure pareI"!' of t he JX)("m ] in tht"most b.:allliflli and awful manner .. :. ~ The ;.(:'TunJ numl)(.'r of, l mer in Jn . ln tiquitirs uJll tinued to whd th e litera ry appt.'titt 'li ofFedcrali~ts for a dt' pin ion uf the Rhod e bland scene: huwt"\t"r , th eW ils c(llTlplailWd of a pn·1'o(·!lt inabi lity " to de... ~ pher all the lim'S ofthe \'i ~ion wh ich ('\ ' id(' lltl~ alluded to lhe beat ific scene:- of p <t pt'rmon ey a nd collfusion now S11 ~loriou~ly di."'played ill Rh ode Island : ' :'It wa:- in th('i r lhird l'ffort " hO\\'('w r , t ha t t he p(lf'ts ga \'e thf' ir fu llattention to thi" .~ lIhj (' ll, and tht , ("('MI lt was a racy tOln rip for(/' p('r ·ll1eatin g nTry ('('lll1olllit' aspl'Cl of t ht" hiU('I"ly cont rO\ ' e r~ i a l sit ua tion,

H a\'ing d i ~posnl of C;OWrTlors ( :ollin s and OW('ll a t th e wry lJ('gin·nine: of til(' l}( wtk al 1'o('n ioll, llll' poet s began to re buke Hf'nry Good ·

;'Pro"i dnKf' If"j/,d Stilt"~ C h ron icl" Srrtt'rnlx-r 28, 1786 . TI ,,' =",'WYork" " hlir Li hr" ry ha, \\' t"b. tn" ' M·u o tl <l 1('opy" til<" 'l/' ''''pap''' w i ll. a ",a r~ina l nut,­", ril l'"11 hl' \\i ,-h. .. ,-r i dnlli r~·i ll.1{ himsdf '" Ih.. "" rhor. T h,- "rtirh- ,,1.0 "1lP"ars ill\·...·.,'1'·•• ":.' <al" fi nd "'uciriL" W, it incJ. 17'10.

i X,,,, lIn l" " ( :,,:,//(. l k tohn 2ti, 17f1 1l .

:'Ibid, :-;'' ' '' 1111..., 2, l i!l/i .

W in. a law yer , a nd thus in troduced the importa nt Trevett-Weede ncase into Tti e Anarchiad , This (-;I"C' ca nu- lip in rim e to Ie-I the "val­i d i t ~ a nd ronstit utionalitv" of t he kgi1'la tuH"s art in forcing mer­cha nts to acn:pt pa pc."r lllOlW y nn the M Oll" standa rd as gold inc'xchangf" (or .l:: ()cxb . J ohn \ r ('c'ch' ll was a Xewport bu tcher whohad refused to accept the p" pa bilb, of j ohn Trcvcn. The matt erwas brought beforr the Superior CnUrI with Goo<h_ in anin~ a!"auornev for the complaina nt. The court, however. dismissed th ecomplaint again~t wceden by dolnring that the forcing an W ,t!' un­con-rinniona l. whereupon the Rhode Island A' 'o('mbh hurriedhme t and sum moned the presiding jud.cn: of the Tre\'~tt.Weedt'~affair "to a...sign the rea-one and cround-, " for their decision. Aftera hearing the .-\....semble decided th a t " no satisfactorv reasons' hadbe en ren de red hy those jud.c: ('li for their ar tion-c-a nd th cv were luckyto e!'("a pr irupcar-hment." The Connection W it" te rmed this procee d­inc: " the G eneral Co ur t's un pardon'd -in." .\ nd while Ge neral j ames\1. Varnum , on e of W ("("(!<"n'!" alt(lrnry~, wac commended for hishon e-tv . his opponen t in th e ('a1'o(', Good" in, was pointed out inthis way :

The-re ( ; 1\ ' 1~ lld,. hi_ h"Old with quinnl." till'd :Hi... u'nC:\lI" in li{", . hi, hand in forc: '" _kill'd .. ,'

T h(' " qui bhk!"" of ("(Jur!"(" " ('fe th(' Ia" yn\ argumenl!" ad \',llln"dd uri ng the t ria l in fan lr of th {" (;('J1era l .h 'o(·mhly·!' w m pul"OfY an ionin ba r king up the wea k ('urr{"nry : " hi le hi!' " Ii(~" and " for~'n'"

earm·d Good win Old Ana rrh' ~ pra i~ a~ " my da rling knaw ," {node t'd . • lm n irn n .l ntiq llitirs .\'n. .J ur g('d th t" wi~r race to a \'uid the"!'na re!'of law " in Rhod e b land, !'illn' kna\Tr~ had won the day in thehie:ht'lit legi!'latiH hod ~ . Finally, rq,~'lf(tin .c t his m urt ca:'f', t he Wit~

prai"ed the "c har,uw r of til(' j \l{l l-:('"'' who had rn uiC'red the ori~nal

ju.~t deci sion : th('y rOIllIlH'nd t"d th (' "Con'rnor,," Gn'ell(' and Bo~n"n ,who ha d beell dl'fea ted hy C<lll i l1 ~ and O Wl' I1 , an d lauded th {" " offi·rer" of th t' la te ar my'''- whn l'l,m pri"n! tht' S,wil,ty of tne Ci nci nnatiof \\ hirh Il1 n,~t of till' \ \ 'it" \\('1'1' 1 1 ll'l lIbt'r~ . ' The"t' i ndi\' id ua l~ llll'n·

'IArno ld, op , ~it. , p. ~2R .

