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Recent Books by smallstatebighistory Authors
5 years ago

Recent Books by smallstatebighistory Authors

Recently, there has been a spate of Rhode Island history books published by smallstatebighistory.com authors. These are in addition to Untold Stories of World War II Rhode Island (History Press, …
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“Careless Chinese, These Empire Street Denizens!” A Look at the Struggles of Providence’s Chinatown
5 years ago

“Careless Chinese, These Empire Street Denizens!” A Look at the Struggles of Providence’s Chinatown

Rhode Island has an extensive immigrant history. Evelyn Savidge Sterne’s Ballots and Bibles: Ethnic Politics and the Catholic Church in Providence is a comprehensive story about the discrimination Irish, French …
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Ida Lewis: The Legendary Lady Light Keeper of Lime Rock
6 years ago

Ida Lewis: The Legendary Lady Light Keeper of Lime Rock

By  •  Women

The lighthouse for centuries has been a comforting beacon in the night. Today, these gentle sentinels are automated with sophisticated electronic illumination often powered by solar energy. They require only …
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More Interesting and Amusing Street Names in Rhode Island
6 years ago

More Interesting and Amusing Street Names in Rhode Island

In last week’s article, I listed my top ten most interesting and amusing street names in Rhode Island. This article includes a list of fifteen honorable mention most interesting and …
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Top Ten Interesting and Amusing Street Names in Rhode Island
6 years ago

Top Ten Interesting and Amusing Street Names in Rhode Island

Here are my top ten most interesting and amusing street names in Rhode Island. The names of the persons who provided me with the idea for the name and related …
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How Smallpox Trail in Richmond Got Its Name
6 years ago

How Smallpox Trail in Richmond Got Its Name

While Carolyn Richard was a member of the Richmond Town Council, she was approached by a resident who complained about the name of the street where she lived—Smallpox Trail. Carolyn …
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A Town-by-Town Review of the Hurricane of 1938 in Rhode Island
6 years ago

A Town-by-Town Review of the Hurricane of 1938 in Rhode Island

[Note from the Editor: The following is a town-by-town review of the impact of the destructive Hurricane of 1938. It was written by writers hired by the Federal government in …
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The Remarkable Career of Everlin Smith, Jailkeeper
6 years ago

The Remarkable Career of Everlin Smith, Jailkeeper

By  •  Crime, Women

One of the most remarkable women in the state’s history lived and worked in East Greenwich. In fact, she spent her childhood at the Second Kent County Jail and died …
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The 1902 Streetcar Strike Roils Pawtucket
6 years ago

The 1902 Streetcar Strike Roils Pawtucket

Rhode Island once had a mass transit system that crisscrossed the state. Workers took horsecars and electric streetcars from their tenements to the mills and factories during the week. On …
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Edward Mitchell Bannister and Christiana (Babcock) Bannister: Rhode Island’s African-American Power Couple
6 years ago

Edward Mitchell Bannister and Christiana (Babcock) Bannister: Rhode Island’s African-American Power Couple

Edward Mitchell Bannister, one of Rhode Island’s foremost artists, was born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada in 1828. His father William came from Barbados in the West Indies; his …
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