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RHODE ISLAND
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A Photographic Portrait PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS
PROPERTY OF KarenTWINLIGHTS T. Bartlett PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Copyright © 2009 by Twin Lights Publishers, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the photographer. All images in this book PROPERTYhave been reproduced with the OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS knowledge and consent of the photographer and no responsibility is accepted by produc- er, publisher, or printer for any infringement of copyright or otherwise, arising from the contents of this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the con- tents of this book. First published in the United States of America by: Twin Lights Publishers, Inc. 8 Hale Street Rockport, Massachusetts 01966 Telephone: (978) 546-7398 http://www.twinlightspub.comPROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS ISBN: 978-1-934907-02-3 ISBN: 1-934907-02-2 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
(opposite) Jamestown Harbor
(frontispiece) Napatree Point, Westerly
(jacket front) Southeast Light,PROPERTY Block Island OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS (jacket back) Beavertail Lighthouse, Jamestown
Note of Appreciation Special thanks to the innkeepers and hosts at NYLO Hotel (Warwick), The Renaissance Providence Hotel, LaFarge Perry House (New- port), The King’s Rose (South Kingstown), The Lighthouse Inn of Galilee (Narragansett), Hampton Inn (Smithfield), Hotel Manisses and The National Hotel (Block Island). Also to the Narragansett Indian Tribe, Meredith Harrop and Kevin Hegarty of 12 Meter Charters (Newport), Blackstone Valley Outfitters (Cumberland),PROPERTY and Bird’s Eye View OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Helicopters (www.newportrihelicopter.com).
Photography and editorial by Karen T. Bartlett
Book design by SYP Design &PROPERTY Production, Inc. OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS www.sypdesign.com
Printed in China Rhode Island: The Ocean State PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Contrasts and Harmony From ancient weathered barns and simple fishing villages to the most lavish mansions of America’s Gilded Age; from sugary, rose-covered sand dunes to sheer clay cliffs; from the raging Atlantic surf with its vast graveyard of shipwrecks to tranquil bays and peaceful backwaters, Victorian-era gingerbread inns and 17th century working farms, Rhode Island is a state of unlikely contrasts and harmony. Her proper name is Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, establishedPROPERTY in 1663 by royal charter of King OF Charles TWINLIGHTS II. PUBLISHERS America’s smallest state with the longest name is just 37 miles across and 48 miles from north to south, yet if you count the hundreds of coves, bays and islands, she has an astounding 400 miles of coastline. Enjoy, when you must, the convenience of the Interstate high- ways that can get you from top to bottom in a little more than an hour, but the best way to experience Rhode Island’s magic and mysteries is by meandering the country roads and seaside highways, soaking in the ambience of rambling stone walls and rock-strewn beaches, and exploring the historic Revolutionary and Colonial era homes, churches, and taverns. Beyond the gleaming airport and the polished capital city of Providence,PROPERTY with its Ivy League universities, OF arts and TWINLIGHTS theatre, PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS luxury hotels and vibrant nightlife, one can travel more than 350 years back in time. Though this tiny state has just 39 cities and towns, much of its charm is tucked away in hundreds of vil- lages and settlements.
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4 5 A Rhode Island Welcome
Rhode Island sends out her beacon of welcome from some of North America’s most picturesque 18th and 19th-century light- houses, andPROPERTY she lures sailors from around OFthe world TWINLIGHTS to visit the PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS holy grail of Newport Harbor, home of the America’s Cup sail- boat races. While Newport’s dark days of the slave-financed rum trade are past, seaport livelihoods still revolve around fish- ing, lobstering, and the maritime life. Just as they welcomed the first explorers to the shores of their lands, the Narragansett Indians still welcome guests to their fes- tivals and celebrations. Their annual Green Corn Thanksgiving festival has been held each August for more than 330 years.
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Rhode Island debunks the myth that New England is all about work and seriousness. Otherwise, how does one explain Bristol, America’sPROPERTY most Patriotic Town, which paints OF its street TWINLIGHTS lines red, PUBLISHERS white and blue? Or Chepachet’s annual Parade of Ancients and Horribles? Or the carousels? Rhode Island boasts at least seven Victorian-age carousels. America’s only remaining “flying horse” carousel, circa 1876, still operates in Westerly. Its 20 hand-carved horses have real tails and manes, leather saddles and agate eyes. The cobalt blue beauty on this page is one of 60 animals in Roger Williams Park’s Carousel Village. PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS
6 Sultry Summertime
Summer in Rhode Island is about shimmering white sands, surfboards, sailboats, kayaks and sherbet-hued beach umbrellas. PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERSAny summer day is an excuse for an art or music or food festival. Swing dancers flock to Misquamicut’s Blues on the Beach con- certs on Wednesday evenings in July and August. Labor Day weekend brings renowned Cajun and Zydeco musicians for the three-day Rhythm & Roots festival in Charlestown. The Rhode Island International Film Festival is one of the top twelve festi- vals in the country, and nothing can prepare the senses for the 100 bonfires illuminating the rivers of downtown Providence during summer’s sultry Saturday night WaterFire festivals. In Pawtuxet Village, artsy, historic Gaspee Days commemorate PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS the 1772 burning of the HMS Gaspée. No offense to Boston and her Tea Party, but the burning of the Gaspée was the colonies’ first aggressive act against the British Crown that led to the Revolutionary War.
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9 A Feast for Foodies
In summer you fill your farm basket with plump, juicy raspber- ries and blueberries, and cool down with a big yellow cup of Del’s legendaryPROPERTY frozen lemonade. In autumn, OF there TWINLIGHTS are crisp PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS apples from the orchards… fresh-baked pumpkin pies, and per- haps the most flavorful authentic Italian cuisine this side of the Mediterranean on Federal Hill, the third largest Little Italy in America. Foodies will definitely want to check out the pizza in Cranston, and graze on “stuffies,” johnnycakes, and the revered state drink, coffee milk. As for pastries, well, if you travel more than a mile in any direction and do not encounter a Dunkin’ Donuts or a doughboy stand, you have either left the state or fallen into the water. PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS
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As for water, let me just say: tender steamed clams drenched in lemon and butter…succulent striped bass, two-pound lobsters right off the boat…wine-infused mussels… plump, locally har- vested oysters…PROPERTY seaside shacks dispensing OF overstuffed TWINLIGHTS lobster PUBLISHERS rolls, clam cakes, and, of course, “chowda.” Locals may hotly debate their clam chowder preferences (white, red or clear), but one thing is certain: seafood doesn’t get any better than here in the Ocean State.
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10 I’m grateful to Twin Lights Publishers for sending me on this delicious mission; and to Myrna George (South County), Brian Hodge (Providence and Warwick), MaryEllen Fitzpatrick (Newport), Robert Billington and Lorraine Provencher PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS(Blackstone Valley) and Jessica Willi (Block Island) for open- ing doors and making me fall in love with the richness and beauty of their special corners of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. My special thanks to fellow photographers Ron Wofford, John Castillo and Bruce Hutchison, who carried gear, shared my vision and helped me navigate the back roads. And to Jeff Codman, owner of Bird’s Eye View Helicopters, who flew me high above Newport in his wonderful red helicopter to capture the images on pages 34, 35, and 36. PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS
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I dedicate these pages to Margie and John Olsen, who flung the doors wide to their home and their hearts for weeks at a time, making this book possible.
PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS If you live here, lucky you. If you’re a visitor, do not leave with- out savoring as many of the tastes, textures, colors, and adven- tures that makes Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one of America’s best kept secrets. —Karen T. Bartlett
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS State House, Providence (opposite) Roger Williams Park, Providence (top) Jewel of Providence (bottom) The stunning neoclassical State House of The domed and columned Greek Revival First deeded by the Narragansetts to Roger white Georgia marble looks so much like the bandstand overlooking Roosevelt Lake is one Williams, then by Williams’ granddaughter to U.S. Capitol building that it was chosen to of many breathtaking vistas in the 430-acre the City of Providence, Roger Williams Park depict the capitol in the movie, Amistad. It has Roger Williams Park. Ironically, the lovely ranks among America’s finest urban parks. Its the fourth largest self-supporting stone dome bandstand, built in 1915, is more favored as a 12,000 square-foot botanical center is New in the world, behind the Taj Mahal, St. Peter’s setting for quiet reflection than for a concert, England’s largest indoor public garden. Its zoo, Basilica, and Minnesota’s state capitol. as the dome creates quite an echo. Instead, which The Boston Globe calls New England’s PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTSbands performPUBLISHERS on the lawn. best, and exhibits like Flutterby: Butterflies in Bloom, draw two million visitors yearly.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Wildflowers (opposite) Centaur and Cherub (top) Rose of Sharon (bottom) Rhode Island is all about flowers. Whether In Greek mythology, centaurs were fearsome Not a rose, but a member of the hibiscus they’re nurtured in centuries-old gardens or beasts, except for the kind and wise Chiron, family, the large showy blooms on the rose of spring up at random along the roadside; who is often depicted with a cherub on his Sharon keep Rhode Island gardens colorful whether they’re dainty like Rhode Island’s back. Chiron is the centaur represented in the with late summer displays. These three-inch state flower, the sweet white violet, or osten- constellation Sagittarius. This sculpture in the triple blooms are part of a spectacular hedge tatious like the Jurassic-size mallow flower, Tropical America section is one of many objets bordering the Victorian Rose Garden at Roger their paintbox colors brighten the state from d’art throughout Roger Williams Park. Williams Park. PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTYspring’s OF final thaw TWINLIGHTS to autumn’s first frost. PUBLISHERS
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Temple to Music, Rogers Williams Park (top) Providence Skyline (bottom) Waterfire, Providence The dramatic white marble Temple to Music, Roger Williams seems to keep watch over Rhode Island’s most dramatic and romantic spectators gather along the cobblestone walk- set between a beautiful lake and gently sloping the First Baptist Church in America that he festival sets fire to the summer nights in down- ways and the arched Venetian style bridges lawns, was a gift to the park by a prosperous established in 1638, and the 21st-century town Providence, where three rivers flow overhead. Music, dance, food and camaraderie Providence olive oil merchant. From sunrises Providence skyline. Beneath his gaze stand through and converge between the skyscrapers. continue into the early hours of the morning. casting shafts of golden light through the glamorous hotels, historic office buildings, the As the sun sets over the city, about thirteen Attendance exceeds 350,000 for the summer. columns, to sunsets transforming the sky RISD Fleet Library and the 1927 Art Deco times each summer, one hundred bonfires are At its close, the entire downtown is bathed in into a purple and gold backdrop, it makes a tower locally nicknamed “The Superman lighted in braziers on the water. Gondoliers in pink for “Flames of Hope” for the Gloria picture-perfectPROPERTY spot for concerts and festivals. OFBuilding.” TWINLIGHTS The 35-foot stone statue is by PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTStraditional PUBLISHERS striped shirts serenade lovers as Gemma Breast Cancer Research Foundation. famed sculptor Leo Friedlander. they navigate through the living sculpture, and
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Brown University, Providence (top) John Carter Brown Library (bottom) A Renaissance City (opposite) In 1904, the four-year-old son of the late For 150 years, history scholars have come Once dingy and decaying, Rhode Island’s John Nicholas Brown dedicated this ornate from around the globe to this imposing Beaux- capital has reinvented itself as a vibrant wrought iron gate in a procession to the new Arts style library on the college green to access Renaissance city. Restored classical John Carter Brown Library. Founded in 1764, its incomparable collection of books, maps, 19th-century architecture like the elegant the Ivy League school is America’s seventh and manuscripts of the colonial history of Italianate Merchant’s Bank building, circa oldest, sprawling over 400 acres. Its neighbor the Americas (1492 to 1825), including 1855, is one of more than 150 Providence and collaborating institution on College Hill Columbus’s letter announcing his “discovery.” buildings on the National Register of is the prestigiousPROPERTY Rhode Island School of OFThe library TWINLIGHTS hosts events and exhibitions for PUBLISHERSHistoric Places. PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Design, RISD (Riz-dee). the public.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Fashionable East Side, Providence (left) Hip Meets History (right) Rhode Island’s Little Italy (opposite) The East Side neighborhood, anchored by Among Benefit Street’s architectural treasures By the 1930s, the Federal Hill area of tree-lined, mile-long Benefit Street, is the is the Providence Athenaeum Library, circa Providence had become America’s second most fashionable address in Providence. 1844, a favorite haunt of Providence resident largest Italian community. Its bakeries and Within one square mile are gracious 18th and Edgar Allen Poe. Two popular streets for restaurants are its soul; its heart is the cobble- 19th century Victorian and colonial mansions, strolling are Wickenden and Thayer Streets, stoned DePasquale Square, with its charming world renowned museums and libraries, with an eclectic mix of bookstores, vintage Old World fountain, flowerpots, and umbrella College Hill, and the First Baptist Church clothing shops, and antique stores. Cafés, tables. A welcoming arch over Atwells Avenue in America.PROPERTY OFrestaurants, TWINLIGHTS and student lofts over the shops PUBLISHERSfeatures a pine cone (la pigna), the Italian PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS keep the neighborhood vibrant. symbol of hospitality.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Newport Skyline (opposite) Gull Sanctuary, Rose Island (above) Rose Island Light (pages 26–27) The graceful spire of Trinity Episcopal Church, Picturesque 19-acre Rose Island is a few min- The pretty 1870 lighthouse with the mansard circa 1726, on the shaded lawn of Queen utes’ ferry ride from Newport or Jamestown. roof occupies an island shaped like a long- Anne Square, is the distinctive landmark for Most of the island is strictly for the birds stemmed rose. Lighthouse lovers who long to mariners arriving in Newport Harbor. Visitors April 1 – August 15 to protect the habitats of experience the life of a 19th-century keeper can walk over for a tour. Of special note are nesting migratory birds, including egrets, can fulfill their dreams here with a week-long the box pew reserved for George Washington herons, and gulls. Fresh from the breeding working vacation, in the charming second and other dignitaries, and the gold-tipped colony, the young spend time at water’s edge floor keeper’s quarters. The lighthouse is PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY“nodding OF rods,” usedTWINLIGHTS to get the attention of in the veryPUBLISHERS vocal protection of their parents. operated by the Rose Island Lighthouse nappers. Foundation.