"i S r", U " vr" (; o:r lrr , n ' ·' ·" lI1 hn ~ tl, 17l1h' Br"'" :\1"lr a lr, O" .~ i " " l .\fr mbn J ""I! I'!icr" /·:Ii/:iblr 10 Ih~ S", irl y o f Ihr

(;i.ui n"",i, V irgin ia, l~n8, B..r low i. Ibl" on p, I!t' · H, Hllm ph ,q s, p , 172 .\ ' a rn um, p . 14 was I'rnidrnt of lh .. Rhod.. " l.m d hrilnch. :\l ..rnhns of Ih.. Trum·bull 'Illd Hopkins LUlli li... an' 1i,1"d un pp , Ih i alld :l l.l ,

1'20 Anarch: in Rhode l sland October 1952 Anarrh in Rhode Island 121

"

rioncd. Federal!....t .... all. ....trongly opposed the ..ingloriou........way .. oftheir stntc governmen t and enj oyed the full !'ympat hy of their Con­necticut friends.

The "Juarchiad t hen introduced two more wry import ant clement ....of the Rhode Island r-ronnmic picture-the "test ac t" and the " KnowYe" advcrriscrncms. The former was a lega l measure purporting 10

"stimulate ami give efficacy to the pa per hill..... " !· It required eac hcitizen to take an oa th sta ling that he wou ld consider pa per moneyequal to gold or silver and conduct his business in such a conformingman ner. Actually the ac t imposed pcnaltie... as strict fo r tho...t- notcomplying as the original forcing art bad imposed. This new an wa ....labeled "test," however, as the gO\TrIl!llent badly wanted a vote ofconfidence in its policies after the shocking Tre\t'tt-\\' eedcn case.But the vote was not Iorthcoming ; the " lest" was vchcnu-nt lv de­feated. cspcciallv in Newport and Providence. Yet the law concern­ing pa per motley remained in tact. and thi.... d ilemma of the R hodelslan d r- reriitor was set forth hy the Wits :

Arm'd with III'W tevt- , rhr- Iire-ns'd villain hold.I'n'~rllt~ hi~ hills, and rohs rlu-m of the ir gold;'I'lu-ir t-ars, thoug-h rogw's and counn-rtcitcrs lo~, ' ,

So kg,ll robla-r fea rs lhl' g-a llows noose.I"

Vt'n dost'iy allied with the ..tc....t act" were the " KIHl\\ Ye" adver­nsements. another source of irr itation to the cred itor. Shou ld a rred­itor refuse to accept paper hills, a debtor might lega lly caru cl hisob ligation by depositi ng the amount of his dr ht in paper money wit ha j ustice of the Peace. The Justice would then notify the creditor (Ifthe action and prim an advertisement of this fan in the newspa per.Soon the R hode Island newspapers were full of these debt canceli ngadvertisemen ts. whic h invariab ly began with the words " Know Ye."! '

!'Wil1iam R. Staph-s, A nnals of thf 7"o <J.'n of Prov id fn u fro", I rs F irsr Stir It·"l ent tt> . • • JUn f /8.12, I'rovid,"m,r , IIB3, p . 306.

lOSt", llav t n Ga:fll t. D" f{'mkr 28, 1786.11 :\ t ypir~I""i1mpl" of ~ " K now y ,," i, th i, 0"" whi rh ~pp,·"r..d in th .. l' ,,>v;·

dn'a GfI: el l r for Dec..l1lbt"T 16, 1786 : " K t'O \\ ' YE, That Beujamiu Brayton, ofCO\Tntry, Yeoma n, on Ih r I :lth Ihy of ~q)t. I 78ti, ~l " '" Dw dlin!\-lI"mr in Cn, ."ntry , lod!(..d with n,.. lh t"Sum uf £ I -n, L<lwful \ [on..': bri nlot in full of the Princi­p,,1<lnd I n te rest of a ~ llm of Monr y due fromlh .. 'a id Ilt-njam in BraylOn to SalllurlOorr am''' , of 'aiJ Covt'ntry, Y..oman, on a Mortgage : Th;'1 til<" said Ben jaminBra yto n hath in all Rrsp..r t~ rompli ..d wilh th .. Law n "p,'n i" " th " I'apn Cur·rr" r y: a nd th at Ih.. snid Sa mu el DOn al, Cl' hat h be.." kgally ,,,,d dul y notifiedt hcr..of." For an int t"Tl", ti ng parody of Ih ,' " K " ow Y.... ad\"l"rti" 'll lt'''l ' , .... th ,'B." ton Ctn t in tl, July 25, 1787.

American Antiquities S o. J took this theme up in the prose port ionby enlisting in the army of the " S ta ll' of Con tusion' th ose debtorswho took advantage of the "Know Yc" devi ce to liquidate theirliabilities. And the verse excerpt from Th e Anarctuad attacked thi ...roguish method of d ischarging debts in unmerciful fashion :

The crafty kna ve his cn-diror best'ts.And advertising pap. '!" pa ys his debts.;\,·w P;IJ)('f struck. nr-w n-ets. new te-nders mad e.Insult mankind , and help rhr- th riving trade.Each WI'I'kly print nr-w lists of cheats proclaims.Proud to enroll their knav'rics and thr-ir namcs . I~

lhc "advertising pa per" bears dual allusion bo th to the " K now Ye's"and 10 the ver y institution of paper mo ney; tilt' "press" was truly thevery "mint" of the srate." Simila rly. when the collahoraturs wrote:

And dark injustice. wrapp'd in paper sh...·ts .Rolls a dread torrent through lilt' wasted strcr-t-, .

they alluded to the combined evi ls of paper money. the " Kno w Ye's."and the infamous "test act ." O ld Anarch was indeed at work inRh ode Islan d ; and the W its, ta king their cue from Noa h w ebster .te rmed this locale the "rea lm uf rogues."

