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from Brown University's Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World

Tag: Rhode Island history

Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission Bulletin

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On March 6, 2024

In News and Events

The monthly bulletin for the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission (RIHPHC) is live! Some featured events, grants, and projects can be found below.

Supporting Local Preservation Programs

The RIHPHC wishes congratulations to the recipients of the 2023 Certified Local Government grants. The recipients for the 2023 year are:

  • Coventry: 10,000 to survey Arkwright, Harris, and Greene Villages
  • Cranston/Preserve Rhode Island: $16,000 to prepare a National Register Historic District (NRHD) nomination for Garden City
  • Cumberland: $12,000 to prepare an NRHD nomination for Grant’s Mill
  • East Providence: $8,000 to complete a condition assessment and preservation plan for Newman Cemetery
  • Providence/Neutaconkanut Hill Conservancy: $7,500 to prepare an NRHD nomination for Neutaconkanut Hill Park
  • South Kingston: $20,000 to survey areas of Matunuck threatened by costal flooding and sea level rise

If you are interested in applying to the grant for the 2024 year, please see more information here.

Diversifying Representation on the National Register

Rhode Island’s African American Civil Rights history initiative (launched in 2015) rolls on!

RIHPHC was recently awarded an Underrepresented Communities Grant from the National Park Service to fund a Multiple Property Documentation Form and National Register nominations for four properties related to the theme of African American Civil Rights.

Meanwhile, work is underway to nominate the former home of John Carter Minkins to the National Register. A professional journalist, Minkins (1869-1959) is recognized as the first person of African heritage to lead a white-owned newspaper in the U.S. He was one of Rhode Island’s leading civil rights advocates, wielding the power of the press and his oratorical skills to call out and fight racial injustice.

Rhode Island Cemetery Works

RIHPHC and the Rhode Island Advisory Commission on Historical Cemeteries (RIACHC) will present R.I. Historical Cemeteries Awareness and Preservation Weeks in April – May 2024. Look forward to tours, clean-ups, gravestone conservation demonstrations, talks, and additional free programs that raise awareness about Rhode Island’s historic cemeteries and promote their preservation.

Have a program proposal? Please contact Christine MacWilliams (cmacwilliams58@yahoo.com) of Rhode Island Advisory Commission on Historical Cemeteries.

Heritage Happenings for March

  • 47th Annual Newport Irish Heritage. Month
  • Pawtucket’s 42nd St. Patrick’s Parade (3/2)
  • Museum of Work & Culture hosts “La Francophonie” events (3/3, 3/14, and 3/24)
  • Providence St. Patrick’s Day Parade (3/9)
  • Tomaquag Museum’s Maple Thanksgiving (3/9)
  • Nowruz 1403 with the International House of RI and Iranian American Cultural Society (3/16)
  • RI Day of Portugal’s Annual Breakfast
  • Tomaquag Museum’s Lunch and Learn Series (3/25)
  • Tomaquag Museum hosts 2024 Monthly Book Club (3/26)

For more information regarding the events sponsored by the RIHPHC, please visit their website here.

View the 2022 RI Heritage Festival Online!

By

On December 8, 2023

In News and Events

The Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission has uploaded the full schedule of the 2022 Rhode Island Heritage Festival. Their digital events can be found through this youtube link, and are open to all viewers.

Updates from the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission

By

On December 8, 2023

In Funding & Fellowships, News and Events

The Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission’s monthly bulletin is now available. The information below can be found on this bulletin; to sign up for a monthly e-newsletter and stay updated by the RH-PCH’s work, click this link.

Historic Preservation CAMP in Warwick

This October, dozens of Rhode Island Historic District Commission members and staff, as well as RIHPHC and Statewide Planning staff went to CAMP in Warwick. The Commission Assistance and Mentoring Program (CAMP) was presented by preservation planners Amber Stimpson and Chris Skelly on behalf of the National Association of Preservation Commissions (NAPC).

They met in Warwick’s Sawtooth Building—also known as the Apponaug Mill—for presentations on Preservation Planning, Alternative Materials, Secretary’s Standards and Local Guidelines, Public Outreach and Community Engagement, the Role of the Commissioner, and Violations and Enforcement.