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Eat, Stroll, Sail (top left and opposite) Rose Island Clambake (top right) It’s in the Bag (bottom) Bannister’s Wharf and Bowen’s Wharf are It takes more than clams to make an authentic Early New England clambakes involved the heartbeat of Newport’s working seaport. Rhode Island clambake. At the annual Rose steaming seaweed-covered clams in an Visitors stroll along brick walks where cen- Island Lighthouse Foundation fundraiser, open beach pit. Today’s tradition is to fill a turies-old wooden maritime buildings house you’ll want to accessorize your plate with corn cheesecloth bag with steamers, mussels, sweet galleries, shops, and restaurants. One can sail on the cob, a whole lobster, fresh salad, water- potatoes, white potatoes, onions, sausage, fish aboard a wood-hulled schooner, join the crew melon, and blueberry cake for dessert. And fillets and seasonings, then plunge it into a of an authentic America’s Cup 12-meter yacht, don’t forget the Dixieland band. Proceeds giant stainless steel kettle that’s been lined buy live lobstersPROPERTY right off the boat, or dine at OFfrom the TWINLIGHTS daylong event help support the Rose PUBLISHERSwith a buffering layer of mussels and sufficient PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS the famous Black Pearl. Island Lighthouse Foundation. water to create steam.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Jamestown Village Fort Adams, Newport (top) Fishermen at the Fort (bottom) Conanicut Island, in Narragansett Bay The largest coastal fortification in the United There’s always time to toss in just one more between Newport and the mainland, once was States, Fort Adams’ forerunner was a simple line, even at the end of a long day of commer- a sacred Narragansett burial site. Just nine earthworks, activated two months before the cial fishing. Newport Harbor represents every miles long by one mile wide, its heart is Declaration of Independence. The well- style of boating, from championship racers to Jamestown Village, which still retains the preserved fort is open to the public, with luxury yachts, from the most sophisticated to character of a 19th-century summer resort for reenactments and tours, including under- the most humble of fishing vessels. the leisure class. The Newport-Jamestown ground “listening tunnels.” A climb to the Ferry servesPROPERTY the quaint harbor, fringed with OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTSparapet PUBLISHERSis rewarded with breathtaking views restaurants and boutiques. of Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Goat Island Light (top) Sailing in Newport Harbor (bottom) Claiborne Pell Bridge It’s officially the Newport Harbor Lighthouse, Take a dramatic bridge, a pretty lighthouse, an The symbol on the Rhode Island state quarter but locals have called it Goat Island Light ever imposing fortress, wood-hulled schooners, and is the beautiful Claiborne Pell Bridge. Called since goats grazed there. Activated in 1824 as America’s Cup sailboats; add one of Newport the Newport Bridge, or Newport-Pell Bridge the first sentinel over Newport Harbor, the Harbor’s famous breezes and a landscape of by locals, it connects eastern and western sturdy little 35-foot lighthouse once shared Gilded Age mansions, and you have the per- Rhode Island. From sunrise to sunset, in sun- space on the island with a Navy torpedo fect recipe for America’s most picturesque shine and fog, the changing colors of sea and factory. The fixed green beacon casts an sailing venue. sky make the Pell Bridge an ever-changing eerie light onPROPERTY a foggy night. OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS artist’s palette.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Arches and Mansions, Newport Plum Beach Light, North Kingstown The Newport Bridge was designed by Alfred For more than 60 years, the breathtaking cast Hedefine, the structural engineer for Trylon iron sparkplug-style lighthouse visible from and Perisphere at the 1939 – 1940 World’s atop the Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge was a Fair. More than two miles long, with its dis- rusting eyesore, covered in 52 tons of seabird tinctive arched towers rising 400 feet above guano. This tough little 53-foot structure built the water, it is New England’s largest suspen- in 1899 survived the devastating hurricane of sion bridge. 1938 with its keepers lashed to the lantern’s PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS clockwork. It was restored and reactivated in 2003.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS The Breakers, Newport The Chanler at Cliff Walk, Newport (top) Eisenhower House (bottom) Even by Newport’s Gilded Age standards, this The 20-room Chanler at Cliff Walk is The gracious yellow Victorian home, on the 130,000-square-foot, 70-room palace, mod- Newport’s only oceanfront hotel. Built in grounds of Fort Adams State Park, once eled after the grand Italian palazzos of the 1873, it was christened Cliff Lawn, the sum- housed high-ranking military officers. In 1958 16th century, is the pinnacle of opulence. mer “cottage” of Congressman John Winthrop and 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower Built for Cornelius Vanderbilt II in 1895, its Chanler and his wife Margaret Astor Ward. chose it as his summer home so he could play centerpiece is a 45-foot-ceilinged Great Hall. During the 1940s, it became the elite Cliff golf at the nearby Newport Country Club. Only parts of the mansion are on tour, as Walk Manor Hotel. Its latest incarnation as The stately mansion is now rented out for VanderbiltPROPERTY family members still summer on OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTSThe Chanler PUBLISHERS at Cliff Walk is it’s finest yet. social events and gatherings. the estate.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Cliff Walk, Newport Rosecliff, Newport The most glamorous walking trail in America Silver heiress Theresa (Tessie) Oelrichs com- is surely Cliff Walk, a 3.5-mile path that mean- missioned renowned architect Stanford White ders along the clifftops and over rocky beaches to replicate the Grand Trianon, the garden between Newport’s grand mansions and the retreat of French royalty at Versailles. Com- raging Atlantic surf. Walkers get windswept pleted in 1902, it was the setting for Ms. Oelrichs’ views of stone walls, ornate gates, wildflowers, lavish parties with surprise effects, such as the formal gardens, and migrating shorebirds, and appearance of magician Harry Houdini. Several new perspectivesPROPERTY on some of Newport’s most OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS movies, including The Great Gatsby, True Lies, famous estates. and Amistad, were filmed here.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Living History Tours (above, top left, right, bottom) The Astors Beechwood (opposite) Refined and Haunted Throughout the year, Beechwood conducts During the Victorian Tour, guests are wel- Beechwood was the summer home of Manicured gardens, fountains and sculpture living history tours, from the grand ballroom comed royally as members of the elite List of Caroline Astor, who insisted on being called enhance the gracious Italianate estate. Built in to the kitchen (above right) and Mrs. Astor’s 400. For the Servant’s Tour, guests assume the “The Mrs. Astor.” The self-crowned queen 1855, the Astors purchased it in 1881 and bedroom (below) in which professional actors roles of prospective employees and are treated of New York and Newport society, she spent retained renowned architect William Morris of the Beechwood Theatre Company assume to household gossip and insights into the life only eight weeks a year in Newport, but she Hunt to refine and upgrade to The Lady the characters of Mrs. Astor’s family and staff. of a servant in the Astor home. Beechwood is could make or break one’s social standing with Astor’s expensive tastes. Many claim the a favorite Newport location for gala events, her “List of 400”—the invitees to her annual mansion is haunted, which makes a perfect PROPERTY OFweddings, TWINLIGHTS and corporate events. PUBLISHERSsummer ball. PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS setting for the Beechwood Theatre Company’s murder mystery evenings.