The Providence River begins its journey from the confluence of the Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket Rivers, in the capital city from which the river takes its name. A short distance downstream, the Seekonk River joins with the Providence as they flow on toward the mouth of Narragansett Bay. The history of the Ocean State was made on the banks of this historic river. It was here that Roger Williams established the first settlement dedicated to religious...

Dating back to the colonial era, the historic barns and outbuildings of Rhode Island have withstood the test of time. From the state's early barnyard taverns to the modern-day horse and dairy farms that populate rural Rhode Island, each of these buildings has a story to tell. In the mid-eighteenth century, the Narragansett planters bred horses on their farms in southern Rhode Island. Later, dairy farms sprang up across the region. Milking barns were...

“The author of seven previous history books draws a portrait of the hardships and mysteries that were a part of the early settlers’ everyday lives” (CoastalMags.com).
 
The New World was full of unusual occurrences and strange trials for the early colonists of New England. Devastating plagues, violent conflicts with Native Americans, and freak weather ravaged whole communities. When settlers saw an...

"In December 1777, the Continental army was encamped at Valley Forge and faced weeks of cold and hunger, as well as the prospect of many troops leaving as their terms expired in the coming months. If the winter were especially cruel, large numbers of soldiers would face death or contemplate desertion. Plans were made to enlist more men, but as the states struggled to fill quotas for enlistment, Rhode Island general James Mitchell Varnum proposed the...

The story of the indigenous people in what would become Rhode Island, their encounters with Europeans, and their return to sovereignty in the twentieth century.
Before Roger Williams set foot in the New World, the Narragansett farmed corn and squash, hunted beaver and deer, and harvested clams and oysters throughout what would become Rhode Island. They also obtained wealth in the form of wampum, a carved shell that was used as currency...

"Follow the author as he explores the once bustling stagecoach routes and turnpikes that crisscrossed communities throughout New England. Now quiet country lanes in the age of superhighways, traveling these routes today lets us explore the houses and buildings that still remain, and learn the history of the these homes and businesses, of the people who lived and worked within the communities these roads connected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries."...

"This second volume of A Cocumscussoc Reader focuses on some remarkable women. It examines the steadfast indigenous leader whose lands included Queen's Island and whose people provided the wampum essential for early trade. It discusses the resilient women who shared in the arduous work of turning a homestead into a home. And it includes a look at the devoted wives of the wealthy plantation era who raised their children in privilege but also in piety....

"The fundamental differences in beliefs, practices, property, and law were at the core of the Indian struggle against European expansion in southern New England. These essays explore the relationships and history between those native and new Americans, and the changes wrought both on the landscape and culture of the indigenous peoples of southern New England." --