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Down to the Sea by Rail: The Narragansett Pier Railroad
8 years ago

Down to the Sea by Rail: The Narragansett Pier Railroad

Railroads came to Rhode Island in 1835 with the Boston & Providence line, initially using crude horse-drawn carriages (looking like stagecoaches on rails). The line actually started operations several …
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British and Hessian Forces Occupy Newport and Aquidneck Island in 1776
8 years ago

British and Hessian Forces Occupy Newport and Aquidneck Island in 1776

Just more than two hundred and forty years ago, British, Hessian and Loyalist forces landed and occupied Aquidneck Island, beginning a nearly three-year occupation with devastating consequences for Newport and …
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Rhode Island Lotteries through the Centuries
8 years ago

Rhode Island Lotteries through the Centuries

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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Newport’s Casino, Birthplace of the U.S. National Tennis Championship, 1881 to 1914
8 years ago

Newport’s Casino, Birthplace of the U.S. National Tennis Championship, 1881 to 1914

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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Washington’s Open Letter of March 12, 1790 to American Catholics
8 years ago

Washington’s Open Letter of March 12, 1790 to American Catholics

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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One Day . . . The Story of a Storm, A Video Documentary of the 1938 Hurricane in Rhode Island
8 years ago

One Day . . . The Story of a Storm, A Video Documentary of the 1938 Hurricane in Rhode Island

“One Day” is a film about how life can change without warning. Your life can be perfectly normal when you get up in the morning and in a shambles by …
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The Life Savers: Rhode Island’s Forgotten Service, 1872-1914
8 years ago

The Life Savers: Rhode Island’s Forgotten Service, 1872-1914

[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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Twenty-Six Pirates Hanged at Newport in 1723
8 years ago

Twenty-Six Pirates Hanged at Newport in 1723

[From the Editor:  In the late 17th and early 18h centuries, Rhode Island was a haven for pirates.  That changed in 1723 when Charles Harris and twenty-five other pirates …
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The Story of John Dempsey, Child Laborer at Jackson Mill in Fiskeville, in 1909
8 years ago

The Story of John Dempsey, Child Laborer at Jackson Mill in Fiskeville, in 1909

By  •  Biography

“I was thinking about where [my father] worked as a child and the fact that he died of emphysema. There was dust flying around in those textile mills. I …
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Peter Harrison, Newport’s Master Colonial Architect
8 years ago

Peter Harrison, Newport’s Master Colonial Architect

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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