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Stuart Duncan’s Bonniecrest (top) The Camels of Rough Point (bottom) Blithewold, Portsmouth That dramatic Tudor mansion with the artful Fabulously beautiful tobacco heiress Doris The gracious 45-room, Queen-Anne-style chimneys between Ocean Drive and Newport Duke was renowned for her priceless art manor house, with its Great Lawn overlooking Harbor, in Breton Cove, is Bonniecrest. collection, her philanthropy, and a broad Narragansett Bay, is appropriately named Originally the home of Stuart Duncan, chair- range of eccentricities, including Princess Blithewold, Old English for “happy wood- man of Lea & Perrins, the 1926 mansion was and Baby, her two pet camels at her Newport land.” Once a summer home famous for its designed by John Russell Pope, who also mansion. At age 13 she was the world’s richest glamorous parties, the historic gardens of this designed the Jefferson Memorial in non-royal woman. Today, two topiary camels 33-acre estate are ranked among New England’s Washington,PROPERTY D.C. Bonniecrest was converted OFstand in TWINLIGHTS for Princess and Baby on the Rough PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS finest. Tours, workshops, and lectures at the to condominiums three decades ago. Point estate. mansion and gardens are open to the public.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Touro Synagogue, Newport (top) Salve Regina University, Newport (bottom) White Horse Tavern, Newport Touro Synagogue, circa 1759, is the oldest The 1892 William Morris Hunt-designed Built as a private residence, this circa 1652 synagogue building in the United States, serv- Louis X111 white limestone château was the building has served as a tavern, a courthouse, ing Congregation Jeshuat Israel, organized in Newport summer cottage of the Goulet family. quarters for British troops and Tories during 1658. The National Historic Site includes the The mansion, named Ochre Court, features the American Revolution, a meeting place for Colonial Jewish Burying Ground immortal- medieval elements, including gargoyles, heavy the colony’s General Assembly, a pirate’s ized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem stained glass, and a massive Great Hall with home, and a boarding house. Three hundred The Jewish Cemetery at Newport. The new gothic arches. In 1947, Robert Goulet donated years after its construction, it became a tavern AmbassadorPROPERTY John L. Loeb Jr. Visitors Center OFthe estate TWINLIGHTS to the Religious Sisters of Mercy to PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS again. It is the oldest operating tavern in celebrates religious freedom in America. establish Salve Regina University. America.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Newport Casino PawSox, Pawtucket (top) Polo at Glen Farm, Portsmouth (bottom, left) America’s First Polo Club (bottom, right) In 1881, The Newport Casino (not a gambling The longest game in baseball history was Polo is one of New England’s most beloved America’s first polo club was established in hall but a social and recreational club) hosted played in McCoy Stadium by the Pawtucket summer spectator sports, and there are no 1876, alternating its matches between New the first U.S. National Lawn Championships, PawSox vs. the Rochester Redwings. The first more beautiful polo grounds than Portsmouth’s York and Newport before making Newport its forerunner to the U.S. Open. Its historic courts 32 innings ended at 4:09 a.m., April 18, 1981, Glen Farm, the remainder of a manorial farm permanent home. Besides domestic and bene- remain the world's oldest continuously used before 19 fans. The final inning on June 21 last- dating back to the 1600s. With its long fit matches, the club also hosts the Newport competition grass courts, hosting North ed 18 minutes with a PawSox 3-2 victory. Cal canopied alee of centuries-old linden trees, International Polo Series, the only forum in America’s only grass court events. The Ripken Jr. (Redwings) and Wade Boggs Gilded Age stone barns, and park-like setting, the world primarily dedicated to international InternationalPROPERTY Tennis Hall of Fame Museum OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY(PawSox) OF played TWINLIGHTSin that game. Glen Farm PUBLISHERS lends a sophisticated air to the competition. Above, USA Team member Sam is the world’s largest tennis museum. Summer Polo Series of the Newport Polo Club. Shore enjoys obliging the fans with autographs.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Mount Hope Farm, Bristol Dahlia, Dahling (left) Gray’s Ice Cream, Little Compton (right) The original grant for this 200-acre saltwater A beautiful dahlia is the sign of a very diligent The historic Four Corners intersection in farm dates back to 1677, signed by Charles II gardener. This exquisite plant cannot survive a Tiverton is heaven on earth to Rhode Island at Windsor Castle. The main house, now a Rhode Island freeze, so each winter its tubers ice cream lovers, who swear that Gray’s ice lovely bed and breakfast inn, was built in 1745 are removed and stored until spring. The cream is the food of the gods. An institution by Isaac Royal, but for his unconscionable loy- dahlia hints, perhaps, of wealth—and a staff since 1923, it has been voted the state’s best alty to the British, the house was confiscated of gardeners—yet at the same time evokes ice cream for more than a decade. To order and renamed The Governor Bradford House warm memories of many a grandmother’s a milkshake like a local, be sure to ask for a honoring thePROPERTY Plymouth Colony leader. OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTSgarden. PUBLISHERS “cabinet.”
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Coggeshall Farm, Bristol Yachting’s Holy Grail, Bristol Cultivated for more than two centuries, Two museums in the former Herreshoff man- Coggeshall Farm still retains the air of the ufacturing facility feature the best of yachting’s 1790s. The 48-acre living history museum Golden Age. Nathanael Greene Herreshoff includes the original farmhouse and spring- was one of the greatest naval architect/builders house, kitchen gardens, barns, fields and pas- in America during the late 19th century. The turelands. Daily demonstrations of farm life, Herreshoff Marine Museum and the America’s using antique tools and techniques of the Cup Hall of Fame showcase original Herre- period, arePROPERTY enhanced with seasonal events OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS shoff boats, steam engines, and memorabilia such as maple sugaring and sheep shearing. from yachting’s most distinguished competition.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Bellflower (opposite) Most Patriotic Town, Bristol (above) Cottage gardens throughout New England are The town that paints the center lines of its graced with the beautiful bell-shaped campan- main street red, white, and blue; displays more ula, which has more than 300 varieties. In the bunting and flags per capita than anyplace else Victorian language of flowers, the bellflower on earth, and hosts the country’s longest- represents kindness, gratitude, and apprecia- running Independence Day parade (since tion. This particularly stunning Campanula 1785), deserves its title as America’s Most punctata rubriflora, with its two-inch bells and Patriotic Town. Bristol’s Fourth of July PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTScrimson PUBLISHERS spots, was captured at Green Animals parade, drum and bugle competition, and Topiary in Portsmouth. fireworks draw 200,000-plus spectators.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Sakonnet Vineyards, Little Compton A Fine Chardonnay In the rural countryside at the tip of the The maritime climate and soil of coastal Sakonnet Peninsula, the romantic Sakonnet Rhode Island match the excellent winegrow- Vineyards is Rhode Island’s oldest and largest ing conditions of the world’s other fine wine winery. Visitors may lunch and sip wine regions, especially northern France. The by the glass on the patio overlooking the award-winning Sakonnet Vineyards produce Gerwitzonimer field. This grape’s delicate 30,000 cases a year. Tours and tastings are aromas evoke passion fruit and honey, lychee offered year-round. Above, the beginnings and limes, PROPERTYorange blossoms and white OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS of an excellent Chardonnay. peaches, lavender and roses.