In order to point up better the fraud ulent activities-the "knav'riesof yon lin le isle." the poet s brought sentimental favorites into thepoem-the "poor" and the "orphan" when they wrote:

T hew prowl s the rascalTo snarl' th,' orphan. and t hr- poor dcvou r .

Certainly most of the creditors were neither poor men no r youn.!.;orpha ns ; however. the theme did receive some pres.,,; play from theProvidence Ga zett e and Count ry [ournnl which appealed to thehuman ity of the debtor by asking him 10 recall the past when "thewidow and the orpha n were secured against the rapacious hand offra ud and violence." And now the article went on to state "how theunavailing . . . tears of lilt' widow and orphan [have] bern poured

1~.Vnl-' JlGl 'en ( ;a : r l/ , . D.-c..mhn 28, l i8t>.

l :'Loc, ci t

I~L"r_ cit.

122 . l nllT/·h in R hode Isi/md October 19:')2 IL l

out hdore rhc rm-rcih-ss wretch." wh o ha s fleeced them "acco rd ingto law ." l'-, Th is p int' was wr itten h~ it "Tra veller" who had su p­posedlv ser-n tht':'-l' infamies. .-\ nd a sho rt time la ter " .-\n .-\.I.!;l'd a ndJ) i slr l'~,<,d W id ow" [clt compelled to wield her pen in defr -nse of thepoor. .-\ftl'r leadin g a '" n-trhed existence she ha d ber-n le.~allr robbedof an inheritance \\IU"II rhe pun'l' ~ Of of the m Olll'y brought pa pt 'fhill s a nd threa tened he r with a "Know Ye" if she sho u ld refuse In

accept tha t render. Paper monry being eight to one a t that particular1lI01Tll't1t . the poor woman received ten dollars instead of ri~hty , Itl A"it is ex t renwl~ difficult to S("t." either th e H a n fo rd W it" o r the Feder­ali- t publicat ion.fhc Providence Ga-eue. mot ivat ed by the d e-in- Iorso-called eco nomic just ice for widows a nd orp ha ns , nne r-an :<;Ifd ~

assume that thi s t heme as rxpr~...ed both in Amn i, an .·Intiqflitin.\'0. J a nd ill the nl'''' ~pap(''f was a no ther method-e-and a -'(finl ~

jo um ale,e olll'- for ra isinc mnre heated opposit ion auainst the pap('fmnn ev fanion .

But th e vjrious at tack h-vr-llr-d at Rhod e Island in T he Anarchiadwas felt hv anot her Federalist 1H'\npaprr, the Providence l'nil f' tlSlaIn Chron icle, in a ma nner q uit e different fro m th e Gnzette,Bennet t W hn ' lc-r . publisher o f t hr- Chronicle, printed. a series o f let ­t cr-s hy a certa in " 1' 1,110: ' The first of these warned "Plato's" fl'lIo\\ririzens tha i tht' y kiln.. "1\01 one t ho usand th part of ..... hat is said o fus in ot her sta tes." li t' then urged them to " read t hat sca ndalousand abusive pe rformance. pa rtl y in pro~ and partl y in poetry. ca lled'America n .'\ nt iq uitit'S #:r .. . lately published in Connecticut . Phi la ­delphia . ,'\:c. alld yo u will ha\ 'c a ~pecilllen of the o b loq uy t h rowlIupon liS (Iwin.1.!; prin cipall y to uur ·K no ..... Yl" ad\"l'rt isrllU' llls . . , :\ ~

wc' a rt" a ~m il ll sta tf' it hdlOtl\'l'S liS 10 bl' ciro uns/,u l ," l'; In ..... ritil1l-:thi ." " P la lo" wa s w i~ely r nm iderin,g t he ' (lm in,1.!; Constit uti ona l COli­\t'nti on , tht' lI llllly IlI H ' month o iL It would he wl' ll for Rhod e hbndto t'lll-:t'lllkr a~ ht'lw\'o!t-nt a n 'latiomhip as po:..."iblt· wi lh her ~ i s(l'1'

~tilt('S. fur ~iZt' prl1lT1i ~t'd to ht· a f'H,tor uf ul mml impo rla n Cf' a l thl', o n\ .,llt iul1 - wh ir h idt 'a wa~ ~1I{l11 horn e out hy the "Virg:i n ia P la n ."Th ll ~ IIH' th ird papn (If t hi... rollahorat in" lxwm by t he Conr H,(,t ir ut

\\' ib portra ~nl IIH' ah~,llJ h' domination of O ld A na rch in Rh ud .'

I'-'!',,,/;idnlcr (;": ,11,, ~l a T rh 3, 1787, S ta p],.' .~ .. .."IJ, p p . j ·Hi-:H 7, a"rn. Iha tIh i. 1ll' ....'..r" 'I"'. " OptK' '''<! II,.. pa l"'T "'01,,"\' I" , rt \" in It".. ' I;ll,' : '

I"lbid.• ,\ u lt" ll' l Iii, 1787,l' l' rovidr ",.,· "" il, d S r," " ( .'h",,, ir/r , ,\ p,·i l 12. l ill i .

Isla nd. The t rea tment of the economic disorder... encoun te red thereenabled the pt)('l s to contribute 10 ..\ nU'rk a n liter ature o ne of themost impressive piece....I ttl·~tin ,g to the- uuer incffcctualitv of t he.-\ rt ic1D' o f Confederatio n .

