Knight Estate

Last updated
Knight Estate
Knight Estate in Warwick RI.jpg
USA Rhode Island location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location486 East Avenue,
Warwick, Rhode Island
Coordinates 41°43′03″N71°28′51″W / 41.717372°N 71.480768°W / 41.717372; -71.480768 Coordinates: 41°43′03″N71°28′51″W / 41.717372°N 71.480768°W / 41.717372; -71.480768
Builtc.1830; 1920s
Architectural style Federal; Greek Revival; Colonial Revival
MPS Warwick MRA
NRHP reference No. 84001864 [1]
Added to NRHPFebruary 23, 1984

The Knight Estate is a historic estate in Warwick, Rhode Island, that is home to the Knight Campus of the Community College of Rhode Island. Developed as a country estate for a family of industrialists and later donated to the state, the main house and its outbuildings were listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Contents

History

The house was built for industrialist William Sprague II circa 1830 as the centerpiece of his country estate, Natick Farm. [2] Sprague was owner of the Cranston Print Works, and had begun developing his interests at the Natick Mills beginning in 1821. [3] When he died in 1836, the business was reorganized by his sons, Amasa and William III, as A. & W. Sprague. William Sprague III was the firm's agent at Natick and occupied the house. The younger Sprague was a major benefactor to the village of Natick. The Natick Baptist Church was built with funds donated by him in 1838, and the village school, built in 1850, occupied a lot donated to the town by Sprague. [3] After his death in 1856, the house continued to be owned by his descendants. From 1856 the senior member of the firm was his son, Byron Sprague. From his retirement in 1862 until its insolvency, William Sprague IV operated the firm.

After the failure of the A. & W. Sprague Manufacturing Company in the Panic of 1873, the company was held in trust by Zechariah Chafee. Chafee was appointed trustee by the creditors of the Sprague interests to liquidate the Sprague debts. The estate was purchased by the firm of B. B. & R. Knight in 1875. The estate was then developed as a country retreat by Robert Knight. In 1883, B. B. & R. Knight also bought the Natick Mills. [2] Robert Knight's son, Webster Knight (1854-1933), was appointed manager of the Natick Mills and moved into the house at Natick Farm. He lived there until he moved to Providence in 1898, maintaining the house as his country residence and developing the property as a gentleman's farm. In 1920, Webster Knight and his brother C. Prescott Knight divested themselves of B. B. & R. Knight, selling the entire company to the Consolidated Textile Corporation of New York. [4] Webster Knight then converted the house at Natick Farm back into his full-time residence. [5]

Knight lived in the house until his death in 1933. The property was occupied and maintained by his daughter, Adelaide Knight, until her death in 1948, after which it became the property of his grandson, Royal Webster Knight. In 1964 Knight gave the property to the state to be used as the campus of the Community College of Rhode Island. The college, then known as the Rhode Island Junior College, opened on the property in 1972. The property was named the "Knight Campus" in honor of the Knight family. [6]

The main house was repurposed as a home for the president of the college. The first to move into the house was Edward J. Liston in 1978. Since that time it has been the official home of the college presidents. [6] Six years after Liston moved in, the house and its grounds were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Architecture

Built circa 1830, the main house represents a transitional moment between the Federal and Greek Revival styles. The plan and massing are typical of Georgian and Federal houses, in that it is a symmetrical five-bay, two-story house with a low hipped roof, not visible from the street. The house also has a rooftop monitor. Other architectural elements, including the Doric main portico and much interior detailing, are more typical of the Greek Revival style. [5]

When Webster Knight converted the house into his full-time residence in the 1920s, he made several alterations. These included the extension of the real ell for a large dining room, modernization of the interior and the addition of flanking porches. All of this work was designed to match the original. [5]

Also on the property are a number of outbuildings, dating from the Knight family's development of the property as a gentleman's farm. At the time of the property's listing on the National Register, an unusual wooden water tower stood at the southwest corner of the yard, [5] but this has since collapsed. [7]

The designers, either of the original house or Knight's alterations, are not known. Knight's house on Princeton Avenue in Providence, built for him in 1898, was designed by architect Frank W. Angell. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Warwick, Rhode Island</span> Town in Rhode Island, United States

West Warwick is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,012 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Sprague III</span> American politician

William Sprague, also known as William III or William Sprague III, was a politician and industrialist from the U.S. state of Rhode Island, serving as the 14th Governor, a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator. He was the uncle of William Sprague IV, also a Governor and Senator from Rhode Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pawtuxet Village</span> United States historic place

Pawtuxet Village is a section of the New England cities of Warwick and Cranston, Rhode Island. It is located at the point where the Pawtuxet River flows into the Providence River and Narragansett Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Lippitt</span> American politician

