In the first half of the 19th century, Providence witnessed a series of violent episodes that culminated in two major riots between African Americans and whites. Two significant race riots, Hard Scrabble (1824) and Snow Town (1831), led to injuries and property destruction in several Providence neighborhoods that are near the present Rhode Island state capital. Both riots involved white residents attacking African American neighborhoods. The riots reveal both the extent to which white and Black Rhode Islanders lived near one another in the large industrial cities of the North, as well as the ways in which white Northerners used violence to keep free people of color "in their place"-a phrase that reflects the desire to limit Black social and economic advancement as well as maintain physical and social segregation. After the Snow Town Riot, citizens reflected briefly upon the injustice perpetrated on Black families, but also maintained that these events had spiraled out of control simply because of the actions of a small number of unsavory individuals on both sides of the color line.
The Roger Williams National Memorial celebrates Roger Williams and his contributions to the creation to the First Amendment. Operated by the National Park Service, the Visitor Center features an exhibit and a short film, and there are also several exhibit panels throughout the 4.5 acre Memorial grounds.
Designed by architect John Holden Greene and completed in 1809, this Georgian mansion appears much as it did in the early republic. The home was built for Sullivan Door, an important business leader and father of father of Thomas Wilson Dorr, the leader of Rhode Island's Dorr Rebellion which led to universal male suffrage in 1842. The mansion is also located at the site of the former home of Providence founder Roger Williams, who was once buried at this site (since moved).
Benefit Street is the oldest street in Providence and home to the oldest house in the city. Constructed in 1763, this house once belonged to prosperous merchant Stephen Harris. The handsome 18th century clapboard has been well-preserved. The house A terrible tale full of dark deeds, horrible hauntings and fantastic fiction that has caused 135 Benefit Street to be known, both locally and world-wide, as the “Shunned House”.
Now the headquarters of the Providence Preservation Society, this historic building was the first brick school built in the city of Providence. The building was also used by Rhode Island College (Brown University today) and even served as an arsenal and temporary military hospital during the American Revolution. In 1800, education pioneer John Howland purchased the building and operated one of the first schools in the United States to be completely free and open to the public. In 1828, the school leaders decided to freely admit children of color, making this the first integrated public school in American history.
Shakespeare's Head (also known as the John Carter House) was built in 1772. The owner was publisher John Carter, and the building functioned not only as a home to his family, but also as a post office, bookshop, and printing shop of the Providence Gazette, Providence's first newspaper. Carter's advertising sign outside the building depicted a bust of Shakespeare, earning the house its nickname. The house and a restored Colonial-style garden are now owned by the Providence Preservation Society of Rhode Island.
Constructed in 1772, the Russell house stands as a monument to a time when the Atlantic World economy -- including the slave trade -- was the cornerstone of Providence and the economic engine behind the growth of the American colonies. Joseph and William Russell were two of the leading merchants in colonial Providence thanks to their participation in the trade with the West Indies. This building was the first three-story structure in Providence. The British blockade of shipping lanes during the Revolutionary War caused the Russell Brothers to suffer financial peril, forcing them to sell the house in 1798 to another prominent Providence resident, John Corliss.
The Elizabeth Building (1876) represents an era when cast-iron commercial building dominated urban downtown regions, both in Providence and throughout the nation, serving as the precursor to the modern, steel skyscraper. The building is one of the few remaining buildings built during the era. The structure arose concurrently with Providence's population boom (growing more than 50% during the 1870s) and commercial construction boom.
Built in 1885, the Fleur-de-lys Studios is a unique historical building in Providence. It was designed by Sydney Burleigh and Edmund Russell Wilson in the Tudor Revival style (other artists contributed to the building as well). It is a 2.5 story wood frame structure with decorative stucco artwork in between the timbers. The building was meant to serve as a place where artists could have their studios and this remains the function today. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Providence's First Baptist Church was constructed between 1774 and 1775 by a congregation first founded by Roger Williams in 1638. Church divisions and the belief that lavish church facilities were a sign of vanity thwarted previous efforts towards building a substantial church edifice. By the mid-1770s, a more unified congregation and an acceptance that a substantial meeting hall was necessary and proper led to the construction of this building.
The historic Dr. George W. Carr House (1885) was one of Providence's most prominent Queen Anne style buildings, designed by architect Edward I. Nickerson. The Rhode Island School of Design purchased the building in 1916, and has since used it for a variety of functions.