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Green Animals Topiary, Portsmouth (left) Living Sculptures (right) Norman Bird Sanctuary, Middletown (opposite) The artistry of two gardeners, Joseph Carreiro Cats and giraffes and unicorns, oh my! There’s Set on 300 acres of woodlands, this rich wild- and George Mendonca, distinguished this late no yellow brick road, but the meandering life refuge was carved from one of the oldest 19th-century Victorian estate overlooking flowery garden paths through Green Animals intact 18th-century farms in the United States. Narragansett Bay by creating America’s first Topiary Gardens are full of surprises. Its 80 In addition to the original farmhouse, which is topiary gardens. The estate is administered by living sculptures include 21 animals and birds, under renovation to provide conference and the Preservation Society of Newport County. geometric figures, and ornamental designs overnight facilities, the sanctuary has seven The home, topiary gardens, herb and veg- sculpted from California privet, yew, and miles of hiking trails, an ocean lookout, and etable gardensPROPERTY are open for tours. OFEnglish TWINLIGHTSboxwood. PUBLISHERSyear-round nature programs. PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Bristol Harbor East Bay Bike Path, Bristol Based largely on the slave trade from the 17th A tranquil park overlooking Bristol Harbor is to the 19th centuries, Bristol has always been a fitting location for a memorial to Bristol’s interwoven with the sea. The home of the Naval veterans. The World War II artillery America’s Cup Hall of Fame, it is a popular monument is a popular rest stop on the East destination for sailors. By day, this tranquil Bay Bike Path, a 14-mile unobstructed route harbor is a lively sight with billowing sails and from Providence to Bristol along an old rail- colorful kayaks. road line. Scenery along the route includes PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS coves, marshes, bridges, and state parks.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS The Towers, Narragansett (above) Point Judith Light, Narragansett (opposite) The iconic towers spanning scenic Ocean In the early 1900s, the narrow finger of land Road were part of the glamorous Narragansett between Narragansett Bay and Block Island Pier Casino. The Towers were designed by called Point Judith saw four times more the architects who also designed the Rhode maritime traffic than New York Harbor. For Island State House, the Newport Casino, and centuries, a treacherous ledge and constant several Newport mansions. Throughout the fog made it a graveyard for shipwrecked summer there are weekly dances in the bridge vessels. Among Rhode Island’s prettiest light- ballroom, whichPROPERTY also is a popular spot for wed- OFhouse complexes,TWINLIGHTS the Point Judith Lighthouse PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS dings. is closed to the public.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Dawn Breaks over Watch Hill, Westerly Sun Sets over Watch Hill Not even the first call of a seabird has yet A lone sandpiper picks its way through permeated the absolute stillness over Watch morsels at the shoreline as the golden light of Hill as dawn’s first light tints the harbor and dusk settles over Watch Hill. In the distance, historic Victorian homes. This morning’s a summer cottage slumbers on its rock foun- ethereal pink will soon turn to brooding gray, dation, and the Watch Hill Light stands guard as a late summer storm passes through Watch at the southernmost point of mainland Rhode Hill. PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Island.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Dunes at Napatree Point, Westerly The Kitchen The pristine dune-fringed white sand beach This peninsula looked very different before of Napatree Point curls around the very south- the Great Hurricane of 1938, when a fashion- western tip of Rhode Island. The narrow, able enclave of forty-four summer beach mile-long sand spit that separates Watch Hill homes and a yacht club were swept to sea. On from the ocean is a favorite fly-over spot for nearby Misquamicut Beach, 500 homes were migrating butterflies, shore birds, and raptors. wiped out. The waters off Napatree Point are The Napatree Point Conservation Area also called “the kitchen,” because fishermen still provides a PROPERTYpermanent habitat for many other OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS bring up dishes and household objects from species. the sandy bottom.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Blueberries Summer Beach Cottages at Watch Hill Blueberries contain no fat, no cholesterol, no No lawns and very little paint are needed to sodium, 25 percent of your daily Vitamin C enhance the Victorian beach colony of Watch requirement, and powerful antioxidant prop- Hill in Westerly. Dunes blanketed in natural erties. Still, all this pales in comparison with sea grasses and salt spray roses, smooth tide- the simple sweetness of a juicy, just-picked polished rocks and the seaweed-strewn beach berry on a summer day. In Rhode Island, one frame the gray and tan cedar shake summer is never far from a basket of fresh berries—or homes as though they grew there. better yet, PROPERTYa u-pick blueberry farm. OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Narragansett Town Beach Fresh off the Boat, Jerusalem Rhode Island surfers aren’t telling, but the In Rhode Island, there’s always something Ocean State holds its own when it comes to fresh off the boat somewhere, and old wooden big waves. One publication named Newport’s seafood shacks abound. In Jerusalem, a sum- Salve Regina University among America’s top mer colony, you can pick up some fish for the ten surfing universities. Narragansett Town grill at Skip’s Dock, or go for a full seafood Beach, with its constant waves, may be the feast at Jim’s Dock next door, with great views best surfing spot in the state. The hugely of Galilee across the pond. popular swimmingPROPERTY beach has full facilities, OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS lifeguards, and concessions.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Paddling Rhode Island (above) Galilee and Jerusalem (opposite) A lone kayaker navigates the tranquil waters One day, an old timer sat on the docks of of Point Judith Pond between Jerusalem and Galilee—named for the fishing village in the Galilee. From challenging sea kayaking and Bible—repairing his nets. When a stranger whitewater kayaking to entry-level flatwater asked, “Where am I?” he answered,“Galilee.” paddling, this is one of Rhode Island’s most “And what’s that?" the stranger asked, pointing treasured pastimes. The Rhode Island Canoe/ across the channel. The old timer thought for Kayak Association (RICKA) is an active 500- a minute before replying, “must be Jerusalem.” member group,PROPERTY with paddle trips, interpretive OFAnd so itTWINLIGHTS was. PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS programs, and a wide range of resources.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Watch Hill Light, Westerly (opposite) Narragansett Clam Shacks (left) Sweet Corn (right) By order of Thomas Jefferson in 1745, Rhode On warm weekends, nobody seems to mind The bins of fresh-picked corn from the field at Island’s second lighthouse was built of wood standing in line at Iggy’s or Aunt Carrie’s, two Manfredi Farms are labeled “sweet,” “sweeter” atop Watch Hill. It was replaced fifty years of Rhode Island’s most famous seafood shacks and “sweetest.” Corn is an essential in many later with a 45-foot granite structure that still dating back to the 1920s. Aunt Carrie’s is a Rhode Island dishes from chowders to john- functions today. The lighthouse, keeper’s Narragansett icon. Iggy’s, started on Oakland nycakes. Corn on the cob ushers in the sum- house, and oil house museum make a striking Beach in Warwick, also has a take-out branch mer at clambakes and holiday picnics, and it silhouette from land and sea. The grounds and next door to Aunt Carries. sees autumn to a close with elaborate corn PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTYmuseum OF are open TWINLIGHTS to the public. PUBLISHERS mazes around the state.