Discover Rhode Island’s Hidden Treasures
Thirty-plus historic gems, oddities and bits of lore you'll find only in the Ocean State.
Ethan Lescault and Abigail Paull, TerraCorps members, in Coggeshall Farm Museum’s historic farmhouse, which dates to the late eighteenth century and is original to the site. Photography by Chad Weeden
Despite its fun-size stature, Rhode Island punches above its weight when it comes to the history contained in its borders.
Photography by Chad Weeden
It’s no surprise, really: Roger Williams founded the state in 1636, and we’re one of the original thirteen Colonies. In just one hour’s time, you can take a whirl on one of the country’s oldest carousels (Flying Horse, of course), slurp down a coffee cabinet in a time machine of a pharmacy (Delekta’s) and visit one of the state’s founding documents — the Rhode Island Charter — that just happens to date from 1663.
But as often happens when you’re surrounded by an abundance of riches, you tend to forget about them over time. So we decided to set out and see what historic treasures we could find in our diminutive state. We looked high and low, from Woonsocket to Westerly, from the East Bay to Blackstone Valley, to see what we could uncover. Many of the items you can visit for free; some require a small admission fee.
We hope you enjoy this journey through time and hoist a toast to your discoveries with an ice-cold glass of coffee milk. (Or a ’Gansett. Even though we were founded by a Puritan, we’re not prudes!)
Coggeshall Farm Museum
The farm educates visitors with demonstrations on sheep-shearing, wool processing, dyeing, weaving and spinning. Photography by Chad Weeden
There’s learning about history in a museum or a book, and then there’s living it. Coggeshall Farm Museum provides a living history experience where you can immerse yourself in the daily life of tenant farmers of the late 1700s. Set on the grounds of coastal farmland in Bristol, the museum hosts interactive programs and live demonstrations and is home to an heirloom garden, animals like pigs and sheep, historic structures — like the eighteenth century tenant farmhouse — and more.
Narragansett Rune Stone
Narragansett rune stone. Courtesy of courtesy of Michael Derr
Did you hear what the rock is cooking? There’s a boulder in Rhode Island with carved runic characters that some say were left by Vikings, Norsemen, Icelandic explorers or even the Knights Templar. Others have tried to rebuke the theory by saying the markings were carved by a local teen back in the day. While the inscription’s origins are up for debate, the Narragansett Rune Stone is on display year-round in the back of the town garden near 55 Brown St. in Wickford. The rune stone was originally discovered on the shoreline of Pojac Point in North Kingstown, but disappeared in 2012 under a sea of controversy. It was recovered by the Criminal Investigative Unit of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and permanently installed in downtown Wickford for all to see and speculate.
The Franklin Press
The Franklin Press. Courtesy of the Collection of Newport Historical Society
Did you know Benjamin Franklin’s brother, James Franklin, lived in Newport in the 1700s? He owned a printing and publishing business and created the Newport Mercury, a local newspaper, in 1758. You can find the original printing press at the Museum of Newport History
at the Brick Market.
Settlers’ Rock
Settler’s Rock. Courtesy of Providence Public Library’s digital collections.
At the end of Corn Neck Road on Block Island, you’ll find several names listed on a hefty piece of granite. These are the island’s first English settlers, who sought refuge on the island in 1661 after fleeing religious persecution in their homeland. The marker was erected in 1911 by the settlers’ descendants and marks the site of their landing. Nearby Cow Cove is so named because their cows had to swim to shore from their boat.
The Gettysburg Gun
The Gettysburg Gun. Courtesy of Varnum Armory Museum.
Soldiers from First R.I. Light Artillery, Battery B, manned this cannon during the Battle of Gettysburg. On the third day of fighting — July 3, 1863 — a Confederate shell hit the muzzle and exploded, killing soldiers William Jones and Alfred Gardner. Another soldier picked up the cannonball Gardner had been loading and tried to push it into the chamber, where it got stuck and remains to this day. You can see the battle-scarred gun, as well as another Civil War relic — the Bull Run cannon — for yourself at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum in East Greenwich, where they are on loan as their former home, the State House, undergoes renovations.
Mile Markers
Before highway signs, there were stones. These eighteenth– century mile markers, scattered around North Smithfield, once pointed the way from Providence to Worcester, Massachusetts, and Boston to Connecticut. Catch them at the corner of Smithfield Road and South Main Street, in the wall of Union Cemetery, and in front of CVS on Route 146A.
