“Newport is Burning” Sheds Light on the Gilded Age Fires of Kate Judd

Kate Judd set fire to the Weaver family’s Bellevue Avenue villa on the morning of Jan. 23, 1883. ”Photograph courtesy of Providence Public Library Digital Collection

Upon putting pen to paper for his new book, Newport Is Burning, author David Norton Stone uncovered the frightening, passionate truth behind the acts of Kate Judd, one of Rhode Island’s most notorious criminals.

Author David Norton Stone chronicles Judd’s criminal career in his new book, “Newport Is Burning.” Cover courtesy of author.

Stone is distinguished by his various write-ups on Rhode Island food and history, including his recent book, Lost Restaurants of Providence. Now, Stone has reignited the fiery stories originally set ablaze by Gilded Age arsonist Kate Judd.

“I rediscovered Kate Judd accidentally, in the obituary of one of her victims,” says Stone. “There she was, lurking in the archives. I wonder if perhaps her fire had never really gone out and whether, like a fiendish spark in cold ashes, she was waiting for the perfect moment to reignite.”

The resulting book delves into the whirlwind of Judd’s fires and a prison break that shook Newport during the late 1800s. 

Five years before setting her first fire in Newport, Judd had burnt down a family residence in Franklin Falls, New Hampshire, escaping with two trunks of silk dresses and embroidered accessories. She then traveled to Massachusetts, working as a housekeeper for the Stanwood family. Their shed was left in ruins, mysteriously burning to the ground. This time, Judd couldn’t get away. 

Her subsequent arrest kept Judd out of the limelight just long enough for her to change her name and travel to Newport. On the morning of Jan. 23, 1883, while working as a cook for the wealthy Weaver family, she started a fire in the basement of their Bellevue Avenue villa. After being convicted of the crime, she was sentenced and later escaped from the Newport prison where she was being held. 

Her impulse to burn left the Gilded Age city in a frenzy for years to come. 

Stone’s research on the notorious arsonist began in 2019. Limited documentation of Judd’s life and crimes could be found before he began compiling information with the help of the Providence Public Library, the Newport Preservation Society and other historical groups.

“She was a big celebrity in her lifetime, and it felt like a case that hadn’t been examined by modern eyes,” Stone says. “It felt like a historian’s dream come true.”

These spirited splotches of Newport’s past somehow slid through the cracks of the historically charged city. Even more curiously, Judd’s journey ended in anonymity. Large components of her archives were reported to be damaged or lost due to natural disasters. Or maybe Judd lit one last fire under the noses of Newport police to burn away her records.

“I am hoping for other historians to help round out the picture,” Stone says. “Even after five years of research, there is still a lot of important stuff to research and find.”

You can find Newport Is Burning on Amazon and bookshop.org.