History of Providence, (Providence County) Rhode Island United States of America

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Local History Notes:

PROVIDENCE, a county forming the N.W. extremity of Rhode Island, has an area of about 380 square miles. It is bounded in part on the E. by Blackstone river, and on the S. by Pawtuxet river, and is principally drained by these streams and their branches, which afford extensive water-power. The commercial facilities of this county are great, and the inhabitants are largely engaged in manufactures. The surface is rough and uneven. The soil is generally fertile and well-cultivated. Indian corn, potatoes, and grass are the staples. In 1850 this county produced 157,070 bushels of corn; 308,379 of potatoes; 33,205 tons of hay, and 476,343 pounds of butter. The quantity of corn, potatoes, hay, and butter was each greater than that produced by any other county in the state. There were 98 cotton and 18 woollen factories, 8 calico-printing mills, 5 iron and 2 brass foundries, 5 chandleries, 6 currying establishments, 36 manufactories of silver ware and jewelry, 2 of hardware, 2 of India rubber, 2 of steam-engines, 3 of screws and nails, 4 of dyestuffs, 12 of coaches, 11 of clothing, 2 of chemicals, 8 of cabinet ware, 3 of farming implements, 26 machine shops, 13 grist, 3 paper, and 38 saw and planing mills. It contained 101 churches, 11 newspaper offices; 13,370 pupils attending public schools, and 1004 attending academies and other schools. The Providence river is navigable for ships along the border of this county to Providence. The county is intersected by the Stonington, and the Providence and Worcester railroads, and by the Blackstone canal. Capital, Providence. Population, 87,526.

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 navigation on the north-western arm of Narraganset bay, or Providence river, as it is called, 35 miles from the ocean, 43 miles S. S. W. from Boston, and about 175 miles N. E. from New York. Lat. 41° 49' 22" N., lon. 71° 24' 48" W. The river divides the city into two nearly equal parts, which are connected by several substantial bridges, one of which is 90 feet wide. The site is very irregular, portions of it rising into prominent elevations, the highest of which on the W. is 78 feet, and on the E. 204 feet above the level of the harbor. On account of the inequalities of the surface, but little regard was paid to regularity in laying out the streets, though from time to time many of them have been variously improved. Near the centre of the business portion of the city is a delightful sheet of water, of an elliptic form, about a mile in circumference, constituting the head waters of Naraganset bay. Around this basin, which is enclosed by a wall of stone masonry, the city authorities have recently laid out a fine public park or promenade, 80 feet in width, and adorned it with a variety of shade-trees, gravelled walks, &c. The private edifices are built mostly of wood, though in the construction of a few, brick, granite, and other material, have been used. The latter are for the most part spacious and elegant dwellings, finely situated.

Many of the public buildings are extensive and costly structures. The Arcade, a beautiful granite edifice, situated on the W. side of the river, cost at the time of its erection, in 1828, $130,000. It is 226 feet long, 80 feet deep, and three stories high, extending from Broad street to Westminster. Each front is adorned with a Doric portico, consisting of six massive granite pillars, each a single block. The building is divided into three stories, containing upwards of 80 shops, the whole lighted by a glass roof. "What Cheer" building, recently erected at the corner of North and South Mine streets, is a fine freestone edifice, chiefly occupied with public offices. The title ("What Cheer") is derived from the first salutation which the natives made to Roger Williams and his party of settlers on landing at Slate rock. Among the other public buildings may be mentioned the State House, a brick structure, the Museum and Howard Hall, two handsome edifices on Westminster street, and the market house, on Market square. The latter is a plain brick building, containing in the second story various offices of the city government, and in the third a hall owned and occupied by the Freemasons. The railroad depôts in Providence, both for passengers and merchandise, are extensive and commodious buildings, situated in the business portion of the city, near each other, and so arranged that passengers or freight can pass from one to the other without changing cars. The most remarkable church edifices are the First Congregational church, built of granite, Grace church, a Gothic structure, St. John's, a stone building, the Beneficent Congregational, the Westminster Congregational, and St. Peter's and St. Patrick's churches. The First Baptist society, the oldest religious organization in Providence, have a beautiful wood edifice. The whole number of churches of the various denominations in the city at present is about 35, 5 or 6 of which belong to colored congregations.