Newport Tower
Newport Tower. Courtesy of Discover Newport
Is it a Viking landmark? An astronomical symbol? A plain old mill? Depends on who you ask. The Newport Tower has stood in what’s now Touro Park since at least the days of Rhode Island’s first governor. Due to a curious astronomical alignment that occurs every year on the winter solstice, theories abound as to its origins, with some claiming it was built by the Knights Templar or Vikings, and others the work of early settlers.
The Root That Ate Roger Williams
The root. Courtesy of Rhode Island Historical Society/J.D. Kay
Back in 1860, the good townsfolk of Providence decided to dig up Roger Williams and give him a grave befitting the state’s founder. They just weren’t really sure where he was buried. They knew his final resting place was in the backyard of his home near Benefit Street, somewhere near his apple trees. When they started digging, they found fragments of hair, teeth, nails … and an apple tree root. The root, they theorized, had wrapped around his spine, broke off at his pelvis — making two legs — before leading to two upturned “feet.” The root ended up with the Rhode Island Historical Society and a jar of dirt from the site was interred at the Roger Williams statue at Prospect Terrace. Throughout the years, so many people have asked to see the root that it’s now on permanent display in the John Brown House Museum in Providence, tucked inside a coffin-shaped case. “People see it as a part of Roger Williams’ history,” says Kelvis Hernandez, the John Brown House Museum manager. “Essentially it became one of those society-building stories — really no different than George Washington chopping down a cherry tree.” What say you: Lore or truth?
The Act of Renunciation, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights
The act of rebellion is firmly entrenched in the souls of most Rhode Islanders. After all, our forefathers set fire to the HMS Gaspee in June 1772 during the first major armed conflict of the American Revolution. On May 4, 1776 — two months before the Declaration of Independence was signed — the General Assembly passed the Act of Renunciation, repealing the Colony’s loyalty to King George III. (Hence why we celebrate Rhode Island Independence Day on May 4.) The document is housed at the Rhode Island State Archives, along with an original copy of the Declaration of Independence and an original copy of the Bill of Rights.
The Royal Charter of 1663
The Royal Charter of 1663. Courtesy of the Rhode Island State Archives
We have a thing about authority in Rhode Island; namely, we’re not big fans. That independent streak may have started way back in 1663, when King Charles of England allowed Rhode Island settlers to govern themselves and promised freedom of religion. The ensuing document, the Royal Charter of 1663, is on display in the Royal Charter Museum on the first floor of the State House.
George Washington’s Glass Pitcher
George Washington’s glass pitcher. Courtesy of Treasures Inside the Museum/Jim Karpeichik
Warren’s Masonic Lodge holds a fragile piece of U.S. history. Its prized artifact is a 1775 glass pitcher once used by George Washington in the Continental Army headquarters during the American Revolution. The pitcher was pilfered — ahem, acquired — by a quartermaster named Nathaniel Phillips, who collected it when moving staff equipment between camps. He held onto the item, and handed it down to his grandson, Charles Phillips, who donated the pitcher to the lodge in 1925. The pitcher was featured in season five, episode four of the Rhode Island PBS show, “Treasures Inside the Museum.” It can be seen by appointment only.
Old Slater Mill
Slater Mill. Courtesy of Providence Public Library Digital Collections
Built in 1793, the Old Slater Mill was the first water-powered textile mill in America and the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Using machines made by British immigrant Samuel Slater, it served as a cotton spinning mill until the 1840s, and for other industrial purposes until 1920. The Old Slater Mill Association was formed in 1921 by local businesspeople who saved the mill from demolition and restored it to its 1835 appearance, says Lori Urso, the association’s president and CEO. Today, it is a museum that interprets the history of textile manufacturing in the U.S., displaying machinery from the early nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries.
Woonsocket Depot
A modern sculpture outside the historic train station recalls Abraham Lincoln’s 1860 campaign stop in the city. The soon-to-be sixteenth president spoke to a crowd of 1,000 supporters and stayed at the home of prominent citizen Edward Harris. Visitors more interested in Hollywood than history can also find a statue of Hachiko commemorating the 2009 Richard Gere film Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, which featured scenes shot at the station.
America’s Cup Model of Reliance
America’s Cup model of Reliance. Courtesy of the Herreshoff Marine Museum
Bristol’s Herreshoff Marine Museum is home to countless artifacts from the state’s maritime past. The highlight of the gallery is a replica of the 1903 America’s Cup winner, Reliance, which is a-sixth scale of the original. The model is on display in the America’s Cup Hall of Fame where visitors can learn more about how it was made. No, it’s not available to rent for local regattas.
Children’s Cottage at the Breakers
Children’s Cottage at the Breakers. Courtesy of the Preservation Society of Newport County / Jonathan Wallen.
