Few were left untouched by the global conflict, and 13 men from Jamestown died serving their country. The hardest-hit local family was the Brooks family. Eighty years ago, the United States was entering its second year of involvement in World War II.
John Peckham, a Newport freeholder, was one of Jamestown’s first landowners. Although he was not among the 101 men who signed the prepurchase agreement for Conanicut Island, his name appears on Joshua Fisher’s 1658 map.
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 land.
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.
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 vicinity.” The founding members were all Jamestown businessmen, most from East Ferry and Narragansett Avenue.
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.
William Foster Caswell, commonly known as “Babe” was born in Jamestown in November 1909, the fifth child of John and Isabel Caswell. The census-taker six months later recorded “no name” for him.
Non-governmental organizations were also formed to address the problems ahead, among them the Jamestown Forum, which first entered the public eye in 1947.
Many Jamestown residents have given the ultimate sacrifice to their nation during wartime. While honoring the local men and women who have died, the community also is compelled to take stock of the causes for which they fought, as these causes still have echoes in the world today.
Jamestown has had many inventive and colorful residents over the years, among them John Robert Caswell.
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The Jamestown
Historical Society
PO Box 156
Jamestown, RI
02835