The benevolent and disciplinary institutions of Providence are numerous, and conducted upon the most approved systems. The Butler Hospital for the Insane, incorporated in 1844, under the title of the Rhode Island Hospital for the Insane, is situated on the western bank of Seekonk river, which here expands to near a mile in breadth, affording a delightful prospect. Attached to the institution are extensive grounds, comprising about 60 acres under cultivation and 55 of native woodland. The number of patients in the hospital at the commencement of 1853 was 127. Admitted during the year, 68; discharged, 38; died, 16. The entire sum contributed towards the erection and support of the hospital up to 1851, amounted to near $150,000, of which $30,000 was bequeathed by the late Nicholas Brown, of Providence, and $40,000 by Cyrus Butler, Esq., from whom the institution derives its name. The building was first opened for the reception of patients December 1, 1847. Annual expenses, from $20,000 to $25,000. The Dexter Asylum, for the accommodation of the poor, is located on an elevated range of land E. of the river. It is a substantial brick building, 170 feet long, including the wings, and three stories high. The grounds, comprising some 40 acres, are enclosed by a stone wall 10 feet high and 3 feet thick at the base, costing upwards of $20,000. The Reform School, established in 1850, for the discipline of juvenile offenders between the ages of 8 and 18, occupies the building formerly known as the Sockwotton House, situated in the south-eastern section of the city. It is under the direction of a board of trustees, elected annually by the city council, and provides accommodations for about 190 inmates. Admissions the first year, 52, of whom 49 were boys. Providence is also the seat of the state prison, which, in October, 1850, contained about 40 convicts.

Providence is highly distinguished for its literary and educational institutions. Brown University, (under the direction of the Baptists,) originally founded at Warren, in 1764, and removed to Providence in 1770, is situated on the highest ground E. of the river, commanding an extensive, varied, and beautiful prospect. It comprises 4 principal buildings, viz. Manning Hall, appropriated to the use of the library, Rhode Island Hall, containing the cabinet, chemical and philosophical apparatus, and lecture rooms, and University Hall and Hope College, two large edifices occupied by the students. Connected with the university is a scientific school, established for the benefit of such as do not choose to pursue a classical course. This department is arranged for a residence either of one or two years. For statistics, see Table of Colleges, APPENDIX. The Athenæum, incorporated in 1836, has a reading room, and a valuable library of about 12,000 volumes. The building, an elegant stone structure, was erected in 1837, at the corner of College and Benefit streets. The Yearly Meeting Boarding School (belonging to the Friends) occupies a lot of 43 acres, lying in the eastern part of the city, a short distance N. of the Dexter Asylum. Belonging to it are two buildings, one consisting of a centre 54 feet square and 3 stories high, with 2 wings each 84 feet by 42, and another 50 feet by 40, and 2 stories high. The institution is liberally endowed, and in a prosperous condition. A legacy of $100,000 was bequeathed it by the late Obadiah Brown, Esq. This city has the merit of being first in the state to take the lead in favor of popular education. The schools at present are about 50 in number, comprising four grades, viz. the high-school, grammar, intermediate, and primary schools. Number of pupils in attendance, from 6000 to 6500. Amount annually appropriated for school purposes, about $45,000, of which nearly one-fourth is received from the state. Eight or nine newspapers are published in the city, 3 of which are dailies. The inflammable material of which most of the buildings are constructed renders necessary a very strong and efficient fire department. This organization is maintained at an annual expense of about $20,000, and is probably not inferior to that of any city in the Union. Numerous railroads also communicate with the interior, besides which are several others either in process of construction or projected.

