6Neutaconkanut Hill 7 Rhode Island Charter at the State House 5 Roger

4 Weybosset Bridge & the Cove 5 Roger Williams National Memorial 6Neutaconkanut Hill Weybosset in the The Roger A fabulous view Narragansett Williams Nation- of Providence Indian language al Memorial was can be seen from meant, “crossing established by the top of Neu- place,” a narrow, Congress in 1965 taconakanut Hill shallow place on to commemorate in a park on the North Main Street park entrance the river that In- Williams’ “out- western border Weybosset Bridge today dians used to walk standing contributions to the development of the of the City of Providence. Its hiking trails lead from one side of Narragansett Bay to the other, pre- principles of freedom in this country.” to rocks that mark the location where aboriginal sumably during low to mid-tides. Weybosset is just The memorial, a 4.5 acre urban greenspace at 282 people once gathered for meetings, including south of the convergence of two rivers, theWoonas- North Main Street near the State House and down- the Narragansett, Nipmuc, Massachusetts and quatucket and Moshassuck, flowing south into the town Providence, includes a freshwater spring Pokanoket Tribes. Providence River, at the upper end of Narragansett which was the center of the settlement of Provi- The Neutaconkanut Hill Park is open year Bay. Today, it lies at the bottom of College Street. dence Plantations founded by Williams in 1636. around from dawn to dusk near the intersection of Weybosset was also where three important Ab- It is on this site that Williams, through word and Killingly and Sunset Avenue in the Silver Lake Dis- original Indian trails met, one coming down from action, fought for the ideal that religion must not trict of Providence (Take Interstate Route 195 to the north, the second up from the southeast Mount be subject to regulation by the state but, instead, Rte 6 West to the RI-128/Killingly Street exit and Hope region called the Wampanoag Trail, and that it should be a matter of individual conscience. follow Killingly Street south to Sunset Avenue). the third up from It was a remarkable journey that brought 7 Connecticut in the Williams to what is now the capital of Rhode Island Rhode Island Charter at the State House southwest called and to where he put his beliefs into practice, giving The Royal Charter the Pequot Trail. “shelter for persons distressed of conscience.” of 1663 was a docu- Later the Wey- The Antram- ment granted by bosset name was Gray House an King Charles II of given to a wooden early 18th century England to settlers Providence in 1700 colonial toll in Rhode Island structure with a A portion of the original charter bridge built by the early settlers across the Provi- late 18th century which allowed them dence River at the entrance to the Cove prior to addition, serves Depiction of Providence in 1650 to govern their own colony and guaranteed their 1660. Roger Williams (1603-1683), founder of as the visitor center individual freedom of religion. Providence and the Rhode Island Colony, served for the Roger Williams National Memorial. The Charter holds a unique place in the evolu- for a time as the toll taker at Weybosset in his The 17th century gardens at Roger Williams Na- tion of human rights in the modern world. When elderly years. Gradually the Cove was filled in and tional Memorial include two interpretive gardens: King Charles II granted the Charter, it marked the became much of the land in Downtown Provi- an aboriginal garden and a colonial kitchen garden. first time in history that a monarch allowed the dence. right of individuals within a society to practice the The first bridge was poorly constructed and fell Regular Hours: Monday - Sunday: religion of their choice without any interference into disrepair by the late 1670s, so the townspeople Open 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM from the government. This freedom was extremely and their livestock waded across the ford until a Winter Hours: January through March radical in an age marked by wars of religion and second bridge was constructed in 1711. During the Mondays - Tuesdays: Closed persecution of people for religious beliefs. early years, farmers from the meadows to the west Wednesday - Sunday: The original charter may be seen at the Charter crossed over the bridge and sold their produce in Open 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Museum in the State House between 8:30 a.m. what is still known today as Market Square. Holidays: Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year’s and 4:30 p.m. on non-holiday weekdays. 4 any people think that the 17th century is gone Weybosset Bridge & the Cove 5 Roger Williams National Memorial 2 Slate Rock Park Min Barrington and Swansea. No buildings from Slate Rock Park at that time survive intact, and much that was here has Gano and Wil- been transformed or covered over with new buildings. liams Streets on the If you know where to look, however, you’ll find East Side is named evidence of that important time when these two after the ledge where towns were just starting. Each location tells part Roger Williams of the story that can be put together to show and a handful of his what initially took place here 400 years ago. followers are said to have first stepped ashore after Locate these eleven places on the map in this crossing from their original settlement on Omega brochure, and then travel to each one on foot, Pond, across the Seekonk River, in the spring of 1636. by bicycle or by car to learn more about how When they arrived, they had the good fortune this area started and who was here at the time. to be met on a large slate rock by a number of friendly Narragansett Indians, one of whom Visit the SowamsHeritageArea.org website and greeted them with the phrase “What cheer, find over fifty locations on-line that are part of Netop?” a mixture of English and Narragansett. the story of what happened in East Bay RI and (See the photo on the cover of this brochure) nearby Massachusetts in the 17th century. The Indians directed the group to continue Support for this project was provided by the Rhode Island Council for the Humani- down the river, around the point to the west, and ties, an independent state affiliate of the up a small river to a cove where they established National Endowment for the Humanities. a settlement that would become Providence. 1 North Burial Ground & Rev. Chad Brown 3 Prior to 1700, colonists India Point Park buried their dead in fam- In 1680, Provi- ily graveyards that hap- dence’s first wharf hazardly peppered the was erected near Providence landscape. As today’s Transit Providence’s townspeople Street. Originally sought more efficient called Tockwotton use of the land, the tradition of family graveyards by the Aboriginal Americans, the point along the declined and a burial ground was set aside. Seekonk River became known as India Point after Though the first burial didn’t take place until John Brown began shipping tea and spices from the 1711, the North Burial Ground is the location East and West Indies. India Point Park replaced the where early Providence settler Chad Brown was wharf after Route 195 was constructed. reburied sometime following his death in 1650. During the 18th century, Providence was trans- In 1639, Rev. Chad Brown assumed the leader- formed from a rural hamlet into a seaport, trading ship of the First Baptist Church in America which with other colonies, the West Indies, Africa, and had been briefly pastored by Roger Williams. The England. India Point remained an important trade church members worshipped in a grove or orchard center until the end of the Great Depression. Old and in the houses of its members, and Brown re- timbers from previous docks can be seen India 6 7 mained pastor until his death sometime before 1650. Rhode Island Charter at the State House Neutaconkanut Hill Park at the mouth of the Seekonk River..

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