History of Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Journey back in time to Providence, Rhode Island, USA

• 1636 - ROGER WILLIAMS was banished from the colony of Massachusetts due to his outspoken views of religious inequality, fled to the head of Narraganset Bay, and there, with a few followers, planted the seed of the commonwealth of Rhode Island in 1636
  
  rhodeislandcolonialera.weebly.com/ culture.html
  
  
• 1647 - Three settlements united with Providence, formed single government
  Anne Hutchinson and her followers founded Portsmouth in 1638, while others of the same group established Newport. In 1643, several dissidents from...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1662 - January 27 - 1st American lime kiln begins operation (Providence RI)
  
  historyorb.com
  
  
• 1663 - King Charles II granted charter for Rhode Island, Providence Plantations
  THE CHARTER, GRANTED BY KING CHARLES II., July 8, 1663, and in force until the adoption of the Constitution, May, 1843.
  
  sos.ri.gov/ library/ ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1764 - Brown University in Providence is the state's oldest institution of higher education and one of the oldest in the nation. It was chartered in 1764 as Rhode Island College.
  
  www.ereferencedesk.com/ resources/ state-facts/ rhode-island.html
  
  
•  1772 - 1st naval attack of Revolutionary War takes place in Providence, RI
  Rhode Island residents burn British ship Gaspee to protest tax laws.
  
  The World Almanac of the U.S.A, by Allan Carpenter and Carl Provorse,...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• In 1791, Providence Bank was established with capital of $400,000.
  The Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, Volume 3
  Author Sir David Brewster
  Publisher J. & E. Parker, 1832
  Page 229
  
  
•  1804 - Brown university, founded in 1764, at Providence, Rhode Island, was known as Rhode Island college until 1804, when its name changed in honor of Nicolas Brown, American merchant, who had given it $100,000.
  
  The Morning Herald
  Hagerstown, Maryland
  May 7, 1926
  
  
• 1815 - Destructive hurricane hits New England
  "The Great September Gale" hit New England in September of 1815. It first made landfall on Long Island, N.Y., and then again in Connecticut. The...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1817 - An Elm tree is standing near Providence, R. I. which measures, 4 feet from the ground, 21 feet in circumference.
  There are 18 main branches, averaging 6 feet 3 inches in circumference; the circumference, of the whole outline of the branches is 378 feet!
  
  genealogybank.com
  Spectator
  New York
  September 16, 1817
  
  
• 
  The Arcade, Built 1828
  Postcard
  
•  1842 - May 19 – Dorr Rebellion: Militiamen supporting Thomas Wilson Dorr attack the arsenal in Providence, Rhode Island, but are repulsed.
  
  www.wikipedia.org
  May 19, 1842
  
  
•  1848 - A man in Providence, Rhode Island, bet five dollars that he could eat a large basket of peaches in one hour.
  He was successful, having dispatched one hundred and fifty-two good sized peaches in fifty-two minutes.
  
  Another man ate a basket full without...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 
  Arcade, Providence
  THE HISTORY & TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, published by J & F Tallis in London about 1850.
  Artwork
  
• 1854 - Providence
  Providence, a city, port of entry and seat of justice of Providence county, Rhode Island, and semi-capital of the state, is situated at the head of...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1873 - Joseph Sweet, ninety-one years of age, has been elected President of the Eagle National Bank at Providence, Rhode Island.
  Whether Joseph will make it sweeter for himself or the bank is not definitely known.
  The Indianapolis News
  Indianapolis, Indiana
  April 24, 1873
  
  
•  1873 - Providence, Rhode Island, has a big gasometer, and the city papers are confident its dome is the largest in the world, it being 140 feet in diameter, or one foot larger than the dome of St. Peter's in Rome.
  It holds, above the top of the tank, 1,540,000 cubic feet.
  The Indianapolis News
  Indianapolis, Indiana
  April 8, 1873
  
  
• 
  Scenes in Providence
  Picturesque America... Oliver Bell Bunce, William Cullen Bryant
  New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1872-1874.
  Artwork
  
• 1877 - President Rutherford Hayes tested new telephone, call from Rocky Point to Providence, distance 8 miles
  The rich and the famous also came to Rocky Point. One of its most illustrious visitors was President Rutherford B. Hayes, who visited here in 1877,...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1878 - George M. Cohan was born in Providence in 1878. He wrote, "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy," "You're a Grand Old Flag," and a wide variety of other musical entertainment.
  
  www.ereferencedesk.com/ resources/ state-facts/ rhode-island.html
  
  
•  1882 - Six of the persons injured in yesterday's fire in the Callender building, Providence, Rhode Island, have already died, and it is expected that the injuries of others will prove fatal.
  
