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About Mark Kenneth Gardner

Mark Kenneth Gardner is an educator and public historian. He has been teaching social studies and history for the Chariho School District since 1988. He is also the historian at the Western Rhode Island Civic Historical Society and is the president of the Rhode Island Council for the Social Studies. Mr. Gardner earned his MA from Rhode Island College in 2012 with his thesis, "As Publick As Possible: Democratic Localism and Political Economy in a Rhode Island Town Government, 1760-1820." Born and raised in Charlestown, Rhode Island, he currently lives in West Warwick with his daughter, her cat, and their small flock of unruly chickens.
Latest Posts | By Mark Kenneth Gardner
South Kingstown at 300 – PART 1: From the Narragansetts to the First White Settlers
2 years ago

South Kingstown at 300 – PART 1: From the Narragansetts to the First White Settlers

In the vault at the South Kingstown Town Hall, tucked into the inside back cover of Town Meeting Records March 1798 to 1836 South Kingstown, there are several typewritten copies …
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“Money I have none:” Colonial Rhode Island’s Tradition of Negotiating Their Taxes and the Coming of the American Revolution
9 years ago

“Money I have none:” Colonial Rhode Island’s Tradition of Negotiating Their Taxes and the Coming of the American Revolution

In one of his oft-repeated observations, Benjamin Franklin remarked “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”[1] But Franklin would have exempted colonial Rhode …
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