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Book Review: Seth Rockman, Plantation Goods: A Material History of American Slavery (University of Chicago Press, 2024)
1 month ago

Book Review: Seth Rockman, Plantation Goods: A Material History of American Slavery (University of Chicago Press, 2024)

Historian Seth Rockman’s deeply researched and thoroughly engaging new book, Plantation Goods, deserves to be on the shelf of all those interested in late 18th and 19th century America. Many …
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Boys Hired to Deliver the Providence Journal from 1833 to 1873 Reveal Their Pranks and Challenges
2 months ago

Boys Hired to Deliver the Providence Journal from 1833 to 1873 Reveal Their Pranks and Challenges

[From the editor: This article quotes at length from a chapter on child newspaper carriers from the early years of the Providence Journal. The children were required to appear early …
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The Smith Granite Company of Westerly: A Short History
7 months ago

The Smith Granite Company of Westerly: A Short History

By  •  Business

One of the oldest quarry districts in New England can be found in Westerly, where stone commonly known as Westerly White and Westerly Blue became the United States Bureau of …
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Water Rights and Dams in Early Rhode Island
9 months ago

Water Rights and Dams in Early Rhode Island

By  •  Business

Besides granite and trees, the early colonists found an abundance of water when they moved into the areas around Narragansett Bay. While salt water enabled colonists to ship raw materials …
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The Founders of Providence’s Five Industrial Wonders
2 years ago

The Founders of Providence’s Five Industrial Wonders

By  •  Biography, Business

Providence and the rest of Rhode Island have an amazing history of impressive manufacturing companies. Of all the hundreds from the nineteenth century, I call five of them based in …
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The Founders of Brown & Sharpe and Gorham Manufacturing Companies
4 years ago

The Founders of Brown & Sharpe and Gorham Manufacturing Companies

Two of Rhode Island’s greatest companies in its history are Brown & Sharpe and the Gorham Manufacturing Company.  Each company showed remarkable innovation, produced incredible products, employed thousands of Rhode …
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Walter Massie, a Remarkable Wireless Radio Pioneer
8 years ago

Walter Massie, a Remarkable Wireless Radio Pioneer

Wrapped in a blanket, a lone radio operator sat huddled in his chair on the second floor of the Massie Wireless Telegraph station at Point Judith, Rhode Island, located in …
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George H. Corliss
9 years ago

George H. Corliss

Of all Rhode Island’s successful entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and inventors, none achieved more fame and notoriety in their lifetimes than George H. Corliss, the man whose refinements to the steam …
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Newport Woman Fills Important Role in the Civil War
9 years ago

Newport Woman Fills Important Role in the Civil War

Katharine (also spelled Katherine) Prescott Wormeley of Newport took an active role in public affairs throughout her life, founding the Girls Industrial School in Newport before the Civil War, and …
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The Birth of American Industry: Why Pawtucket?
9 years ago

The Birth of American Industry: Why Pawtucket?

American history enthusiasts are generally aware of the story of Samuel Slater, and the developments that ensued following his arrival in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in January of 1790.

For readers …
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