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Watch Hill Oysters, Westerly (above) Bountiful Harvest (opposite) Jeffrey Gardner and his son Tom farm their Starting with miniscule seed oysters the size trademarked Watch Hill Oysters year-round of a baby’s fingernail, the famous Watch Hill in five feet of water on Winnapaug Pond. With Oyster can take several years to reach perfec- its sweet, full-bodied flavor and mild salinity, tion at about three inches. The bountiful crop, many seafood critics and top chefs say the more than a million oysters a year, finds its Watch Hill Oyster is New England’s tastiest. way to restaurants all over the U.S., including the famous Oyster Bar in New York’s Grand PROPERTY OFCentral TWINLIGHTSStation. PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Reflections, Wickford Harbor Storm Brewing (above) Beavertail Lighthouse, Jamestown (pages 78–79) The lines between water and sky are artisti- It doesn’t take long in Rhode Island to learn Rhode Island’s first lighthouse—the third in cally blurred on a sunny Rhode Island day. that Mark Twain was right: if you don’t like the 13 colonies—was built in 1749, burned in This peaceful summertime scene of boats the weather in New England, just wait a few 1753, and sacked by British soldiers in 1779. bobbing in the harbor under blue skies with minutes. Colorful boats at the end of a Each time, it rose from its ashes at the southern white cotton candy clouds is repeated all over Westerly neighborhood cul de sac wait out the tip of Conanicut Island. There’s no entrance the Ocean State. sudden summer rain, which is often followed fee to this ruggedly beautiful section of rocky by a dramatic rainbow and soft rays of sun- Rhode Island coastline, beloved by hikers, PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTSshine. PUBLISHERS fishermen, and picnickers.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Old Mill House, Exeter (top) Smith’s Castle, North Kingstown (bottom) Gilbert Stuart Birthplace, Saunderstown Passersby just can’t help slowing down to It was an Indian trading post, a fortified planta- Gilbert Stuart, born in a snuff mill, next door admire this picturesque old mill house on the tion house, a Victorian mansion (burned during to a gristmill, grew up to be the portraitist of Queen’s River. The millhouse, with its red the Great Swamp War of 1676), a colonial America’s first six presidents. The most water wheel and sloping lawns surrounded by home, and a 20th-century dairy, but Smith’s famous of his 104 portraits of George a centuries-old stone wall, is privately owned. Castle never was a castle. Roger Williams, Washington appears on the one-dollar bill. Across the road is Rhode Island’s oldest cov- given the land by the Narragansetts, sold it Washington apparently didn’t enjoy the sit- ered bridge at the Exeter Country Club, which to fund his trip to England to secure Rhode tings. “An apathy seemed to seize him,” the is Rhode Island’sPROPERTY top-ranked golf course. OFIsland’s TWINLIGHTScharter. Historians and re-enactors PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS artist said, “…most appalling to paint.” like Bill Prescott host living history tours.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Old Narragansett Church (above and left) Quintessential New England The Old Narragansett Church, circa 1707, is Frame cottages on narrow lanes, picket fences, the oldest Episcopal church in the Northeast. gardens overflowing with flowers, and a har- Though legend says it was spirited away one bor filled with sailboats could be the recipe for night in 1800 from Narragansett to Wickford any small New England village, and Wickford in a nasty parish dispute, it actually was moved is as perfect as it gets. Its Old World charm to land donated by the prominent Updike was accidentally protected in the 1830s when family. Treasures include a 1660 organ and a it was bypassed as a stop on The Providence PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS1708 silver chalice from PUBLISHERS Queen Anne. PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS and Stonington Railroad.
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FPO IMG_1115 Kenyon Corn Meal Company.jpg
PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Kenyon Corn Meal Company (left and right) South County Museum Johnnycakes, once called hoecakes because An authentic circa 1900 mail truck is part of they were baked on the back of a hoe, are the 20,000-item, mid 18th to mid 20th century cornmeal pancakes that some historians say collection at the South County Museum. The the Pawtuxet Indians fed to the starving main building contains maritime and farm Pilgrims in 1621. Most often fried in a cast exhibits, a Victorian kitchen, and a general iron skillet, they’re a beloved Rhode Island store. The mileage stone for Little Rest (now staple. The corn is still stone-ground at Kingston) is a replica of the original, still Paul DrummPROPERTY III’s family-owned mill in OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS standing on South Road in Wakefield. Usquepaugh.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Queen Anne’s Lace (opposite) South County Museum (top and bottom left) Rhode Island Red (bottom right) Interstate highways are fine to get quickly A living history farm is a great place to live, Some say Rhode Island’s state bird has a bit of from here to there, but Rhode Islanders know according to Number 14, who shares his an attitude, but Jim Crothers, director of the better than anyone that only the back roads seven-acre “estate” with turkeys, goats, and South County Museum, says it’s actually quite and country lanes can reveal the heart and other barnyard animals. Once the setting for charming. The stately Rhode Island Red, bred soul of a place. Not far from any Interstate Rhode Island’s first lavish mansion of the 150 years ago in the village of Adamsville, exit, two things you’re sure to see are an old Gilded Age, the South County Museum in ranges from pale rust to deep mahogany. Its red barn and a sea of white Queen Anne’s lace. Narragansett has working print, blacksmith, eggs are renowned both for quality and sheer PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTStextile, andPUBLISHERS carpentry shops with demonstra- quantity. tions and workshops.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Sign of Summer (opposite) An Easel and a Brush (left) Wilcox Park, Westerly (right) Roadside honor carts: you’ll see them on just Plein air painters can be spotted throughout From early spring to late summer, Rhode about any country road in Rhode Island, all the Rhode Island countryside, capturing the Islanders never miss a chance to gather out- summer long. Just take your pick of plump beauty of the landscape season by season. side to celebrate art, music, theater, and dance. eggplants, juicy tomatoes that still smell like During summer, Historic Wickford Village is a Summer nights in Westerly’s lovely Wilcox the vine, a basket of eggs, a bouquet of fresh- favorite location to set up an easel. Here, well- Park bring the renowned Westerly Chorus cut daisies, or whatever the garden yields known Rhode Island painter and art instructor pops concert, and—with the support of local today. Just leave the money in the jar. Natalie Pfansteihl takes a new approach, paint- businesses—Colonial Theatre’s annual PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTSing the paintersPUBLISHERS themselves as they interpret Shakespeare in the Park production which an artful harborfront scene. draws 20,000 people for sixteen performances.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS A Wickford Backyard Narrow River, Narragansett (top) Wickford Harbor (bottom) The 300-year-old Village of Wickford is the One is always within splashing distance of The fishing boats bring in their morning catch, stuff of novels. In fact, John Updike reputedly water in Rhode Island. The Narrow River put- walk it over to the back door of Gardner’s set his bestseller, The Witches of Eastwick, here. in near Narragansett accesses tidal inlets and Wharf Seafood, and by dinnertime it’s on your Tucked behind the immaculately preserved salt marshes, a freshwater pond, and the John table. Half the fun is watching them unload 18th and 19th-century cottages are some of H. Chaffee Wildlife Refuge at Pettaquamscutt and pack up your fresh fish, live lobsters, clams Rhode Island’s loveliest gardens. Its tranquil Cove, all just one nautical mile from the (littlenecks, cherry stones, quahogs, and harbor, gazebo, and lovingly tended English ocean. Narrow River Kayaks provides all gear steamers), mussels or oysters, while you wait. style gardensPROPERTY make this backyard a favorite of OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTSand offers PUBLISHERS guided sunset and birding tours. local painters.