Attendees were engaged and inspired—and they fulfilled their new 3-hour training requirement for members of municipal land use boards.

Prudent Stewardship

RIHPHC staff members Roberta Randall and Elizabeth Totten recently inspected the Sandy Point Lighthouse, which has been transferred from federal ownership to the Prudence Conservancy. This non-profit organization has managed the lighthouse in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard since 2001. The Conservancy plans to clean the lighthouse to remove biological growth and staining in anticipation of opening the building for tours led by the Prudence Island Historical & Preservation Society next summer.

The oldest extant lighthouse in Rhode Island, Sandy Point Lighthouse was constructed in 1823 in Newport Harbor and moved to Prudence Island in 1851. This two-story, tapered octagonal lighthouse is constructed of smoothly-faced granite blocks painted white and is capped by a rare “bird cage” lantern. The interior features a cut granite winder stair leading to the cast-iron balcony.

Three cheers for this historic lighthouse as it begins its third century!

Writer Grant and Fellowship Opportunities

There are many opportunities to secure funding for your preservation project:

More December updates can be found on their website.

Rhode Island Archaeology Month and Community Archaeology Retrospective

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On November 10, 2023

In In the News

Take a look at the events that occurred this October for Rhode Island Archaeology Month! Ethan Shorey from Valley Breeze provides a list of the events this year in his article here. Keep an eye out next year for more fun events and opportunities to learn about the archaeology of Rhode Island!

Rhode Island Archaeology Month

By

On September 27, 2023

In News and Events

Join the Rhode Island Historical PReservation and Heritage Commission to celebrate Rhode Island Archaeology Month! This month long event features 17 free public programs this October. Participate in tours, lectures, hands-on projects, and other activities led by professional archaeologists.

Special thanks to the Archaeological Institute of America Narragansett Society, Battle of Rhode Island Association, Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park, Everyday Anthropology, HDR, Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Harmony Library, Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, Old Slater Mill Association, Portsmouth Historical Society, Public Archaeology Laboratory (PAL), Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project, Salve Regina University, Scituate Preservation Society, South Kingstown 300, University of Rhode Island, and Warwick Public Library.

Find a full description of the event calendar here. Registrati0n may be required for some events.

Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission Fall Focus

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On September 18, 2023

In Exhibits, News and Events

RIHPHC is hosting a variety of events this fall!

Join them for Rhode Island’s 45th Heritage Festival, which will explore the world through art and music. It is on Saturday, October 21 from 12pm to 5pm. It will take place at WaterFire Arts Center in Providence. It is open to the public and free!

They will also be hosting Rhode Island Archaeology Month in October 2023. Rhode Island Archaeology Month will feature free public programs led by professional archaeologists from Brown University, HDR, PAL, RIHPHC, RI Marine Archaeology Project, Salve Regina University, University of Rhode Island, and more. Here’s a calendar preview–with more events to come:

  • Archaeological Examples of Narragansett Indian & Native American Life (virtual)
  • Archaeological Excavations at the Old Potterville School (Scituate)
  • Archaeology Month Open House at Old Slater Mill (Pawtucket)
  • Archaeology of Glocester
  • Behind the Scenes: Engaging the Americas at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology Mellon Grant Project (Providence)
  • History and Archaeology of the URI Campus Landscape (South Kingstown)
  • Preservation After Dark Open Lab at Salve Regina University (Newport)
  • The HMS Gaspee Archaeology Study: An Exhibit Opening (Warwick)
  • Uncover Archaeology: Community Archaeology Day at the Joukowsky Institute (Providence)

Check the website for all the events–including hands-on activities, walks, talks, exhibits, and open houses–and full details. Rhode Island Archaeology Month is organized by the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission in collaboration with individual and organizational partners.

Free Tour of North Burial Ground – Rhode Island Historical Society Member Exclusive

By

On September 18, 2023

In News and Events

Join City Cemetery Director Annalisa Heppner for a tour of selected internments, monuments, and landscape features at Providence’s North Burial Ground. “Meet” historical figures, learn about headstone iconography, and the history of the burial ground itself.

The tour is free to members and begin at 4:30pm on Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Register here!

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