On October 18, 1930, almost a year after the Great Depression started with the stock market crash on Black Friday, many Jamestowners received a bounty from the sea.

Mackerel Cove, Jamestown’s Town Beach, was popular as early as 1890 when L. W. Barringer of Philadelphia proposed to the Town Council the building of a pavilion and bath houses on the site.

According to his great grandson, Dr. Marshall, because of his position, was one of the first in Jamestown to request a telephone and was given telephone number one. At that time, Jamestown dog tax licenses were issued with the same number as the owners’ telephone number.

Last fall we launched a new landing page for our Online Collection that highlighted certain categories for searching. One of the new categories we wanted to create was the subject of Film.

This fort was erected in 1798-1800 to protect Newport harbor in response to French and British hostilities that culminated in the war of 1812 although it was never used.

Lena Clarke, one of four history-minded sisters, was the first president of the Jamestown Historical Society.

Jamestowners have always enjoyed sending greetings during the holiday season and the Jamestown Historical Society has a number of wonderful examples in our archives.

One of the 18th century documents in the JHS collection is the September 16, 1754, agreement of Thomas Richardson, the Newport treasurer “and his successors in said office“, to pay John Stevens for the building of the second Beavertail light.

The Bay Voyage Hotel was originally a residence called “Rhoda-Ridge on Brown’s Lane in Middletown RI owned by James A. Brown.

Our Fall Newsletter is now available for download. See all the great things our members accomplished. Don’t miss photos of Windmill Day and all the committee reports.