Rhode Island – General

In 1863, Providence photographer Francis Hacker bragged he’d photographed one thousand public buildings and manufactories. In a city with close to fifty-one thousand residents, that’s one picture for every fiftieth …
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Rhode Island is fortunate to still have five working grist mills, four of which are open to the public. One of them stone grinds, produces and sells johnnycake meal as …
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[From the editor: This charming article is short, but packs a powerful punch. Its author, Rachel Chase Boynton, was born in December 1894, the daughter of Captain Halsey Chase, the …
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Lotteries are said to have had their beginnings in Europe. Some say it was in Renaissance Florence with the advent of the game “Lotto” and there is some evidence …
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The Casino, Newport, Rhode Island, is the site of the first United States Lawn Tennis Association Singles Championship, which occurred in 1881. For thirty-one years, until 1914, the tournament continued …
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Rhode Islanders are, or should be, familiar with George Washington’s famed letter of August 21, 1790 to the Friends of Touro Synagogue in Newport and that public missive’s ringing declaration …
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[Editor’s note: This article is a synopsis of the book by Varoujan Karentz, The Life Savers, Rhode Island’s Forgotten Service (Charleston, SC: CreateSpace, 2012), ISBN-13-978-1463791025, and also contains excerpts from …
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Born in Yorkshire, England in 1716 (some sources say 14 June, others say 27 July), Peter Harrison was placed at age twelve in an apprenticeship to architect/builder William Etty. He …
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The use of facsimile currency for advertising purposes was not unusual during the nineteenth century, and such ephemeral items are known to exist from all areas of the country. One …
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The United States and France have enjoyed a long and eventful relationship. We are grateful for the Comte de Rochambeau, the Marquis de Lafayette, and the Statue of Liberty given …
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