by JHS | Aug 1, 2021 | From the Collection
In the early 1940s, when you drove east over the recently completed Jamestown Bridge, the land before you was open farmland. The entire landscape changed in 1946 when James G. Head and Sydney Rowe formed the Federal Building and Development Corporation. Head and Rowe...
by JHS | Jul 12, 2021 | JHS in the News, Library Exhibits
The July exhibit in the JHS library display case features commemorative plates from the society’s collection. Two quite different plates designed for the 300th anniversary of the purchase of Conanicut Island in 1657 are displayed. The plate by Catharine Morris...
by JHS | Jul 9, 2021 | Events
Photo courtesy of Blue Garden, Newport, RI. Open by appointment. “Recapturing this work of landscape artistry is intended to teach others about the intellectual and pragmatic challenges of restoring and preserving a garden of such historic...
by JHS | Jul 9, 2021 | From the Collection
Hunt’s Drug Store stood at the corner of Conanicus and Narragansett avenues where the East Ferry Deli is now. It was owned by Thomas E. Hunt (1883-1965), Jamestown’s first year-round pharmacist. Hunt graduated from the Rhode Island College School of Pharmacy in 1904...
by Rosemary Enright and Sue Maden | Jul 1, 2021 | 2021 Articles, Jamestown History Articles
On May 12, 1873, Captain Stephen C. Gardner guided the 79-foot, wood-fueled paddlewheel ferry Jamestown out of the new slip at East Ferry on her maiden voyage between Jamestown and Newport. The age of dependable steam ferry service on the lower Narragansett Bay had...
by Rosemary Enright and Sue Maden | Jun 23, 2021 | 2021 Articles, Jamestown History Articles
In the years following World War II, marching bands were much in demand. Drum and bugle corps competed against each other, and rivalry was keen. Jamestown had had a Men’s Drum & Bugle Corps in the 1930s, and it was revived early in 1947. Later that same year,...
by Peter Fay | Jun 14, 2021 | Events
Speech Delivered at the Dedication of the Slave History Medallion at East Ferry, Jamestown, RI, May 22, 2021 Image courtesy of Rhode Island Historical Society, MSS 1026, Folder 14, Thomas G. Hazard, Deed of Sale, 12/29/1791. Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye....
by Peter Fay | Jun 10, 2021 | 2021 Articles, Jamestown History Articles
ABOVE: This notice in an April 1777 edition of the Providence Gazette by John Howland offers $5 for the capture of his runaway slave. The fugitive, Dick Howland, is described as “Mustee,” which indicates that he was part African-American and part Native American. He...
by JHS | Jun 9, 2021 | From the Collection
Sheep played a large part in the early days of the island of Conanicut. As early as 1637, when the Narragansett granted the right to the grasses of the island to the Newport settlers, sheep were grazed on the island. Sheep and wool remained important island products...
by JHS | May 27, 2021 | Events, Newsletters
Our Spring 2021 Newsletter is now available for download. Don’t miss the committee reports of all the things that we’ve been working on while at home. And take a look at the donations that made over the past year, we value everyone’s efforts to...