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS University of Rhode Island, Kingstown Stone Walls and Wildflowers (left) Historic Wickford (right) Rhode Island is so small, and the URI They’re quintessential New England: bright Historic Wickford draws daytrippers and campuses are so spread out, that one might summer wildflowers and miles of gray/brown weekenders from all over New England. More say Rhode Island is a college town. There’s stone walls that snake around farms and than 50 shops, galleries, clothing boutiques, a marine campus on Narragansett Bay, an meander along country roads. Many were bookstores, and gift shops pack the tiny down- environmental education campus in West built more than 300 years ago from glacial-age town seaport area, interspersed with sidewalk Greenwich, an urban campus in downtown stones and boulders that continue to rise up cafés and restaurants. The Wickford Diner, Providence, and the tree-shaded, ivy-covered through the earth. The annual “harvest” is so with origins as an authentic Rhode Island New EnglandPROPERTY style main campus in historic OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTSabundant PUBLISHERS that old timers call them New lunch car, has a loyal following of locals. Kingston Village. England potatoes.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Narragansett Tribe Green Corn Thanksgiving, Charlestown The Narragansett tribe of Rhode Island dates A colorful grand entry, sacred prayer and back more than 30,000 years to the region’s peace pipe ceremonies, and two days of drum- aboriginal people. Substantially depleted and ming, chanting, and dancing mark the disbursed during the European colonization of Narragansett tribe’s annual celebration of the their lands, the Narragansetts continued to corn harvest. Held each August for more than preserve their culture and customs, regaining 330 consecutive years, the Green Corn official tribal status in 1985. There are about Thanksgiving is open to the public. Food and 2,400 NarragansettsPROPERTY in Rhode Island today. OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS craft booths offer johnnycakes and quahog chowders, jewelry, drums, and crafts.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Southeast Light, Block Island Dawn Fisherman (above) Dramatic Bluffs, Block Island (pages 98–99) The Victorian Gothic lighthouse standing sen- A lone fisherman braves the pre-dawn chill In 1590, a Mohegan war party made the try atop the 185-footclay cliffs of Mohegan and steep 250-step descent to his favorite mistake of invading Manisses Indian territory Bluffs is one of America’s prettiest lighthouses. casting spot at the base of the Mohegan Bluffs. at Block Island’s southeastern tip. The After one hundred and twenty years of erosion, He may bring home a nice little 20-pound Mohegans, forced back and cornered at cliff’s the 2,000-ton, 67-foot tall structure was at risk striped bass for breakfast. edge, came to a rocky end. Hence the name, of toppling into the ocean. So with great fanfare Mohegan Bluffs. To the northeast are the 100- in 1993, the people of Block Island simply foot bluffs of Clay Head, and “The Maze,” moved it 200PROPERTY feet backward. OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS twelve miles of unmarked, interconnected walking paths.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Block Island Ferry Old Harbor, Block Island Thirteen miles south of mainland Rhode The arrival point for most visitors, including Island, Block Island is just 30 minutes away by the ferries, is Old Harbor. With the century- high-speed ferry or 55 minutes by traditional old National Hotel as its anchor, Water Street ferry from Point Judith, and two hours from maintains the feel of an early 20th-century Newport. Passengers can buy tickets for their summer resort, with alfresco dining, frozen bicycles or rent them on the island. The first lemonade and ice cream counters, and all the views of Block Island are the imposing bluffs bustle of the seaport. Old Harbor is listed on at Clay Head.PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS the National Register of Historic Places.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Block Island Tradition (opposite) Dune Passage, Block Island (above) Love letters in the sand may work elsewhere, A graceful path through rose-covered dunes but Block Islanders express themselves in opens onto a wide, three-mile crescent of rocks. Each rock is unique in color and shape, smooth white sand, great for body surfing, from brilliant orange to ebony to marbled swimming, or watching the Point Judith/ blues and greens. Some sculptures remain for Block Island ferries. The beach changes names months, and each seems more intriguing than as it meanders along the shore, but most just the next. In winter, harbor seals sun them- call it Crescent Beach, or Town Beach. It’s PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTYselves OFon the rocks TWINLIGHTS at Mohegan Bluffs. possible PUBLISHERS to beach-walk the entire perimeter of Block Island.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS National Hotel (above) Victorian Pleasures (opposite) There are no frills, no curlicues, and no A picket fence, a “gingerbread” house, and a dressing for dinner at this grande dame of tandem bicycle lend a Victorian air to this typ- Block Island hotels, but its wide front porch ical Block Island summer scene on Dodge overlooking Water Street has been a favorite Street. On either side, strolling distance from gathering place for breakfast, happy hour and the ferry, are galleries, boutiques, restaurants, people watching since 1888. The live enter- and inns. Bicycles on the island must certainly tainment and raw bar are very popular with outnumber the population and cars combined. locals. PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Block Island Elegance 1661 Inn, Block Island The 1661 Inn and its sister inn, Hotel Manisses, The 1661, named for the year Block Island set the bar for hospitality and dining on Block was settled, has nine unusually spacious, ele- Island. Manisses was Block Island’s original gantly appointed rooms. The white clapboard name, after its native Indian tribe. Hotel Victorian inn makes a pretty picture perched Manisses has 17 rooms, each named for an on a grassy hillside overlooking the ocean. The early Block Island shipwreck. In the evenings, inn’s lavish champagne buffet breakfasts are an guests and locals mingle in the Upstairs Parlor island tradition. for theatricallyPROPERTY prepared flaming coffees. OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Del’s Frozen Lemonade (top left) Summer Flowers (bottom left) Market Day on the Block (right) The Red House, Block Island Each winter Angelo DeLuca’s grandfather in The proper Victorian home of the late 1800s Buying local never tasted as good as it does In rural Rhode Island, street names aren’t very Italy stored snow in a cave, insulated with was all about ribbons and lace, pretty wood- during Block Island’s Wednesday and important, because either there isn’t one, or it straw. The next summer, he mixed it with work, and most especially, flowers. From early Saturday farmer’s markets. Both markets are has several names. Typical directions go like fresh lemons and sugar. His recipe was a spring to late autumn, the verandas, lawns, and walking distance from the ferry landing. this: “Turn right where the old gray barn blew family secret for 100 years, until Angelo set gardens of Victorian homes and inns through- Visitors especially love to take home Linda down last winter and watch for the dirt lane on up a frozen lemonade cart in Cranston, out Rhode Island spill over with blossoms in Spak’s famous sesame dressing, and her home- the left. The name? I don’t know, but if you Rhode Island. Today, Del’s frozen lemonade palettes that complement the architecture of made jellies and jams with the pretty seashell pass the Red House, you’ve gone too far.” is an essentialPROPERTY Rhode Island rite of summer. OFthe period. TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERStops. PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Textile Mills, Blackstone River Valley (above) Monument to Working People (opposite) Built of solid bedrock—stones from the The poignant Robert B. Lamb sculpture in riverbed—the Falls Yarn Mill is perched over River Island Park near the Museum of Work a beautiful scenic curve of the Blackstone and Culture depicts 19th-century French River. Since its construction in 1846, it has Canadian immigrants who toiled in the indus- seen incarnations as a machine shop, a rubber trial mills of the Woonsocket Falls region. The company, a wool manufacturing company, exceptional interactive museum brings to life and finally, a retail complex with a florist shop both northern Rhode Island’s leadership in and an upscalePROPERTY restaurant. OFthe Industrial TWINLIGHTS Revolution, and the lives and PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS struggles of the mill families.