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Brooks family lost three members during World War II

Brooks family lost three members during World War II

by Rosemary Enright and Sue Maden | Jan 12, 2023 | 2023 Articles, Jamestown History Articles

A four-engine long-range B-24 Liberator bomber on which William Sweet was engineer for 18 missions over enemy territory during World War II. Eighty years ago, the United States was entering its second year of involvement in World War II. Few were left untouched by the...
Peckham men from farmers to ferryboats

Peckham men from farmers to ferryboats

by Rosemary Enright and Sue Maden | Dec 22, 2022 | 2022 Articles, Jamestown History Articles

Preston E. Peckham and his wife, Catherine, taking a chilly winter carriage ride. Participating in horse competition, pigeon races, and carriage parades, Preston, born in 1884, was considered one of the most colorful turn-of-the-century characters in Jamestown. John...
’Tis the season to ponder the island’s ties to the land

’Tis the season to ponder the island’s ties to the land

by Peter Fay | Dec 1, 2022 | 2022 Articles, Jamestown History Articles

The Roman goddess Ceres (right) holds a cornucopia and shaft of grain on the 1856 $2 bank note of Rhode Island. (Courtesy of Heritage Auctions) The holiday season is a time for people to ponder the bounty in their lives, and in Jamestown’s past, all wealth flowed from...
The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge is Thirty!

The Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge is Thirty!

by Rosemary Enright and Sue Maden | Nov 11, 2022 | 2022 Articles, Jamestown History Articles

(Photos from Jamestown Historical Society Collection) Thirty years ago, on Saturday, October 17, 1992, about 40,000 people ran, walked, or strolled across the newly opened 7,350-foot-long Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge. It was a beautiful autumn day. The West Passage...
Chamber predecessor targeted tourism to ease downturn

Chamber predecessor targeted tourism to ease downturn

by Rosemary Enright and Sue Maden | Sep 22, 2022 | 2022 Articles, Jamestown History Articles

The New Year’s greeting to summer residents from 1930 suggesting they entice their friends to come to the island. In May 1929, 21 Jamestowners met at Town Hall to form an organization to “promote the economic, civic, and social welfare of the people of Jamestown and...
From Farmhand to Freeholder

From Farmhand to Freeholder

by Peter Fay | Aug 25, 2022 | 2022 Articles, Jamestown History Articles

Manuel Furtado Dutra arrived barefoot and alone in Jamestown in 1917 when he was 13 years old. He had never worn shoes in his life, could not read or write, and had never been to school. Leaving his island home of Fayal in the Azores, Portugal, on the steamship Roma,...
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Help preserve & share the history of Jamestown, RI. Maintain the Museum, the Windmill, the Meetinghouse and the Conanicut Battery. Preserve the Society’s collection of documents, photographs and artifacts.

 

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