We wish our children’s playhouse was as cool as the one at the Breakers in Newport. In fact, we wish our regular house was as cool as the children’s playhouse at the Breakers. Modeled after the real-life “cottage”-cum-mansion, this mini replica — open for tours in June and July only — was built in 1886 by Boston-based Peabody and Stearns, which constructed the original Breakers in 1877 for Pierre Lorillard. The Queen Anne Revival-style cottage was crafted for the Vanderbilt children and includes a fireplace made of Italian brick and a small nineteenth-century piano. The fully equipped kitchen includes an iron stove, sink and china cupboard with dishes bearing the name “Gladys” for the Vanderbilts’ youngest daughter. There’s even a child’s sink and spice cabinet for playing house. Tea party, anyone? Pinkies up, please.
Hammersmith Farm Fountain
Hammersmith Farm Fountain. Courtesy of Aardvark Antiques
Newport’s Aardvark Antiques is home to many Rhode Island treasures, including statues, sculptures and fountains recovered from nearby Gilded Age mansions. Hollywood film crews have sought out the shop to source antiques and props for movie and television sets. One of its prized items is a marble wall fountain once displayed at Hammersmith Farm, the childhood home of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and the location of her nuptials to John F. Kennedy Jr. “The base of the fountain is a Gothic fish holding the shell bowl in its tail. Mounted on the wall above is a Gothic marble face where water emits out of the mouth and into the shell,” says Aardvark Antiques general manager Jay Grover Silvestri, whose father, Arthur Grover, purchased the fountain from the farm’s former owners, who didn’t like how it looked.
Original Narragansett Beer Brewery Sign
Narragansett Rotary sign. Courtesy of Narragansett Beer
Before Jaws hurtled it into eternally “crushable” notoriety, Narragansett Beer had already been Rhode Island’s beer for nearly a century. The Cranston base of operations closed its doors in 1983 to move to Indiana, but many locals were sure to preserve its Ocean State ties by claiming various keepsakes. “Things like kettles and tanks and fermenters were sold to other breweries or put up for auction,” Jim Crooks, Narragansett Beer’s vice president of sales and marketing, explains. “But then a lot of stuff was picked over by either employees or people who snuck onto the grounds.” More than twenty years later, a familiar gem ended up at a central spot — the Narragansett Rotary — in the seaside community. “I remember first seeing [the sign] in ’05 or ’06 and thinking it looked like the same flowing font you’d find on Narragansett Beer packaging in the 1960s,” says Crooks. Not long after, he learned the sign was indeed a relic that once hung on the side of the original brewery, and had somehow made its way to the backyard of a Narragansett resident. While Narragansett Beer has since returned to Providence, Crooks says there are no plans to try and separate the sign from the iconic brick structure. “We figured it just belongs to them now,” Crooks says. “And it’s a cool story — it’s cool for people to see the old logo when they visit Narragansett.”
Ellison Myers “Tarzan” Brown
Ellison Myers “Tarzan Brown. Courtesy of Boston Public Library/Leslie Jones Collection
Ellison Brown, a member of the Narragansett Tribe, was the second Indigenous person to win the Boston Marathon, claiming victory in 1936 and 1939. His 1936 feat gave Heartbreak Hill its name when he overtook competitor Johnny Kelley on the famous slope. Visitors can see one of his other trophies on display at the Tomaquag Museum in Exeter.
Federal Hill Arch
A massive archway over Atwells Avenue welcomes visitors to Providence’s Federal Hill. What looks like a pineapple hanging in the center is actually a pine cone. “La Pigna” symbolized — and still does today — abundance and quality to the Italian immigrants who populated the Hill in the early 1900s. Designed by Albert Veri Associates, the arch was installed during Mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci’s first term.
Edgar Allan Poe Signatures
It’s no secret that Edgar Allan Poe frequented the Creative Capital. But what many might not know is that the Providence Athenaeum contains not one, but two vestiges of his many hours spent between the stacks. The first is proof that Poe was an upstanding library card holder: a nineteenth century circulation record bears his signature attesting he borrowed and returned a memoir titled Stanley, Volume 1. The second, however, is much more romantic in nature. Poe courted a local poet named Sarah Helen Whitman during his time in Providence, and one day she plucked a book off the shelf and asked if Poe had read one of its poems. Turns out, he had written it anonymously. “He said, ‘Yeah, I wrote it,’ signed his name at the bottom of the page and then they put it back,” says Robin Wetherill, director of membership and external relations at the Providence Athenaeum. The Athenaeum still has the book in its special collections today.