Providence is advantageously situated for commerce. Its harbor is safe, and admits vessels of 900 tons. Formerly the port carried on an extensive trade with Canton and the East Indies; but since the introduction of manufactures its foreign commerce has considerably declined. The foreign arrivals for the year ending June 30, 1852, were 57, (tons, 7944,) of which 30 (tons, 5150) were by American vessels. The clearances for foreign ports during the same period were 60, (tons, 9876,) of which 34 (tons, 7263) were by American vessels. The coastwise arrivals for the year 1852 were 4861 vessels. The principal articles of foreign merchandise now imported are molasses, sugar, coal, salt, and iron, with an occasional cargo from Africa, consisting of ivory, gum, tortoise shell, cloves, dates. &c. The principal articles received coastwise during the year 1852 were cotton, 100,378 bales, an increase of 30,498 bales over any former year; flour, 144,930 barrels, against 116,045 barrels the previous year; grain, 835,988 bushels; hay, 587 tons, and coal, 134,191 tons, being an increase of 26,677 tons over any former year. The total value of foreign imports for the year 1852 amounted to $175,220, and of domestic produce exported to foreign countries, $41,576. Amount of duties collected, $38,489. The shipping of the port, June 30, 1852, amounted to an aggregate of 9095 16/95 tons, registered, and 7326 82/95 tons enrolled and licensed. Of the former, 864 54/95 tons were employed in the whale fishery; and of the latter, 1008 82/95 tons in the coast trade, and 395 55/95 tons in steam navigation. During the year, 8 vessels, with an aggregate burthen of 1699 52/95 tons, were admeasured.

The manufactures of Providence and its vicinity are very extensive, and employ a capital of about $6,000,000. They consist chiefly of cotton and woollen goods, machinery, castings, various articles of hardware, power-loom pickers, furniture, carriages, jewelry, &c. There are several large establishments for grinding grain, sawing and planing lumber, and working in marble. In addition to the water-power, which is extensively employed, upwards of 50 steam-engines are kept in constant operation.

According to the returns made to the General Assembly of Rhode Island, at the October session, 1852, the city of Providence at that date contained 26 banks, with a capital stock actually paid in amounting to $10,362,610; bills in circulation, $1,880,697; specie actually in bank, $271,576.94. The average semi-annual dividend was 3 67/78 per cent. The amount of deposites in the Providence Savings Institution, as reported to the same session of the General Assembly, was $1,127,007.67. Thompson's Banknote Detector for October, 1853, gives 31 banks in Providence.--The annual expenses of the government amount to about $170,000.

The city is divided into 6 wards, and governed by a mayor, board of aldermen, and common council composed of 24 persons, 4 from each ward, elected annually.

Providence was settled by Roger Williams in 1635. A local government was organized in 1640, and in 1649 the settlement was incorporated as a town. The first houses were erected near St. John's church, on what is now North Main street. A spring in that vicinity still bears the name of the founder, and it is supposed that his remains were interred near by, though no stone marks their last resting-place. Providence suffered severely during King Philip's war. At one time it was nearly destroyed by fire, and almost entirely deserted of its inhabitants. Since the Revolution, its prosperity, with very slight exceptions, has been uninterrupted. In wealth and population it has long been the second city in New England. For the last ten years its growth has been remarkably rapid. Population in 1830, 15,941; 1840, 23,170; 1850, 41,512; and in 1853, about 47,500.