TilE .\ :". \ RCH I.-\ D

:"0. III

E:rI.QclJ f.om Tlt c .~ "Q .c lti<ld. Oil p<lpC' mOllC)

H....L! Iav'ri n- Stan-. \\hOSt, nurvinu f.l lhn... pro\('T'he-ir fain"1ot rlai ru 10 my patt'mal lmT!Call'd from thr- derk with p op'Iar \ otl -,;, r-lau-.The- mij:(ht y [ acl ctar ~lIid,,<; If\(' lu-lm of sta rr :Xurs'd 0 11 the wav es. in hlu..t'nul:: te-mpe..." bred ,H is heart of marbh-, and hi. hrain of k-ad.~ I ~' fot"S ..ubdued \\ hi k ktl'I\'·~· wins rlu- day'.H I;" rules thr- v-nan- wilh inc.lorio us ,,\\ .1\;

Proud . for O'l<" .w ar. 111\ ol'dn s to pll'l form.Sail s in the wh irlwind , a nd t 'lljoy~ the ..I O llll .

'1" '1nOI alom- the pt 'f'lotl ~ wa nh 11l' " . '. 'jJ~ .

lI is 1ll.1I" . ~n·.l1 0 n. bu..t lo-s \, hilt- Iw ~ I ...,p";T h('1'(' G __ n* ..rand... h i.. he ad with lluihhl,'" fill'd :Hi- l'-'n~Ul' in Ii,·... hi.. hand in ffl r~'ry -kill'd :To him. my d,lI"l in~ kn.u r, m y [orr- I u-arh,Whil'h Ill' to C__"t knd.. in man,' a ptl ll1 pou .. speed l.

O h. rO!!U!'r v! Ihn l' f)(·iI1ll:\ I'lld a ml ,lillI,Fraud . I{'ndr.... papn hills. " hall,'n th y Ihl1l l<"

T ha I m"di ulll qi ll. " h i.h p rompt.. th ' t'\ '"I'nal ..i ~h .

By whi ch g ll"<lI , 'jt1ai n.. Ilouri..h. "lIlall 0 111"' d ie,Pla nt of infl'fl1al ' lTd, without hell\ 11O"a l.Say in what 1I11 lrLl1 ~n i l tholl tki g-n\t ttl , Iwat ?Fa ir Imltl tIlt' Ct 'n' rat ( :Olllt ·.. unIJolld'll l'd sill,.-\p\\ thou tht' gold I'n uvi.1II 11lilll"s within?

·' l ....v l;...~,.. ,~ . ~ n .nn. ,,"· ,r,i ,li ,,~ in :" r "I"" " "h" ".' rr l,,,,,rd " ",i" ... lh.\ ..n,,~l Add, . " of It " f; ' >I " nn, " f Ith,,,I. 1>1..,,,1 ". t lor L..~ i,I ..,u,. "f , h.., S' l it> ,.. .. ionin 1;1:lt>.

. lnlHlh ill RhO/I,' l sland OnohCf

Wak'd to new lif,·. b~ Illy ,rt·<tti\t.· po.... r-r,TIlt' pmh thy mint, and dunghill rag, th~ o re.Whnt' grow·st thou not ? If vain the villain's toil,

\\',. ought to hlann-th« ruhun-, not th....oil :Fix'd to that isk-, it nowln-n- p;l"M~ f n-e .But fh-d from COllj;!ln. C s dwells .... ith thrr-.

lI .til! realm of rozu..... n-uown'd for fraud and ~uik.

"11 hai l : yl' knav'ric.. of yon littl,' i..b-.Thr-n- prow ls th.. rascal. rkuh'd with k~al pow' r,To -ua re the orphan. and 111<' IM'or dr-vour ;'Flu- r-ra ftv knave his cn-ditor he"ds...\ nd adwrtising p,lp" r Jli1 YS hi.. d"hts:Hankl upt s th..ir r n'dit" rs with laf.:l· pursue,:\"0 ..top. no 1l1lTI'y from ti ll' d..htor tTI'W.Arm'd with new tests. th,' lio-n..'d villain bold.I'le,enh his bil ls. and ron.. thr-m of their gold ;Tlwir ear... though rogues and rounn- rfr-iu-rv I,.... -.:\" 0 In;:"al rohhn fIoau thl: gallo ....s IllXN·.

1..- '01. through th« Stat e. tI", unhallow'd mound app";us.\ 1)<"1} of d ragons. and a ('a\<' for twarv :

.\ ru-st of vipc r-. mix'd with a d der.. foul :Th,. ....1'1•••( hing night-bird . and the ~n·at r-r owl :For now. unri~ht.'Ou'n.~s. a ddugt' wid\'.!'ours round the land an ("I\rn.hdmin~ lidl' :And dark inju~liIT. wrapp'd in papn shC(·t~.