  The Indianapolis News
  Indianapolis, Indiana
  November 22, 1882
  
  
•  1888 - MORE FIRES IN PROVIDENCE. THE THIRD LARGE BLAZE WITHIN FIVE DAYS.
  PROVIDENCE, R. I., Feb. 19. - The third large fire during the last five days occurred this afternoon on the scene of the disastrous conflagration of...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1890 - THE BIG PROVIDENCE FIRE. THOUSANDS OF CURIOUS PERSONS WATCHING THE RUINS.
  PROVIDENCE, R. I., Dec. 14. - Thousands of spectators flocked around the scene of Saturday's half-million-dollar fire to-day. Chief of Police Child...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 
  1890s
  Horsfords Acid Phosphate
  Rumford Chemical Works
  Providence, R.I.
  Advertisement
  
• 
  Good Will Engine Co., No. 13
  Postcard
  
• 1894 - April 10 - Providence, RI received 9 inches of snow
  
  The Weather Channel
  
  
•  1895 - KILLED BY A BOILER EXPLOSION - The Accident Occurs Just as a Crowd of Rhode Island Ice Harvesters Begin Work on Mashapang Pond.
  PROVIDENCE, R. I., Feb. 4 - A boiler exploded at the icehouses of Earl, Carpenter & Sons, at Mashapang Pond this morning. Four men were killed and...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1895 - Blizzard - THE STORM STILL HOVERS OVER THE UNITED STATES. IT IS SEVEREST IN THE EAST. TRAFFIC ALMOST ENTIRELY AT A STANDSTILL -- RAILROAD TRAINS BLOCKADED -- BUSINESS PARALYZED -- PEOPLE FROZEN TO DEATH AT SEVERAL PLACES...
  ...Damage Done By High Tide.
  Providence, Feb. 9. - The high tide has done damage in this city almost equal to the great flood of September 1868....Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1895 - Providence
  Providence, a city (the second of New England in population, wealth, and importance), port of entry, and one of the capitals of the state of Rhode...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1896 - Gotta De Mon' - An Italian Banker Skips From Providence, Rhode Island
  Providence, R. I., Sept. 2. - The Banca Popolare has closed its doors and today there was an excited lot of depositors in the Italian colony on...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1896 - November 22 - Announcements
  E.W. Theinert, of Providence, R.I., will deliver an address upon socialism in U. V. W. Hall this evening at 7:30...
  Worcester Daily Spy
  Worcester, Massachusetts
  November 22, 1896
  
  
• 1898 - Providence - The Colony of Hope by William B. Weeden
  The capital of Rhode Island, the second city of New England, an agricultural village in the seventeenth, a commercial port in the eighteenth, and a...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1899 - Socialist Labor Party. E. W. Theinert of Providence Was the Orator of the Evening
  
  Pawtucket Times
  Pawtucket, Rhode Island
  March 31, 1899
  
  
•  May 15, 1900: Rain and fish fell from the sky in Olneyville, Rhode Island. Most of the fish measured 2- to 4-inches long.
  NOTE: Olneyville is a neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island
  The Old Farmer's Almanac www.almanac.com
  May 15, 1900
  
  
• 
  The Mall, Exchange Place, Providence, R.I.
  Postcard
  
• 
  Civic Center
  Postcard
  
• 
  Crown Hotel
  Postcard
  
• 
  Journal Building. Providence, R. I.
  Postcard
  
• 
  Providence College, Providence, R. I.
  Postcard
  
• 
  Carrie Tower, Brown University, Providence, R. I.
  Postcard
  
• 
  Concert Pavilion and Casino, Roger Williams Park, Providence, R. I.
  Postcard
  
• 
  Washington Bridge. Providence, R. I.
  Postcard
  
•  1904 - SLIPPERY SIDEWALKS - City Ordinance Does Not Appear to Be Effective.
  The sidewalks in the city of Providence are beginning to assume the same condition as last winter, many of them being already covered with snow and...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1905 - $100,000 FIRE IN PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND
  Providence, R. I., March 16 - Fire and water today damaged Music Hall block in the center of the city to an amount estimated at $100,000.
  The Piqua Daily Call
  Piqua, Ohio
  March 16, 1905
  
  
•  1905 - PANIC FOLLOWS EXPLOSION. All Providence Scared Over Prediction of Christmas Disaster.
  Special to The New York Times.
  