Rhode Island School of Design Museum is an art museum in Providence, Rhode Island. The museum was founded in 1877 when Helen Metcalf inspired a women's club to spend its left-over money from the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition to fund an art school. RISD contains a broad range of works from around the world, as well as numerous featured works from a range of Rhode Island artists. In all, the museum houses over 91,000 objects. It wasn’t just any fair. It was the . And it wasn’t just any art school. It was the Rhode Island School of Design, or RISD, one of the world’s most prestigious art and design universities. It is also the principal art museum for Southeastern New England.
Near the spot indicated by this marker, citizens of Providence burned British taxed tea to represent their views on unfair taxation. This happened on the night of March 2, 1775.
Market House was constructed in 1775 by Joseph Brown, a prominent local architect, and Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The bottom level originally functioned as a market place while meetings took place upstairs. the building was the site of numerous historically significant political events and protests while the building itself has hosted civic functions and meetings of local organizations nearly two-and-a-half centuries. During the American Revolution, French soldiers encamped in Providence used the Market House as their barracks. The Providence City Council used the building as their headquarters for decades before the city built a dedicated City Hall.
The 1938 New England Hurricane was one of the deadliest and most destructive hurricanes to ever hit New England, killing 682 people and destroying 57,000 homes across the East Coast. At this site near Canal Walk and on the side of the Old Market House, the Hurricane of September 21st, 1938, historical marker displays the height of the water sea as it tore through Providence. The city was hit especially hard, sweeping summer cottages out to sea. Because of economic difficulties caused by the Great Depression, much of what remained of Providence was looted after the storm was hit (and before the flood waters retreated). The Fox Point Hurricane was finally built after the 1938 and the 1954 hurricanes to avoid such extreme surges from flooding downtown again.
This historic marker is dedicated to Giovanni da Verrazano, an Italian explorer who navigated the Atlantic in 1524 on behalf of King Francis I of France. The inscription reads: "To Giovanni Da Verrazzano, the navigator from Italy who in 1524 crossed the perilous northern ocean, first to behold the coast of the future United States, cast anchor in this bay, explore its islands, one of which, because of its shape he Christened Rhodes, name later extended to the entire state of Rhode Island. Donated by Carrara, The Marble City, and by Greve in Chanti, where Verrazzano was born, in pledge of ever growing friendship between the American and the Italian peoples."
The Providence Athenaeum is a Library and Museum that was founded in 1836 after the merging of a previous Providence Athenaeum (1831) and the Providence Library Company (1753). According to the Libraries' website, both of these organizations dissolved and formed a new library, combining the collections of each institution. There is a ton of history wrapped up in this Library, including frequent visits from famous authors like H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, and Sarah Helen Whitman. Any fan of these authors would enjoy a visit to this Library, and any history buff would be fascinated by the extensive history embodied here.
The Governor Stephen Hopkins House is a museum and National Historic Landmark in Providence, Rhode Island. The house was the home of Stephen Hopkins, a local businessman, politician, governor of Rhode Island and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1978.
This historical marker stands on the site of the Sabin Tavern, where, in 1772 (18 months before the Boston Tea Party), colonists of Providence, Rhode Island planned their attack on the H.R.M. Gaspee, a British navy schooner. The Gaspee was stationed nearby at Newport, with orders to seize ships suspected of smuggling illegal or untaxed cargo in Narragansett Bay. Under the command of Lieutenant William Dudingston, the crew of the Gaspee interpreted their orders as a license to steal supplies and livestock from both ships and coastal communities in the bay area. As a final straw, the American vessel Fortune was captured, its cargo of rum illegally seized, and its captain, Rufus Greene, beaten. Greene attempted to sue, and the colonists issued a warrant for Dudingston's arrest. When Britain failed to respond to the colonists' satisfaction, an attack on the Gaspee was planned.
The John Brown House is the first mansion built in Providence, Rhode Island. It borders the campus of Brown University. The house is named after the original owner and one of the early benefactors of the University, the early American merchant, statesman and slave trader, John Brown. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1968 and is operated by the Rhode Island Historical Society.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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This walking tour starts at the Roger Williams National Memorial and follows Main Street south along the Providence River. The tour includes numerous historical markers and historic buildings before reaching the John Brown Memorial House at Brown University.