Roll ~ a dread torn 'llt th"oll~h Ihl' wa<.t,.d ,tnTIs :\\' hil,' Il<"t of law th' t1llw.. ry fry draw inTo damni ng'd'Tds. •md ",',m t' ttlt'y know they sill.:\"1'" paper ..t rtu-k. rll" w 1I '..t'. IU'W t('nde rs madl·.Ilh UIt manki nd. and Iwlp thl' (h ri\ill~ tr ad e.E a d l wl"d,ly prillt IIt"W li..t, of , 1ll';H.. prorl aim' .Proud to 1'llwlJ tlwil kn;l\"rit·s and tlll'ir 11;111I1";

TI H' wi"'T r,\("('. the .... nan·.. of hlw to ,hu n.l. iI,,· lot from SodOIll. from Kholk Island run .

h, HOIl.'c.: G , BlLCH1,Il

H ..... "HED IXI\\''' from cenerauon to gf'neration in one of the o ld estof P aw t u xct Families is a tradition w hirh had its t)l:'~nning in thedays w hen vessels from that R hod e Island villaee w t·rt" frequentvisitors in the pons of the \\' t"l't Indies and nur southern states..-\ mong the members tlf the family .... as it livclv. -pirited lad ..... howith his associate, used to a nnov a n old wo IT1<\ n .... ho lived at the edgeof the villa ge. T hey would jee r at her when they r auu ht her outsideher house and stea l lip after da rkncv... to rap O il her windows.

She wa .... a IOIU' III Mly, m aking a srant li\'inK hy ~at h 'TinK herbsand simples in th e w 'M){h, for their medicinal value. ('(J!H'm'ting: heal­ing sa lves and potion s frum th em and ",,-" lIinK them to villagers.

She was at onr-e respect ed and Icared -cr e.... pee-ted for her abilityto heal fn "{' rs an d agu l''''' , feared for her abi lity to ra .... t spell..... for itw as a day when allY tTIJlH' who lived alone with on ly a pa ir of (';1' ....

for company was di....t rusted. That she knew men- of the medici na lvirtues of common plants tha t grew all around tha n mo ....t doctorsdid . only added to the dist rus t in which she was held . Yet more thanonre, when the donor seemed to have Jailed. she hat! be-en called onto break a Fever with her her b.".

Young .....omen. it was said . went to her for IOH potions, and itwas gen era lly believed that the draft she furnished when she was inthe mood, would .... crk wonders. in !'{'Turin .~ or retaining a youn .gman's at lecrions. But behind her bac k some of tht' villagers calledher a witch. and most of the bo vs. this lad among them, even d id Rl

to her face. .... hile kt'epin,g ou t of reach. They u""'d to come stealingup to her hOlilit' 411 night and ~t a ticktark Oil th c' window. to.'<e hncome ru "hin R" out .... hill' tht,y hid in tht' d 'lrkm·!'." a nd jened at htT.

:\ gro up of hoys wC're annoyin~ her om' ('n'ning wh l'lI she openedher d~r suddt'n ly ,lIId ra n out al them hefore Iht'y eXp<'rted it. T hishoy W<lS one o f tht'lll and was takell by "mpri",,' and a hno!<t ra u.ght.She recogniJ.(·d him ami called his namt·.

It was his last night on shon·. for likl' many an ulhc'!' I'awtuxt't bo~

Iht' sea was ill his blood, and he had {'oaxc'd hi... pa n 'fl(s to let himmak e his first voyagt·, with Ihe ca pta in of a I'awtu xt't v,·!'."d. who wasa friend of his f'ltlwl'. H i... ship .....as to sai l fwm P.\wlllxd Con' illtht· lIlomin,g. wind and w"ath'T pt·rmitt in,L; . H is Sf'a ( h,·sl. which his

125

126 III old Pa u't u xet Dctolx-r I ,, ·.,father had used before him. was in th e forecastle of wh at he referredto as "mv ship: ' and like almost everyone else in the village , thcold woman knew thi s.

" Wi tch! Old ....-iu- h !" he velled at her . as he ran back into the­

darkness." You:' she ca lled, " 1 :>.('c you running to you r borne, T ak e a ,gcxJC.i

look at it be fore you sail tomorrow. for you' ll never see it again andlive to /.:t't hom e- aga in !" The-n she turned and enter ed her doorwayand shut the door.

It was a dispirited ~roup of bovs th ai met in the woods a littl e later ..-\11 had h..ard wh at she said: a nd .... hile they did not really think itme-ant a n~, t hi n/.:. r('nIKn i l in~ it as a curse put on th eir a....sociate. th e-ywerl" afraid . The-y agreed to sa~' nothin g about the old wom an'simpreca tion .... hen t lll"Y wen t horne, but someone must haw talked ,for must of the village kne.... of it by next morning .... he-n the shi p sailed .

After th at the old wom an was avoided as much as possible in he-rfew public appc'aralH -C"l'-, and the neighborhood of her horne wasdeserted .d lt·r dark. Evervone said tha t of course they d id not believeall~ thinK w ould come of it. bul -

The ship .... as on a ("oa!>t i ll~ voyage to southern pons, A bout thetime shl' w as d ue 10 return some of the boys of the villa ge used tospend as much time as t lwy could on the highlands of \" a n-. iek [)o .... nsjust bolow P" .... tuxet and on th e edge of prt"S("nt d ay Gaspee Platea u.One day a ho y came running: up 10 a group stand ing on Pa w tu xetbridgt· w ith the n ews th at the ship had been sighte-d just h..-lowXamquit ( nnw Gaspn' l'oint ) and would soon dock . By th e rimeshe had s..aik-d up the channel and rounded into Pa ..... t uxet Co\'(' , anumber of the \'iI1agl'/"s ha d ga thered and were wait ing.

The lad on the ship. .... ho had been cursed b~ t he witch lxfon- besc· t sail . had mea nwhile wor ked off his Fi rst depression . At the startof the \,0Y" .I-: (· lit' had In-e-n reluc ta nt to ,go aloft an d had 1I......-d ext raran- in ~"\'l'/" ~ thing lu- did . Hut as time went on and nothln g ha p­pi-ned to him. he forgot his fears. He began to en joy the voyage, forhe was a horn seaman . Ht- was in high spirits as the ship came upto her ;llIf hora.l-: t· in the n l\'!'.

