Random Stories
Betty Alden: First-Born Daughter of the Pilgrims
In 1891, American author Jane G. Austin (not to be confused with the better-known English writer, Jane Austen), wrote in the preface to her novel, Betty Alden: The First-Born Daughter of the Pilgrims, “He who would read for himself the story of this…
Lifesaving Station
Around Elizabeth’s home at Westport Harbor, just down the shore from the lifesaving station, the winds were high and people were preparing for a storm, but most were not too worried. However, by late afternoon the storm surge was reaching dangerous…
Elmhurst Academy of the Sacred Heart
The large plot of land bordered by Smith Street, Wyndham Avenue, and Pleasant Valley Parkway has been built up heavily over the past 45 years, the rolling green lawns and forested glades replaced with siding-sheathed condominiums and a sprawling…
The Bell School
The Bell School was built in 1841 as a school for District No. 14, on the west side of the river. There was evidently some jealousy aroused in the other school districts when the residents of the Head of Westport decided to build so magnificent a…
Saving Murphy-Trainor Park
When Liz Camp, a resident of the Reservoir Triangle neighborhood, heard that developers wanted to build over two dozen townhouses on an open plot of land near Mashapaug Pond, she knew she had had to do something to halt the construction. After years…
The Providence Cove
Prior to the 19th Century, hundreds of acres of water covered most of the area below the current Rhode Island State House--the Great Salt Cove,--which was large enough to admit sailing ships, and had a swath of salt marshes to its west. In the 1700s,…
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RI Film & Television Locations
7 Locations ~ Curated by Public Humanities Program, Brown UniversityMemorable Beaches
5 Locations ~ Curated by Janie Merrick on behalf of the Rhode Island Historical SocietyTiverton: Almost Forgotten
12 Locations ~ Curated by The Little Compton Historical Society, the Tiverton Public Library, and the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage, Brown University.Downtown Providence
16 Locations ~ Curated by Amelia GolcheskiMashapaug Pond
15 Locations ~ Curated by Brown University students in "Oral History and Community Memory," Spring 2014Featured Stories
Antillas Restaurant
Broad Street today is full of ethnic restaurants, but in the late 1970s Latinos anxious for a taste of home had very limited choices; Doña Fefa sold a few prepared foods in her store, but otherwise…
West Broadway Neighborhood Association
Repurposing older structures is a tenet of historic preservation. Here the West Broadway Neighborhood Association practices what it preaches. Since 1983, the WBNA has been one of the strongest and…
El primer sitio de la bodega Fefa’s Market
Si tuviéramos que buscar a una candidata que represente a los Dominicanos de Rhode Island, tendría que ser Josefina Rosario. “Doña Fefa” es querida, respetada y honrada como “La Madre de la Comunidad…
Rhode Tour
A project by the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage, the Rhode Island Historical Society and the Rhode Island Council for the HumanitiesRhode Tour is a statewide mobile historical smartphone application. Captivating places, intriguing people, and exciting events fill Rhode Island's history. Rhode Tour offers a new way to interact with these untold tales of the state's past. Using stories, sounds, and images, history comes alive on Rhode Tour. Read more About Us