Flying Horse Carousel
Little Rhody has long been a proprietor of family fun. Need proof? Just mosey on down to the southernmost tip of the state to catch a ride on the Flying Horse Carousel. This charming ride has been rooted in Watch Hill since 1879 when, according to legend, it was abandoned by a traveling circus. It’s hailed as the United States’ oldest operating carousel featuring wooden horses suspended from chains. When the merry-go-round, well, goes round, the horses appear to fly — hence the name. To this day, little ones can perch atop one of them and try to grab a dangling brass ring amongst a sea of silver to earn a free second turn.
H.P. Lovecraft’s Grave
H.P. Lovecraft, a renowned writer and beloved Rhode Islander, is best known for his horror, science-fiction and fantasy stories that feature elements of all things weird. Pay your respects to this literary legend at the Swan Point Cemetery in his hometown of Providence. Keep your eyes peeled for the many knickknacks decorating his headstone and its inscription, “I Am Providence.”
1st Rhode Island Regiment Monument
1st Rhode island Regiment Monument. Courtesy of Rhode Island Slave History Medallions
Though Rhode Island doesn’t have a perfect record when it comes to equality (see: our former “and Providence Plantations” moniker), the state did authorize the first non-white military regiment in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Made up entirely of Black and Indigenous soldiers, the 1st Rhode Island Regiment fought in several skirmishes including the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778 and the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. A monument dedicated to the regiment — complete with the names of those who served, maps and other important details — can be found on the Battle of Rhode Island site in present-day Patriots Park in Portsmouth.
Frederick Douglass in Rhode Island
Frederick Douglass bust. Courtesy of the Providence Athenaeum
Many know the famous orator of the 1800s for his searing speeches against slavery, but fewer realize his close ties to the Ocean State. Douglass first visited Newport en route to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he and his wife settled after his escape from slavery. Later, he delivered impassioned speeches at the Old State House and other local sites, lecturing against slavery and, eventually, in favor of women’s suffrage.
Paul Revere’s Cannons
Tucked among a throng of military uniforms worn by everyone from Prince Philip to former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat lie four bronze cannons cast by none other than the “British are coming” crier. “They are the only cannons in the world that have true provenance to Paul Revere,” says Commanding Colonel William Farrell of the Artillery Company of Newport. “There’s a serial number on the trunnion and the state’s General Assembly Archive still has documentation for the payments in 1798. But in true Rhode Island fashion, they ordered six but didn’t have enough money, so they asked if they could get two on credit and Paul Revere said no.” The silversmith had a large family to feed and was known to pick up odd jobs to get by during war times, including making the occasional cannon and pulling a tooth or two.
Tri-State Marker
Tri-state marker. Courtesy of E.J. Germani
First erected in 1883, this granite column marks the spot where Rhode Island meets its neighbors. To access it, park your car in Burrillville and hike two and a half miles through the Buck Hill Management Area. It’s also accessible from shorter trails in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Richmond Fountain
Richmond Fountain. Courtesy of the Providence Athenaeum
A gorgeous fountain built in 1873 guards the entrance to the Providence Athenaeum. The marble and granite structure was designed by Anna Eddy Richmond, who lived up the street from the Athenaeum. An active member of the temperance movement, Richmond had an ulterior motive: She wanted residents to have access to safe drinking water to keep them away from the more tempting libations of the time, namely beer, cider and wine. “It’s a fun thing to think about her installing this Gothic Revival fountain, not just because it was beautiful and interesting, but because it served a civic purpose,” says Robin Wetherill, the Athenaeum’s director of membership and external relations. The fountain’s inscription reads, “Come Hither Every One That Thirsteth,” and legend claims those who drink from it will find their way back to Providence. Once the fountain turns back on in the spring, why not test the legend and take a sip?
Delekta Pharmacy
Delekta Pharmacy. Courtesy of Tabitha Pereira
A visit to Delekta’s in Warren is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth and your inner history nerd, as you sip on a coffee cabinet while admiring the shelves adorned with old-fashioned remedies dating back to the 1900s. It’s no longer a pharmacy, but you can find remnants of the past lining the walls, from medicated soaps and shampoos to organic laxatives, boxes of cigarettes, migraine tablets and more.
Washington’s Chariot
President George Washington is said to have ridden in John Brown’s opulent carriage during a visit to Rhode Island in 1790. The chariot was crafted in Philadelphia in 1782 to John Brown’s exacting standards in a shade of robin’s egg blue. Brown dispatched his son, James, to pick it up once finished. By all accounts, it seems he took his sweet time returning to Providence with it. “He essentially took it on a joy ride,” says Kelvis Hernandez, manager of the John Brown House Museum in Providence. You’ll find the chariot in the same room as the Roger Williams root in the museum.
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