He fa n lIimbly lip Ihl' ratlinc:s 10 a pc'n 'h Oil thl' n os.'trc·(·s when'he could SC'I' his honH'. The other members of the new waldl('d himwh ile g:oi ll.l-: aho llt thr ir d uties - and waited .

He ca lled down to them ~) Imully th a t II(' .... a:- heard O il shore."She said I' d ncvr-r S('C home a~ain an d live- ttl .1-:1'1 t here. hUI there'it is, and we're home agOlin! \ ,"e' f1' honu- !"

He tu rn ed 10 w ave ,II the S('amCIl OI\ th e dC·II. fa r below or perhapsat someone he recognized on sho re. Suddl'nl~ he lost hi... hold onthe mast a nd fell.

T hey picke-d up his crushed and broken body and carried it ashoreto the home he w as to S('C, hUIIH'\'er to return to alive. The- prophecyhad been ful filled.

:'\ EW s - :'\0'1'1-:

The Society has been fortunate in the rcceipr of t.... o legacies ofearlv American furn iture. From the e-tate of th e lat e Henry .-\.Hoffman of Litchficld. Connect icut, have r om e about forty \-er y finepieces, mostly of colonial Rhod e Island origi n. O ne of the th ird floorroo ms has been redecorated and furnished .... ith a part of th is collcc ­lion. and ot her pieces have hem placed in th e di ning room and th ebark parlor, Un der the .... ill nf Dr. Louisa Pain e T ingley of Provi­dcncc and Roston the StKic ly was gi\'e n a cho ice of fu rn iture an dhousehold effect s from the esta te in add it ion to a monetary lega cy.The thi rd floor room 1IS('d by various patriotic organizarions .... iII he'refurnished w ith the pieces chosen from Il r . T ingley's collec t ion .

BOO K RE,' IE W

.,.1)(' H ,-Vll"J Qf Pros idenc.. PI.m tJ I ;'m J: CQ1(mi~1 l" c...r t, hy ].u llr . ItII r tlt.::r •. C,.mhridl;:e, I b l" ITII l" n i\ ",. ily I'rr " . 195~. ,-, iii. Ji9 1'.. ~~ , . t M I.

The Bro" n famil, of Prc vieb-m-.. all,1 it. Im,ine" a, li,i li .... li"!.I·lifti.•Irrthr suhjrn, of Prnle, ' ",r II ..d \:.... I..t" " h,.,k. the hr.t ill ;0 I' fUj.., I .. d th,,'",olurnr ....rir •. j.1Il1' ·' Hrown.•t'ITlilll1. .1S;l .mall reader in li!,I. buil l Up .1

r"'p,·. l.Iolr bu<i",' " whirh hi. Y"lIl1\1.r r Im >l her, O badi a h. direct ..d be tweenliJ~1 ... nd l; t~1. rlurirnr "hi.h t imr h,' r-ained hi. , ,,,-c..,,,,r.- I"ur ",n. ofj .. me-,; -" i, hn l.ls. j",,·ph. j oh n, and rh.. durable ~ 1 0"t" ". th.. Q "..k..r pi"n..rr\t ilh S.lm lw l S I" I."r in ,."n"n 1II.lIm fadur..... h" died in 18:1';. au e lIill ,·t ~ .ri ~h l.

I'rllllrrwr . rlo. ,- a nentjou ,,, tlt-I., il. , p" r."".11 man,";",,,,· nt . and . t"'I(I~ .. ppli-•";lIi"n ,-h. lT"nrril,'d Ih,~ Uro \t u-,' IIl<' l h,,<:Is and e cplain \t h, th .. ir 1I".in.."d,·\ .. I"lwd ' '''adi ly from m"d,-sl h" lI:i nni nl.:'. "ithoUl thr- hrlldit 01 IIIm-hfor ma l r dw"a tio n, ]cUll'" IWI.: .1t\ ;ls .1 ]."-a l trud er and thr-n found a ];lff,;:n Iu-ldin., .imph-. l\tn-\t;lY Ir.dli ,. Itil h thr- W ... t Indies. with ..m ph..si. " 11 n",.hS"rin"l11. Ubadiah nt..hli,lwd tht' fa l11ily ' , import'lIlt . pnm".-rti ' -'llldk m.mu­f'''· '"n· in 17:1:1 or 17,')-1; '11'OIlI ,,, ,'h·,· ...·;u s l.rn-r the hrot ll<'TS "l1\nrd Ih,' iro"hliSilll:". nnl in \: 110])" FUrtla, .. f(lr ]I;"d","il1l.: pil(' iron; in lIlt' ];,... I , till' , tlw yk;,'un 'oI di rr,", im l. ,rl"linll. u( Bril i.h !.!o" d < from Lnml " l1 ill ort l, 'r I" fr{"..I' r" .. i,l<" n,'r "f it . furan..r dq>< ·,,,l<"n,-r "" 11" ' 1' \11 im po rt..rs.

