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Edward Cranston Catches Ohio Fever
5 years ago

Edward Cranston Catches Ohio Fever

European immigrants were not the only people who filled the Midwest with farms. Plenty of Rhode Islanders went west, too.

By the late 1700s, the population in Rhode Island, Massachusetts …
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Charles Brayton, Rhode Island’s Most Powerful Political Boss, Departs the Scene
5 years ago

Charles Brayton, Rhode Island’s Most Powerful Political Boss, Departs the Scene

[Rhode Island politics in the late 1800s and early 1900s was run by the Republican Party’s political machine. From 1884 to 1907, it was led with an iron fist by …
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Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig Play an Exhibition Game in Providence, Kids Go Nuts
6 years ago

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig Play an Exhibition Game in Providence, Kids Go Nuts

In early October 1927, baseball sluggers Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig arrived at Providence to play an exhibition baseball game.  It was a memorable day for kids and adults alike.


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Russell Smith Saved from Alcoholism
6 years ago

Russell Smith Saved from Alcoholism

I have been thinking an awful lot about Russell Smith lately. I have pondered the life of this early nineteenth century ship carpenter, thinking about the unimaginable trials and tribulations …
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The Great Gale of 1815 Slams into Newport, Providence and Narragansett
6 years ago

The Great Gale of 1815 Slams into Newport, Providence and Narragansett

The Great Gale of 1815 was one of the three strongest hurricanes ever to hit Rhode Island. Communities throughout the state suffered damage. This article quotes from three histories containing …
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Anne Hutchinson, Founding Mother of Religious Tolerance
6 years ago

Anne Hutchinson, Founding Mother of Religious Tolerance

In November 1637, the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony convicted Anne Hutchinson of heresy and banished her from the colony. More than just a founding mother of Portsmouth, Rhode …
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Robert E. Quinn and the Political Revolution of 1935 (Part II)
6 years ago

Robert E. Quinn and the Political Revolution of 1935 (Part II)

A major trend that produced the new (but briefly tenuous) Democratic ascendancy was the movement of Franco-American voters into the Democratic Party, especially after Governor Aram Pothier’s death in …
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Robert E. Quinn and the Political Revolution of 1935
6 years ago

Robert E. Quinn and the Political Revolution of 1935

Robert Emmet Quinn, named for the noble Irish patriot, led the political transformation of Rhode Island from Republican to Democratic ascendancy during the turbulent 1920s and 1930s. A similar …
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The Hunt for Oliver Hazard Perry’s Wrecked Ship Revenge
6 years ago

The Hunt for Oliver Hazard Perry’s Wrecked Ship Revenge

By  •  Maritime

In the summer of 2011 I received an excited phone call from my sister, Jane Buffum. She said: “Charlie found it! He found it!” I said: “Found what?” “The Revenge, …
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Mariners Beware – Shipwrecks in Rhode Island – Watch Hill
6 years ago

Mariners Beware – Shipwrecks in Rhode Island – Watch Hill

By  •  Maritime

Rhode Island has a rich history intimately involved with maritime interests of every type from local fishermen to international commercial traders. And, as might be expected, as the number of …
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