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Mills to Residences (opposite) Samuel Salter Canal Boat, Central Falls (above) The oversized windows, high ceilings, and Authentic Chinese dragon boats and a 40-foot stunning river views of the former Ashton cot- custom-built British canal boat are compan- ton mill, circa 1867, make for stunning loft ionably moored together at Central Falls apartments. Throughout northern Rhode Landing on a little-used stretch of the Island, from Providence to the Blackstone Blackstone Canal. Each autumn as part of the River Valley, abandoned mills that languished Pawtucket Arts Festival, dragon boat races in decay for decades are finding new life as draw more than 20,000 spectators. The canal 1 PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTYchic residences,OF museums,TWINLIGHTS offices, and trendy boat is aPUBLISHERS floating B&B, with 2 ⁄2 hour tea tours. shopping and dining enclaves.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Lincoln Woods State Park, Lincoln Oldest General Store, Chepachet In tiny Rhode Island, even city dwellers have Antique meets boutique at the Brown & an oasis or two at their back door. A rustic Hopkins Country Store, America’s oldest gen- covered bridge is one of the gateways to the eral store in continuous operation. You can 627-acre Lincoln Woods State Park, five miles still get penny candy for a penny, plus home- north of Providence. Amenities include kayak- made jellies and period reproduction house- ing, horseback riding, hiking, and fishing. hold items, but there’s definitely a boutique air There’s a freshwater beach and picnic areas, about the jam-packed wooden store on Main and the trailsPROPERTY are a mountain biker’s dream. OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Street that started life in the 1700s as a hat shop.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Militia Days Eleazer Arnold House, Lincoln Ordinary citizens, mostly farmers, had to be Along the Great Road in northern Rhode ready when called during the American Island stands the Eleazer Arnold House, the Revolution. Without official uniforms, mini- oldest house in Lincoln, circa 1687. Along mal weaponry, and no military experience, with the Smith-Appleby House, it is among these militias were a ragtag assemblage. Each fewer than a dozen surviving “stone-enders.” August, their descendants set up camp on the Though it appears to be a typical timber grounds of the Smith Appleby House, circa house, its massive chimney, visible on the 1696, to polishPROPERTY up their muskets, practice drills, OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS western roofline, required the support of a and perform re-enactments for the public. stone wall.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Farm Country (opposite) Slater Mill, Pawtucket (top) Wright’s Dairy, North Smithfield (bottom) Old barns and silos dot the rural countryside Samuel Slater opened his water-powered The cream still rises to the top in a bottle of of the Blackstone River Valley. Every bend in cotton-spinning mill on the Blackstone River milk from Wright’s Dairy’s 140 hormone-free the road leads to a dairy farm, a horse or llama in 1793. The first factory in North America cows. This century-old family-run working farm, a Christmas tree farm, fruit orchard, to use mass production, it ushered in the farm is famous for its coffee milk, Rhode cornfield, or traditional family farm. Industrial Revolution. Soon there were mills Island’s official state beverage. Locals stop in throughout northern Rhode Island. Now a daily for fresh-baked pastries, and—if they National Historic Landmark Site, the mill- bring their own shovel—all the free fertilizer PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTSturned-museum PUBLISHERS depicts 1800s mill life, with they can cart away. extensive exhibits and interpretive programs.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Scarecrows (above) First Sign of Autumn (opposite) Rhode Islanders love their scarecrows. As soon as there’s a chill in the air, the aroma Temporary ones pop up all over the state in of fresh baked apple pies helps sweeten the autumn, in front yards, at fall festivals and transition from the lazy days of summer. Buy a farm markets, but a respectable population of pie or two at the church bake sale, or grab a scarecrows is in residence year-round. This basket and pick your own at one of Rhode snappily dressed, patriotic farmer lives on Island’s dozens of public orchards. And don’t Block Island.PROPERTY OFforget theTWINLIGHTS fresh-pressed cider. PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Woonsocket City Hall (left and right) Acote’s Hill Cemetery, Gloucester (opposite) Blazing Colors (pages 124–125) Abraham Lincoln visited Rhode Island three An autumn mist shrouds Acote’s Cemetery, A country road, a brisk autumn day, and no times during his campaign for president of the the site of the famous Dorr Rebellion of 1842, particular agenda: it doesn’t get much better United States. The final visit was in February where Thomas Dorr and his People’s Party unless there’s an apple orchard, farm stand, or 1860, to give an impassioned speech against staged a suffrage protest. At that time, Rhode lovely picnic spot at journey’s end. Every slavery, in the beautiful granite building with Island and Providence Plantations was still Rhode Island autumn brings a new sense of the arched doorways in downtown bound by King Charles’ Charter of 1663, in surprise and wonder. The red maple, which Woonsocket. Formerly the home of Rhode which only landowners were granted citizen- turns shades of flaming red, orange and gold, Island’s firstPROPERTY public library, it became OFship and TWINLIGHTS voting rights. PUBLISHERSis Rhode Island’s state tree. PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Woonsocket’s City Hall in 1902.
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Ghost Pumpkin (opposite) Which One to Choose? (above) So chic that they’re used as centerpieces in Pumpkins come in all sizes, from a palm-sized autumn wedding décor, white albino pump- miniature to the 2007 world record 1,689- kins also make ghostly jack-o-lanterns. They pounder grown by Joe Jutras of Scituate, bake up nicely, and make a smooth contrast to Rhode Island. It’s pretty tough to choose, the traditional orange pumpkins and endless and this toddler is taking her time on a family varieties of gnarled gourds found in astound- outing to Manfredi Farm in Westerly. ing shapes and hues at farm stands all over PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTYRhode OF Island. TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS
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PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS Just Another Sunset in Paradise There’s so much to do in Rhode Island. Or, if one chooses, so many spots to practice the exquisite art of doing absolutely nothing. At the close of a perfect day, it’s hard to beat a pair of Adirondack chairs at the end of a dock as the setting sun crowns each cloud with a halo of gold.PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS
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Photography by Ron Wofford
Bartlett A PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT KAREN T. BARTLETT award-winning profes- ose travel articles and arly in magazines, trav- ughout North America PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS ken her from the savan- e temples of Bali; from scany to the jungles of le ruins of the Marquis ance and inside a teem- of the Everglades. She th Africa for traveling once dined on live ter- oco Delta. hing with former U.S. Travel with photographer Karen T. Bartlett along the country arned a reindeer driver cumented the primitive lanes and seaside highways of Rhode Island and Providence ote Pentecost Island in PROPERTY OFPlantations—one TWINLIGHTS of America’s best PUBLISHERS kept secrets. PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS covered spa therapies f Asia to the Dead Sea. ASMP, the American aphers, and SATW, the vel Writers. She is the ife, the premier lifestyle orida’s Gulf coast. r for Twin Lights’ top- Photographic Portrait, Carolina, Georgia and ortrait. She is the editor of New England, and oks in the Photographic Tampa Bay, Savannah, nd. Many of the images PROPERTY OF TWINLIGHTS PUBLISHERS vailable as hand-signed
information, visit her TWIN LIGHTS PUBLISHERS tlett.com.
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