( :a llt;" u " I:"in .t bOlh o,-r r.."p ,m.i"n and r""kk" sl""'..lIla lioll " ." .... lllhill ..cl"ith" ,·.udul sr n lli n,· "f btL.in'·" tr.. nd , ;,nol ",,'.'r" in m;lkin~ ••d ju.' mrnls 10

Ill' " ,on<i itiml<_ Fr"l~l loe ,'.IT! thr h". in... , p.ln""k of halard•• ulI '-"rl" i" ti. ·••.mol l'm '·n:..,Ki .... " ";o r pla \1. urd , h.. Uru"n. duriu\1. ,,, {" m y.• i,, of t hr .b;.ly. fuur,r,or. Ir" ," r d h, ~Ir . Hed t.::r •. In ]><"'It-rti m.. t hry ha d to ,'"mend "il h un·;;.l,·"rahlr IIril i.11 mra.ur... ; hr,l. Ihr ~ l ntl ''o('" .\.-1; Ih ..n t hr la". Ih," p...... ,k..dIh.. R...-"lulinn.I~- ,,-..r. En ..IIlY pr i, ·alrrr<. h,>-t ilr Cll.to m ' " lIi.-r r•. sh"r1;<l.:r '•,1 h.lTd m"Il"y. d.. prer ial illl.: I' .lp<' r '-''IT<'II.'ir<. bad marlrt<. ,11111 1'''1 ,·........1.l r pl Ihrm a len in a ....."ri.-iu". "urld. It ".1' ..."n"lhinl: uf a I" m ih ' IT;oit to

" ...,or ... ilh rr . icn.l1i" n mi.("rtun," lh.1I rnuld nOI be f"r... ......n Hr I'r... r mrd..-\ ' lTulIl:: fr ..li~2 Hf fa mil> ...-,Iid ...ril ' " lIti ' Ill Iln: e In m ... intain f,u llily ... ,,,t il1uilypr o mpl..,1 t hr ",ni" r. I" irain th r y-lHulI: rr memllf'r_ thoro ul1.hly in Ih .. ,"..Ih,..t ... f Ih,' Im. in..". T h.. fo nr ".n' " f J'l.Ill'" .".... r r drd in ... p p"nio nillll: usk< ills1l< h .1 W'l\ ;" tu U1 il ilt" th r ' 11<'".:i.,1 ,,,kill ' of e.., h. Cr..dit h.·in l.: a prir l<ipa lI .....ur i ll I ~.ll l,·. Ihn "n.. ,",..dul lu I'r... r n- .. lh.. ir ahi lity 10 h", ..t b , ·o<;lhl.., im" . I>, m ;o iUI.. illir;c Ih..ir n 'I, UI.lt i.n l 1,,1' p.. unp p'lylJU·I1t. Thq "I", iu. i. , ...1t h;.llh,·ir , k htur. , houltlp" y·. ~ l ".t .. f th r m \tn" .hr.." d j lll k ... nf Ih.. '1""l ityu{ mn, h.l11r1 i,, · ;lIld 111<" r..( " n ' \:,~l( 1 l>'l r\1..,; ,,,' r•. Ik arer s "r ,11<" lilll'r"ltr.ul it i"n"I tI\l' Rrf"rm"t ioll. Ih... ,-"h ihil, 'd " ... 'n ti n lli lJ~ int ..rr ' t ill l'uI ..... ;,tTair"r<'l il(' iull. I'h il",,, phy. ,,-, ·h ·l1Io1,, ~ y . 'Ilitl ,·.hu".., io ll. TI1<"Y " "n- s..ri"u. !OWIl \th"1,..li,·\",llhat lif...Iumld I", di >:tl iti"r! h~ " >m t n H· ti,,,· " ••rl..

~ Ir. I I... lg,·; di .ru",ioll o f .It" .I.l\{~ tr ,,(k m" y itl;l(h n tt' nt ly imply tlMI il.. " ••-..rr i,'d on r hi..,h- I..o, R hm k l . b ud...s. illd ud ing Iht" IIHl" Il' , wlw lO' ''' th ..irp"n ill it ",I ' .m ..11 ;o,~p'lf..d wit h Ih;ot of Hriti .h mnd,.mb. It i. rr~n·tl"h lr"t h ;ot 111<" .t m h d.... . l10t g i\'" d .,t " " II tl ,.. proh,s of tr ...d .. "r 11I·r iod i.- ... tim,, 'e'

128

IIf the .iT" or the b m ily fortune. The record...f unr n·"t"re un d...1« k,·n fmthe Co nnnemal C..",:r.." . h.. " liute. if any. proht. Ollr ..." .. Id like 10 kno...h" ... t he fi ......"' m,,,lr rrd th .. difli",ltir-s "f drJ.lil1\: ... uh th.. vanou- currencies....f the ti mr-Rr il i. h. fo rril:n . and colonial. ,rh..1 ruk. I:uidrd Ihrm in rrTr h in<.:.. nd r ,-r han!;i:inc;r ,·.,rir ly· o( currenc i...., many' of tlUltu.. tinll: value?

The book clllltain. a ...ralt h "f infurmation c"I1l'rrnilll: Ihr IIIl.ille•• prarti...'"'IIf t he eizhteenth centurv. It dev nbes clt"arly t h......"'Imny of R h" d r l -dandand ..xplainv ils rrla ti"n to the . \fri.-all - \\"e~t Indian·-""rth Am ..riran- Bri ti.hq uad ra ngle " I conuu..r , II tra. -... t h.. ri'o(" IIf PfU, ·id"l1l e 10 ..o mmercial im-portan("('"-a re.ult Ior hi . h th e- Brow n...nr bre.. h r.-. p" n. ih lc. Si"..r thern.·l h,l(h • rondmon-, a /1(1 prnhkm, » hich ~I r. llrd~ I'"' d ..,,-rilH·' .. ,"rl'" characr...·i.l ic of all era. hi••tudv h••.• J. " ;01 ,,.. tha t t mnweud-, th r rr-,·"rd of nne l ami l ~ .

