Just as golf was becoming popular in the U.S. in the late nineteenth century, Jamestown’s first golf course, a 9-hole Conanicut Golf Club was officially formed in 1895. Six holes were located south of Hamilton Avenue, mostly on the pastures of the Cottrell Farm north of Blueberry Lane and west of Walcott Avenue.
Battery Day sponsored by the Jamestown Historical Society was held on May 21, 2022 at the Conanicut Battery. The 2nd Rhode Island Continental Regiment, the Kingston Reds, the 54th Regiment of Foot demonstrated Revolutionary War tactics and artillery at the battery before an enthusiastic crowd of attendees.
Harry Shatzer (1879-1922) was born in Pennsylvania. He married Lulu Virginia Broll (1879-1945) of West Virginia in Baltimore in 1907, the year after he began coming to Jamestown for summer work.
Our Spring 2022 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.
In 1827 the Philadelphia Horticultural Society hosted the first American flower show with the aim “to inspire taste for one of the most rational and pleasing amusements of man”. Flower shows have played important roles for most gardeners and Jamestown proved no different.
Invitations have called Jamestowners to many events over the years. An invitation, hand-signed by John L. Smith, Chairman of the Jamestown Bridge Committee, invited the recipient and their guests to the dedication of the Jamestown Bridge on August 3, 1940.
Jamestown has had many inventive and colorful residents over the years, among them John Robert Caswell.
The Governor Carr carried passengers and vehicles across the East Passage between Jamestown and Newport from 1927 through 1958.
The first post office in Jamestown was established in 1847. At the time, women were less than 1 percent of federal Postmasters, and the Postmaster’s salary was a percentage of the stamps sold. Mail was not delivered door-to-door; it was held by the Postmaster for pick up.
Back in 1849, there was a New York City baseball team called the Knickerbockers. During their games, they wore straw caps to protect themselves from the sun. This was the first version of the billed cap we know as a baseball cap.
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The Jamestown
Historical Society
PO Box 156
Jamestown, RI
02835