  PROVIDENCE, R. I., Dec. 22. - A slight explosion in a jewelry factory, within a short block of the shopping...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1905 - PIRATE DRUGGED HIM. Arrested Shipmate Tells Strange Story of Sloop Dorado.
  Special to The New York Times.
  
  NEWPORT, Oct. 24. - The arrest of Otto Steifel in Providence to-day proved of great importance in clearing up the...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1906
  Providence, a city, port of entry, capital of the state of Rhode Island, and the county seat of Providence co., is situated at the head of navigation ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1908 - Luxury Tax on Bachelors
  The Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, has issued an "irade" declaring that bachelors should be taxed. Evidently His Honor believes that...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 
  Gorham Mfg. Co. Plant and Elmwood Railway Station
  Postcard
  
• 
  John Carter Brown Library, Brown University
  Postcard
  
• 
  S. S. Peter's and Paul's Cathedral
  Postcard
  
• 
  Rhode Island State Capitol
  Postcard
  
• 
  Turks Head Building
  Postcard
  
• 
  Coleman & Remington
  Photographie Studio
  25 Westminster St.
  Providence, R.I.
  Advertisement
  
• 
  Weybosset Street, Providence, R.I.
  Postcard
  
•  1912 - Cotton Mill King Dead
  Providence, Rhode Island, Nov. 26. - Robert Knight, owner of more cotton mills than any other individual in the world, died today, aged eighty-six....Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 
  Rhode Island State Normal School, 1912
  Postcard
  
•  1914 - Theinert Nominated by State Socialists Lincoln Man Named for Governor in State Convention of Party
  
  Pawtucket Times
  Pawtucket, Rhode Island
  October 12, 1914
  
  
• 
  New State Armory
  Postcard
  
• 
  Rhode Island Hospital Trust Co.
  Postcard
  
• 
  Moses Brown School
  Postcard
  
• 
  The New R.R. Station
  Postcard
  
• 
  Patents - U.S. and Foreign
  Joseph A. Miler & Company
  
  New Bedford ... directory : of the inhabitants, business firms, institutions, streets, societies (1915) Author: W.A. Greenough & Co Volume: 1915 Publisher: Boston : W.A. Greenough & Co.
  advertisement
  
• 
  Crompton & Knowles Loom Works
  Postcard
  
• 
  New Industrial Trust Building, Exchange Place
  Postcard
  
• 1927 - The Dartmouth [New Hampshire] football team, scheduled to play Brown at Providence, R. I. tomorrow, was marooned at Hanover, N. H.
  Overflowing of the White River had flooded a bridge between Hanover and White River Junction, Vt., making it impossible for the team to reach White...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 
  First Baptist Meeting House
  Postcard
  
• 
  "Front Campus"
  Brown University
  Providence, R.I.
  Postcard
  
• 1938 - "Long Island Express" - HURRICANE, FLOODS SWEEP NEW ENGLAND. 296 WERE KILLED IN STORM ALONG ATLANTIC COAST; PROPERTY DAMAGE ENORMOUS.
  ...Providence Struck By Tidal Wave.
  Providence was one of the chief sufferers in Rhode Island, tremendous tides sweeping 1,000 feet into the city...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1944 - HURRICANE HITS NEW YORK AND NEW ENGLAND COASTS. HIGH WINDS LASH JERSEY, LONG ISLAND.
  ...In Providence the water of the Providence River was but three feet from the floor of the Point Street bridge. The river empties into Narragansett...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1945 - March 29 - Providence, RI, hit 90 degrees to establish a March record for the New England area.
  
  The Weather Channel
  March 29, 1945
  
  
• 1949 - July 10 - WJAR TV channel 10 in Providence, RI (NBC) begins broadcasting
  
  historyorb.com
  
  
• 1954 - Hurricane Carol - HURRICANE ROARS ACROSS LONG ISLAND. FIVE KILLED BY STORM IN NEW ENGLAND.
  ...Providence, R. I., was flooded when the storm struck at high tide. Water pushed into the downtown area to within two feet of the level reached in...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1960 - October 20 - 1st fully mechanized post office opened, Providence, RI
  
  historyorb.com
  October 20, 1960
  
  
• 1975 - August 2 - Temperature reached 104 degrees at Providence, RI
  
  The Weather Channel