colony. nr t""II . An nut .lii ndin ll: achievement . il i. a major ronr rib ution to Ih ..,·.-mwllli.- and husim'" hi.t ur y of ei\1h,,· ,·nth n'IlI "1\ .\ nwri..,,_

Particu];rr lv valuable ;u" th ,' ....... llml> of th .. marlllb l'lllr inc c nt erprises o(t he Brrm n. ir; .-haplrr' .'l 'LIId ,;, Because bot h thr-ir • ormur-rr-ial and iud",'rialpur."i!> d id nUl nlll(.. rm 10 IIIC' n-qui r..."rnl' uf flril ;,i"" n >l"ni,,1 polici.... il i.not .trauge tha t Ihn p"rt kip"t" d actively ill t hr- n'si.tan. 'r- tha t culminatedin the R..""I"tinn;lI'y W"r, .-\ .i!.!nih'·'ll1t pan of ttu- . Iorr It'lis ho\\' j"hn Bro,. nil1.tilZ.ll..d tht· d, ·t'i. i.." an ar k on th .. Brilish "rm..d .dlUo11<·r . (,'1/ .1,,,.... in j Ul l('177'1. Th.· h'l(,L .1< a "h"l.. rn"I., ·, .'kar the ad,"ant a \:'" which WeT.. pro llli,,' d10 .-\ 'n ..rican f"lIlrq m'Il!'urs hy lI'lliol1 'll in,kp,·nd..nr r . a n..l i"n,,1 ..... morny.'lIld ;o nationall:0v' ·TIllllrnl. ("\'en th ouch Rh nd .. Idand "'" nol Iypical of lh..north....rn c"lonir. ;0 ' a ", h"I ... T h Tfi.' cha pter. on Iha t la t.. te rra irr .."gnita.hu sinr•• rnt ..rpri'o(" in Ihr Rr, 'oluti on;or-y W ar, pnl\'id .. a ,al,, ;o hk . uppleme nt1<> Rob.-n .\. Ea .t '- r("(' r llt . Iud , ,, ( Ih.. t , ub jrCl..\It..r t h.. War t h.... Bro"n.look Ihe ··con....l\ at i, -..·· , ido:' in Ihr ,t rut.::lI: lr "" " r pa]><"r ..ulT....ncy an d b.anks.Th.... ir e ,-]><" ri ..n..r. wil h t h....rral ir P'lper mon..\ of R h,l(1r ls L.tnd iliad.. Ih ..m. krptica l of lI:o,',·rnm..m ae an i"u<'T of bill. of <'T..d it . T h.. Ihreal of a n.....tlood of pa]><"r m",-..d -" irho ];o. Bro ...'11 10 pili a.id.. h i, ,:nrTcion to a f.-d..ra.!im p' '''1 and 10 su pP' ,n Ihr t 'rdeTal Co'''li tution.

~Ir. Hed!.!...... ,,-hnlarchip i, "r th .. I.-",·i.h so rt. It i. II1rl ic"lo,, \ in accuraq •judiriou < in sta te tll..n l. an d ,,-ru pu lou. in Ih.. u.... n l l',·i dC' nc ... lI is wri till j!:­dea r, fnn·"(ul. pred ..... and rr ad;lh l<---.uo.......d. in makinll: a le r hni....1 subj"'"1" li" e a nd im "rr' linl(. wilhnut <;o .-rifici nl: an 'uran or n'mp l<.'l ..nC'... ~llI.-h

Iho" \1 hl "ppea n 10 h"..o:' 1/:0"" into Ihe sl\ld~. Thl' d i.ru"i" n, arr nOl o\"er·I !r-d "ilh d ..u il. ~ r l r ;lrh <ubj ..,-t is d ....e l"pc-d ;l,k'1IMI..ly in a conri ......-oh m mann..r th"t ..IMilk. t h.. rrad..r to I: .. t Ih .. ..s....llt ia l< ....ilh .. ut dnin !Z'Ihe k that th .. 'Hu h" r . ho uld do.

Cl'IlTl" P. -"tTTt l S

RHODE I S LA :'\D HI S T ORI CA L S OC I ET V

I.EC ruR ES

September 24. 1952. wed nesday

Rhodl' Island Historical Socil-ty:

R: 15 p.m.

An AppraisalE ,ul.I'; w. SS.WTOS. Diu"nor

Old Sturbrid,!"" Villa'!"..

Onoher R. 195L W('l}n l"N:ia~' 8: 15 p.m.

Reli.gillu!' Liberty in Rhode Island and ~I a l) \;and

f\TIIfIl JO~t:I'H H l'GH BUG""'.!'. H ..ad of Ih ..

Drpartm.. nt of Hi~lo~' and Go~·..rnm..ntPro~·id..nee ColI("g..

nine to fiveth reetu li\' t"

Xovember 9. 1952. Sunday

.-\ \' i!i-it to Auton Ho use

J anuary 14, 1953. Wcd n('!i-(Iay

ST AT ED ~I EETI i\G

T he Pequ ot Pat h[;SOIlGf- L. ~It SEIl.

:\ulhor of .hl/itiI'S L"'l ~

OPE:\, TO T il E PU B L ICf."X((·pt hf>lidap

;" I"nday th roug h Frid:lYSuu day;lfll'ru""n

l.ibToTyonly

T lIlo' da r l,\,t'uing scvr-n to nine

C'I"Hd S"n,Ja~'j and T,u'j dar ,'unin,~j,

JlIn/', Ju/.\" (ln d .--l '(~ Il JI

2: 15 p-m.

8: I ,') p.m.