Roger Williams National Memorial | |
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Location | Providence, Rhode Island |
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Coordinates | 41°49′49″N71°24′39″W / 41.83038°N 71.41089°W Coordinates: 41°49′49″N71°24′39″W / 41.83038°N 71.41089°W |
Area | 4.56 acres (1.85 ha) [1] |
Built | 1636 |
Architect | Norman Isham |
Website | Roger Williams National Memorial |
NRHP reference No. | 66000942 [2] |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
The Roger Williams National Memorial is a landscaped urban park located on a common lot of the original settlement of Providence, Rhode Island, established by minister Roger Williams in 1636. The national memorial commemorates the life of Williams, who co-founded the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and championed religious freedom. [3] The park is bounded by North Main, Canal, and Smith Streets, and Park Row.
The Roger Williams National Memorial is a 4.5-acre (1.8 ha) park located near the eastern bank of the Moshassuck River, east of the Rhode Island State House and north of Downtown Providence. It stands at the base of College Hill, upon which the early settlement of Providence was concentrated. The memorial is separated from the river by Canal Street, and bounded on the other three sides by Smith Street, Park Row, and North Main Street. The southern portion of the park has a relatively open grassy area ringed by trees, while the northern portion is more landscaped, with the visitor center housed in the 1736 Antram-Gray House [4] [5] [lower-alpha 1] at the northeast corner, and a parking area on the west side. Major features in the northern section include the Bernon Grove and the site of the spring which prompted Williams to select the site. [6] : p.1
The park's visitor center features an exhibit and video about Roger Williams and the founding of Rhode Island, as well as information about historic sites in Providence.
The national memorial was authorized on October 22, 1965. [6] : p.55 The memorial was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. The site was developed in the late 1970s after the land acquisition was completed and the buildings on the land were demolished. [6] : p.56 It was the only unit of the National Park System in Rhode Island until 2014 when the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park was designated. [1] [lower-alpha 2]
Roger Williams was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and later the U.S. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, now the State of Rhode Island. He was a staunch advocate for religious freedom, separation of church and state, and fair dealings with Native Americans.
The First Baptist Church in America is the First Baptist Church of Providence, Rhode Island, also known as the First Baptist Meetinghouse. It is the oldest Baptist church congregation in the United States, founded in 1638 by Roger Williams in Providence, Rhode Island. The present church building was erected between 1774 and 75 and held its first meetings in May 1775. It is located at 75 North Main Street in Providence's College Hill neighborhood. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA.
The Blackstone Canal was a waterway linking Worcester, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island through the Blackstone Valley via a series of locks and canals during the early 19th century.
William Blaxton was an early English settler in New England and the first European settler of Boston and Rhode Island.
The Seekonk River is a tidal extension of the Providence River in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 8 km (5 mi). The name may be derived from an Algonquian word for skunk, or for black goose. The river is home to the Brown University men's rowing team, India Point Park, Blackstone Park, Crook Point Bascule Bridge, Narragansett Boat Club, Swan Point Cemetery, and the Bucklin Point waste-water treatment facility. The River is listed by RIDEM as an impaired waterway.
Roger Williams Park is an elaborately landscaped 427-acre (173 ha) city park in Providence, Rhode Island and a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is named after Roger Williams, the founder of the city of Providence and the primary founder of the state of Rhode Island.
Smith Hill is a neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island. Its traditional bounds are the Woonasquatucket River, the Chad Brown public housing complex, Interstate 95 and West River.
The Rhode Island city of Providence has a nearly 400-year history integral to that of the United States, including significance in the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the American Revolutionary War by providing leadership and fighting strength, quartering troops, and supplying goods to residents by circumventing the blockade of Newport. The city is also noted for the first bloodshed of the American Revolution in the Gaspée Affair. Additionally, Providence is notable for economic shifts, moving from trading to manufacturing; the decline of manufacturing devastated the city during the Great Depression, but the city eventually attained economic recovery through investment of public funds.
The North Burial Ground is a 110-acre (0.45 km2) cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island dating to 1700, the first public cemetery in Providence. It is located north of downtown Providence, bounded by North Main Street, Branch Avenue, the Moshassuck River, and Cemetery Street. Its main entrance is at the junction of Branch and North Main. The burial ground is one of the larger municipal cemeteries in Southern New England, and it accepts 220 to 225 burials per year.
College Hill is a historic neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island, and one of six neighborhoods comprising the city's East Side. It is roughly bounded by South and North Main Street to the west, Power Street to the south, Governor Street and Arlington Avenue to the east and Olney Street to the north. The neighborhood's primary commercial area extends along Thayer Street, a strip frequented by students in the Providence area.
Fox Point is a neighborhood in the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island. It is bounded by the Providence and Seekonk rivers, Interstate 195 and the College Hill and Wayland neighborhoods. Fox Point is the southernmost neighborhood in the East Side area of Providence.
The East Side is a collection of neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city of Providence, Rhode Island. It officially comprises the neighborhoods of Blackstone, Hope, Mount Hope, College Hill, Wayland, and Fox Point.
Prospect Terrace Park is a park located on Congdon Street in the College Hill neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island. The park was founded in 1869, on land that was given to the city by residents of the neighborhood. The park is known as "The Jewel of the City" for its dramatic elevated view of Downtown Providence.
The College Hill Historic District is located in the College Hill neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It was designated a National Historic Landmark District on December 30, 1970. The College Hill local historic district, established in 1960, partially overlaps the national landmark district. Properties within the local historic district are regulated by the city's historic district zoning ordinance, and cannot be altered without approval from the Providence Historic District Commission.
See also Daggett House, Slater Park, Pawtucket RI, built about the same time, by Nathaniel's father John.
Moshassuck Square is an industrial historic district in Providence, Rhode Island, lining the banks of the Blackstone Canal just north of the Rhode Island State House. It consists of the few surviving buildings of the once-extensive American Screw Company complex, which was largely developed between the 1840s and 1870s, and was a major fixture in the Providence landscape prior to its destruction by fire in 1971. The buildings are in an area bounded by Charles Street on the west, Stevens and Hewes Streets on the north, North Main Street to the east, and Mill Street to the south. Prominent among them are the Stillman White Foundry and Fletcher Manufacturing Company office building, which stand on opposite sides of Mill Street near its crossing of the canal. At 127 Charles Street stands a three-story brick building built c. 1900 as a retail and residential building. The only surviving elements of the Screw Company complex are located at North Main and Hewes Streets, and now house the Providence Center.
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of "God's merciful Providence" which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers. The city developed as a busy port as it is situated at the mouth of the Providence River in Providence County, at the head of Narragansett Bay.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Providence, Rhode Island, United States.
Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park is a National Park Service unit in the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The park was created for the purpose of preserving, protecting, and interpreting the industrial heritage of the Blackstone River Valley and the urban, rural, and agricultural landscape of that region. The Blackstone River Valley was the site of some of the earliest successful textile mills in the United States, and these mills contributed significantly to the earliest American Industrial Revolution. The subsequent construction of the Blackstone Canal, a few years after the successful completion of the Erie Canal, helped to sustain the region's industrial strength.
John Smith was a founding settler of Providence in what would become the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Smith joined Roger Williams at the Seekonk River in 1635 after both were expelled from Massachusetts Bay Colony. In early 1636 they crossed the river to found Providence where Smith later built and operated the town's gristmill.
Parks in Providence, Rhode Island |
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Burnside Park · India Point Park · Prospect Terrace Park · Roger Williams National Memorial · Roger Williams Park · Waterplace Park |