Henry Lippitt was the 33rd Governor of Rhode Island from 1875 to 1877.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Community College of Rhode Island</span>

The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is a public community college in Rhode Island. It is the only community college in the state and the largest community college in New England. The college's primary facility is located in Warwick, with additional college buildings throughout the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governor William Sprague Mansion</span> Historic house in Rhode Island, United States

The Governor William Sprague Mansion is an historic mansion and museum at 1351 Cranston Street in Cranston, Rhode Island. The house was the birthplace of Governor William Sprague III and his nephew, Governor William Sprague IV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buttonwoods Beach Historic District</span> Historic district in Rhode Island, United States

Buttonwood Beach Historic District is a historic district bounded by Brush Neck Cove, Greenwich Bay, Cooper and Promenade Avenues in Warwick, Rhode Island. Buttonwood Beach is a bucolic neighborhood on the eastern limb of the Nausauket neck, located in the West Bay area of Warwick, Rhode Island. Buttonwoods is delimited by Nausauket and Apponaug to the west, Buttonwoods Cove to the north, Greenwich Bay to the south and Oakland Beach to the east. Buttonwood Beach was founded as a summer colony in 1871 by the Rev. Moses Bixby of Providence's Cranston Street Baptist Church, who was looking for a place to establish a summer colony by the shore for his congregation. He envisioned a community that would be similar to Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard, where the Methodists established a summer campground in 1835. Today, this coastal neighborhood on Greenwich Bay is home to people from many different religious backgrounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lippitt Mill</span> United States historic place

The Lippitt Mill is an historic mill at 825 Main Street in West Warwick, Rhode Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontiac Mills</span> United States historic place

Pontiac Mills is a historic textile mill complex on Knight Street in the village of Pontiac, Rhode Island within the city of Warwick. The mills produced the original Fruit of the Loom brand of cloth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Knight (industrialist)</span>

Robert Knight was a New England industrialist and philanthropist, who was a partner with his brother Benjamin Knight in B. B. & R. Knight and was one of the largest textile manufacturers in the world when he died in 1912. He co-founded the clothing brand Fruit of the Loom, now owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Knight</span>

Benjamin Brayton Knight (1813–1898) was a New England industrialist and philanthropist, who was a partner with his brother Robert Knight in the B. B. & R. Knight Company and was one of the largest textile manufacturers in the world when he died in 1898. Knight co-founded the large and famous brand, Fruit of the Loom.

Christopher Lippitt was a prominent Revolutionary War officer and founder one of the earliest textile mills in Rhode Island.

The Stillwater Mill was a former textile factory located in Smithfield, Rhode Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin & Hall</span>

Martin & Hall was the architectural partnership of Frank W. Martin and George F. Hall (1866–1928). It was based in Providence, Rhode Island.

East Natick is a small village in Warwick, Rhode Island. It is centered on the intersection of Bald Hill Road and East Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles P. Hartshorn</span> American architect

Charles P. Hartshorn was an American architect practicing in Providence, Rhode Island. He was a popular designer there in the decade immediately following the Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward I. Nickerson</span> American architect

Edward I. Nickerson (1845–1908) was an American architect from Providence, Rhode Island, known for his work in the Queen Anne style in Providence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William R. Walker (architect)</span> American architect

William R. Walker was an American architect from Providence, Rhode Island, who was later the senior partner of William R. Walker & Son.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas J. Gould</span> American architect (1849–1923)

Thomas J. Gould (1849-1923) was an American architect from Providence, Rhode Island.

Amasa Sprague was an American businessman and politician from Rhode Island. Born into an influential family, Sprague was a multi-millionaire textile industrialist until the Panic of 1873. He held various political offices in Rhode Island and was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Rhode Island in the 1886 election.

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 Donald A. D'Amato, Warwick: A City at the Crossroads (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2001)
  3. 1 2 Oliver Payson Fuller, The History of Warwick, Rhode Island (Providence: Angell, Burlingame & Company, 1875)
  4. ↑ "Transfer of Knight Mills to Consolidated Textiles," Textile World 58, no. 13 (September 25, 1920): 126.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Knight Estate NRHP Registration Form (1984)
  6. 1 2 Donald A. D'Amato, "Knight Estate," warwickhistory.com, Warwick Digital History Project, n. d. Accessed March 8, 2012.
  7. ↑ Ruins visible on Google Earth.
  8. ↑ William McKenzie Woodward and Edward F. Sanderson, Providence: A Citywide Survey of Historic Resources, ed. David Chase (Providence: Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, 1986)

See also

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.