Biographies:

Nicholas Cooke, governor of Rhode Island, was born in Providence, R. I., Feb. 3, 1717; son of Daniel and Mary (Power) Cooke. In early life he was a successful shipmaster and subsequently engaged in the rope-making and distilling businesses, in which he accumulated a fortune which he invested in land in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In May, 1768, he was elected deputy-governor and was again elected in 1775. Upon the deposition of Gov. Joseph Wanton on Oct. 31, 1775, he was chosen chief magistrate and served until May, 1778, declining a re-election. At the close of his term he received the official thanks of the general assembly for his services. He proposed to congress the encouraging of the manufacture of saltpetre, and the general assembly of Rhode Island offered a bounty of three shillings per pound for all manufactured in the colony and delivered to the government, to supply the want of gunpowder in the American army. He was a trustee of Brown university, 1766-82. He was married, Sept. 23, 1740, to Hannah, daughter of Hezekiah Sabin, and they had twelve children. He died in Providence, R. I., Nov. 14, 1782.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Simon Newton Dexter, manufacturer, was born in Providence, R.I., May 11, 1785; son of Andrew Dexter, the first cotton manufacturer in the country, and a nephew of Judge Samuel Dexter, 1761-1816. He attended Brown university for a brief period, removing to Boston at an early age to enter a mercantile house. He remained in that city until 1815 when he removed to Whitesboro, N.Y., and engaged in civil engineering. He built a part of the Erie canal in 1817, and of the Chesapeake and Delaware canal, 1824-29. In 1830 he accepted the agency of the Oriskany manufacturing company in Whitesboro, N.Y., and in 1832 became manager of the Dexter company, meanwhile investing heavily and successfully in various other manufacturing interests. He was president of the Whitesboro bank, 1833-53, and held other local positions. He was a trustee of Hamilton college, Clinton, N.Y., 1835-62, and a generous patron of that institution, supporting a professorship for some years, and giving to the college in all over $30,000. He died in Whitesbero, N.Y., Nov. 18, 1862.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Albert Gorton Greene, jurist, was born in Providence, R.I., Feb. 10, 1802; son of John Holden and Elizabeth (Beverly) Greene; grandson of Thomas Rice and Mary (Briggs) Greene, and a descendant of John Greene, a contemporary of Roger Williams who with Samuel Gotten settled Warwick, R.I. He prepared for college at the university grammar school in Providence, and was graduated from Brown in 1820. He was admitted to the bar in 1823, and opened an office in Providence where he was clerk of the city council, 1832-67; clerk of the municipal court, 1832-57; and judge of the municipal court, 1858-67. He drafted the original school bill of Rhode Island, was one of the founders of the Providence Athen?um, and president of the R.I. historical society, 1854-68. He was a student of English literature, and at the time of his death possessed a large private library. His collection of American poetry finally passed to Brown university. In 1824 he was married to Mary Ann, daughter of Benjamin Clifford of Providence. One of their daughters became the wife of the Rev. Dr. Samuel White Duncan, and when Judge Greene resigned from the municipal bench in 1867, he removed to his daughter's home in Cleveland, Ohio. Judge Greene edited Thomas Dring's Recollections of the Jersey Prison Ship (1829), and the Literary Journal (1833). Besides articles in periodicals he is the author of the poems Old Grimes, the Militia Muster. Adelheid, The Baron's Last Banquet, and Canonchet. He died in Cleveland, Ohio, Jan. 3, 1868.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Jeremiah Brown Howell, senator, was born in Providence, R.I., Aug. 28, 1771; son of Judge David and Mary (Brown) Howell; grandson of Aaron and Sarah Howell and of Jeremiah and Waitstill (Rhodes) Brown; and a descendant of Edward Howell, gentleman, of Marsh Gibbon, Buckinghamshire, England. His father was a delegate to the Continental congress and professor in Brown university. He was graduated at Brown, A.B., 1789, A.M., 1791; and also received the degree of A.B., from Dartmouth in 1791. He was a lawyer in Providence, R.I., 1791-1822, and represented his state in the U.S. senate as successor to Elisha Mathewson, 1811-17. He married, Oct. 17,1793, his second cousin, Martha, only child of John and Wait (Field) Brown, and died in Providence, R.L, Feb. 6, 1822.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor