Rhode Island History
Pubhshed by The Rhude b land Hrst orrcal Volume 46, Number 4 November 1988 SClC lcly, 110 Benevolent St reet, Providence, Rhude Island, 0 1 <;1 0 6, ami prmted by a grant hom th e Stale of Rhode Contents bLand and Providence ptamauons. Edward D. Drt'rere, Covemor, Kathl een S, Conn ell. Secretarv oi Su re.
Alden M. Anderson. pr..suJ..m Kennet h washburn. VICt' prendau Zachariah Allen and the Architecture Nancy Fisher Cbudacott. secretary of Industrial Paternalism I 17 Michael D. Lmcoln, treasurer Thoma s Reill y. IH~J)funl treasurer RI CHARIJ E. GREENWOOD Nancy K , Cas Sidy. uHnfam sectetarv Alben T Klvbe rg, dlrectm Twentieth -Century Rhode Island 'ELLOW ~ O f THE "IIU f T Y Carl Brrdenbaugh Town Government History: Sydncy V, lames Anroincue F. ()llWnm...: A Survey of Areas for Research Richard K. Showman WILLIAM M . F E RR ARO G lenn W. LaFantaslC rUIU..ICATlO N~ CO:"."I IT TH Leonard I Levm. chairman Index to Volume .t6 15 5 Henry LP. Beckwuh, Ir loel A Co hen Norman Fu:nng Roben Allen G reene Pamela A , Kennedy Alan Simpson Wilham M c KenZie W' K>dw ard
\TAH Albert T Klyberl:, "d,lo! Dcmse Bastren, paphIC,\ ednor Hrlhard Beller, copy eduor
Th e Rhode Isla nd Hrsroncal S IU10 DE ISLAN D HISTORY IS published In February, May. Au~ust . and November by the Rhode Island Hrsumcal Soc.ew Second-class postage IS pard ar Providence, Rhode Island. Souety members receive eac h Issue as a membersh ip benefit, lnsertuuonal eubscnpnons III RHODE ISLAN D HISTORY and the Socie rv's quarterly newalcrtcr I"Il ll by The Rhode Island Hrsroncal e are $1 ~ annually lndrvrdual copies of current and back Issues are avai lable irom th e Society Sociery lor $-l.oo. Manuscnpts and ot her correspondence should be scm to Alben T lHOOE ISlA."'O HhTUl Y (I~S N OOH--l6191 K1yberg" ednor, at the S<1oClet y Zachariah Allen and the Architecture of Industrial Paternalism Richard E. Greenwood The mill villages of Rhode Island are a signifi ce n tury America . To interpret these artifacts cam legacy of the early Industrial Revoluti on in effec tively, however , it is nece ssary fir st to per the Un ited Sta les. Built along the st at e's rivers in form some industrial archaeol ogy, to str ip away the first half of the nineteenth ce n tury, these the successive layers of deposits and try to recon small communities aTC famili ar clements of the struct the o riginal con text around the surviving landscape today. Sometimes shabby, sometimes features . well maintained or even resto red, in almost all One of the characteristics of the ea rly mill vil cases they are recycled and serving a ncw genera lage s that must he under stood for an y att empt at tion of occupants as workplaces and homes. For contextual reconstru ct ion was their newness many Rhode Islanders whose memories reach in the majority of cases, these communitie s had back over the past half century, th e image of no existence prior to the cons truc tion of the first the com pany -owned factory village is still a factory and workers' housing. ' Cons tructed out strong one , but the villages they remember were of whole cloth, the villages were the intennonal in a final decline that ended for most during the creanons of the capitalis ts and their agents who Great Depression. By that time the New England built and administered them. They wer e ph ysi cal mill village wa s over 100 years old and had be expres sions of a vision that emerged from at com e something of an anachronism in an urban, tempts to satisfy the entrepreneu r's economic Industrialized societ y. When It first appeared in ambition within the constramts imposed by tech Rhode Islan d, though, the factory village rcp re nology, public opinion, and social conditions. scn te d the nation's in troducti on to a new culture T he natur e of the new machine technology in forged by machi ne technology and industrial sured that the vi llages shared a basic substruc capitalism, the " industrial o rde r," as hi storian ture and that the factory operatives worked at Jonathan Prude ha s termed it, that transformed the same range of tasks, but it wa s within the the Western world in the nineteenth cen tury.I pow er of the owners and agents to det ermine As industrial archaeologists and historians the character of their villages to a large degree . have demonstrated, the early mill villages ar e in The result was a cons iderable disparity between valuable artifacts that can illuminate the eco individual villages, with the so-c alled model vil nomic, social. and technological dimensions of lages of reform-minded manufacturers at one end the process of industrialization In nineteenth- of the scale and, at the other end, notorious com- Richard Crccnwood . presently employed at the Rhode Is 1 Fnr a fuller account of th e OTlll.m ~ 01 American indus land His toncalPrescrvarrcn Com rmssron. IS a doc toral candr trial archit ectur e. SCl' William H Pierson, lr.. American dar e ,n Brown Ur uvervrty. Research for this article was Buildmg.\ and The il ArehileC/\, vol . 1. TechnoJogy and the supported m pan by a grane from th e Rhod e Island Com mu Pictu resque The Corpvwle and Early Goth/(: Styles [New Ice for the Huma mucs York, l \lIt01. n -llO. and Richard Ca ndee , " New Towns of the I See Jonatha n Prude, The ComlnKof Ihe tn dasmal E.arl y New E.n ~hnJ Texnle Indus try," In Camille wells, ed., Order. Town and Factory Lite In Rural Ma « 117 Z ACHARIAH A LL EN AN I") TH E ARC tl lTl CTURl Of IN\}U~TRIAL rA T ElI.NA lIS:\1 • The Bll1d: ~rone RJn~r tmlis of Rhode Island and Mas sachusens tvpitied the mdussnot web that meshed worker, iactorv. an.i tactotv vsttage rnro an almost seamless tabnc of life for the better part of II century. Wood enX!Il\'lng. Vlo ' 11 GIbson. del. RIHS Cattecuon ttcin XlIiI). muruucs characterized by abusive labor prac One of th e torcrnost proponents of the mod el nces. over crovvdcd and unsan u arv living condi village concept in Rhode Island was Zachariah nons. and ;\ population that was overworked and Allen, a member of a prominent Providence fam underedu cated even by th e sta ndards of a society ily and the owner of scveral texnle factories, that condoned ch ild labor and the thirteen -hour most notabl y th e Allendale mill in North Provi workday. dence and th e Ccorgiavrlle mill in Sm ithfield. In Th e model factory villages arc of particular in his wr it ings and III the architecture and design of terest bec ause th ey embodied a distinctly Ameri th e Allendale and Ceorgiaville villages, Allen left can response to oppone nt'> oi the industn al order a val uable record of h is attempts to es tablish fac who contended that the factory system would to ry villa ges where th e worke rs wou ld be indoc endanger the Amencan republic by creating a de trinated 1010 th e new world of the industrial moralized pro letariat unde r the dominatio n oi an orde r, wn b Its emp hasis on the regimentation of anstocracv oi wealt h. The model vill ages we re ti me and labor, wit hout los ing their republican designed to provide blucpnnrs ior rnanutactunng bmhnght. m the New World by creating an environme nt Zachariah Allen ( 179 'i -I KK 21was born du n ng where Am er ican s wor king In factories could bol the golden age of mannmc comme rce III Provi ste r then country's eco nomic stre ngth las well as dence, but he Ii\'CJ must of his life in a city pre th e pnvatc fortunes of the nullowners] wit hout occupied with indust ry. He was a descendant on sac rificing theIT own economic. poli tical. or both sides of hi'> family from the first generation moral mtcrevrs. of Euro-Amcncan-, who settled on the shore'> of 118 LAl Il A MI A H A LL l r.; A r.; U Till AMC IIIT l( TURl Of I:" Ll U ~ TR I A l l' A T l R S A l I S .'.1 Narraga nsc u Ray. HIs lather, Ca ptai n Zachanah Embargo and the war of l ISI 2 disrupted man trme All en, hold bee n a successful merchant, and the commerce . HIS you nge r brothe r Craw ford wa s til capita l he amassed pro vided a solid foundation for foll ow, ente ring in to a manufactunng partnership Ills three sons. Ph il ip, Zac hariah, and C rawford with th eir brother-in-law, Sulli van Dun , III Itl ~ 1 . Za chariah was we ll ed ucate d. attending Pluhps Unlike m any merchants·turned -manufacturers, Exet er Academy and Brow n Umversuv, and he Alle n possessed a se rio us mtcrcst In the new graduated irom the latter tn l!i J '\ . As a young mdusmal rechnologv and hi s lo ng career was man he spent much 0 1 hrs tree nrnc studvmg the ma rked by a sencs of m venuons. mn ovauon s. natural sciences. and throughout hi"> life he pu r and pubhcauons ill the fields of textile m an u sued the study of nature an d it s laws m a sprrtt Iactu n ng and civ il eng ineering. Most of h is ill" of intellectual inqu rrv that went far beyon d the vcnnons emerged from efforts to improve manu" practical conce rns oi th e manufacturer. After an Iacturing techniques in hi s facto ries and were on abomvc attempt 10 study medicmc and a brief the order 01 incremental refinements of power unsa n sfymg sum a!'> a law yer, he began what was loo m s and c forh-fi mshing apparatus. In the field to be a fifty-year ca reer in te xtile manutactunng of power rransnussion . he invented a syste m at in I !ill by mvcsnng III a woolen fac tory. high-speed shamng ..... u h loose belts that elmu Allen was following .1 .....ell-esrabhshed local nated the use of pu lleys. Outside the factory, he tr end III pu tung capital earned III commercial developed a variable cutoff valve for steam en ente rpri se Into industrial ven tures. HiS older gmes that utilized a flyh all gove rnor _The valve brot her Phi lip had established h is own m ill ten never rece ived widespread usc, th ough several years earlie r, dur ing th e "COlto n fever " that in elements of hi s design wer e later incorporated fect ed Rhode Islanders when the leffcrson ian mtu Geo rge Corliss's mor e soph isticated and successful var iable cutoff valve. Alle n a lso ma de great conmbunons ill the field of fire-preventive construction. In his null at Allendale he adopted a vanetv of techniques for fire preven uon. including slow-burnmg con structi on (the technique of bu ildin g with fewe r but more massive struc tu ral members to reduce the vulnerability to n rc); roof shingles set in a bed of mortar; heavy fire doors; an external stair tower with a ciste rn on top that fed a sprin k ler sys te m ; an d a water-power ed force pump with copper- riveted hose. In HiH he fou nded Man u facturers ' M ut ual . the pioneer company in the fac tory m utua) in suran ce syste m , which served to disscrru nare these and other techniques for Im proved factory con struction throughou t the cou ntry. Allen's best -known publication s wer e the SCI' ence of Mechanics 111'1291. a co m pe nd iu m of me cha ruc al rh eo rv and prac tice, and The Practical TOUrI st l l ~ ,\ , l, which recorded his impressions of European soc iety and manu fac tures . O the r w orks Zachonah Allen (179\ -r882). Steel enXravmg In' included the theoret ical Philosoph}' of the Me Van Slvck and Company. Bosum. C. 1870. RIHS chanics of Nature 118,1l and Sula r Light a.nd Collection {Rhi XJ \082). H eal (Itl791. As a stalwart proponent 01public 119 ZA CHAll.lAlt ALLEN AND THE AR CHITE CT UIl.f. OF IND U STRIAL PATEIl.NALISM education and " us eful entertainments," Allen Is there more Intelligence required in the laborer to also delivered numerous public lectures on turn the furrow and apply th e manure, than to direct topics that included the hi story and geography the shu ttle or the movement s of that powerful en ~n eL I the most splendid Invention of man [.l which of America and Europe, astronomy, and other has conmbutcd alm ost as much as the plough to nee branches of pure and applied science.' cssancs and co nve mcnces of hfe. h IS n OI the cffcrm nate occupatio n of usmg the dtstaf of ancient nmes Wh en Allen dec ided to begin a career in manu that is now understood by the term manufacture, but factun ng, the cou n tr y was still engaged in a operatio ns by which one man with the aid of ma debate over manufactures and the propriet y of chmcrv performs Herculean labours.' introducing the factory sys te m into America 's All en, who possessed the optimism cha rac te r overw he lmmglv agraria n society, a debate which istic of the Whig temperament, regarded the ha d begun in the lat e eigh tee n th century" En modern advances in technology as the fruits of a gland, th e fir st industrial nation, provided am progressive era in which the human intellect, rnunmon for the arguments of debaters on both unhindered by superstition or prejudice, had ap sides of the Issue. For those favoring manufac plied it self to the study of n ature and the so lu tures , England provided a " splendid example" of tion of basic human needs. In this view, stron gly the prospcnry that resulted from the ingenuity imbued with the ideal s of natural theology, the and mdu strv of mechanics and manufacturer s. By study of the science o f mechanics was an en adopting Bmish machine technology, it wa s ar lightening and m orally in structive pursuit, and gu ed, the Unncd States cou ld emoy it s own pros mechanics were perity, while circum venting its traditional labor shortage and Ircemg Itself of dependence on Eu a c1 a~s of men wh ose protessrcnal labors lead them rop ean manufactures. ncccvsanfv to th e knowledge and practice ot the natu The opponents of an American factory syste m, ral and mechani callaws which are the manifest seve on the other hand, pointed to the social condi lauons (If the Will of God, the laws Intended for gov erning all the mechanisms of HIS umverse.' rums of manufacturing in England, when' the factory system had produced a debilitated work Though he was secure in his arguments in ing class, wracked with disease, vice, and igno favor of the innate worth of the mechanical arts rance and crowded into dense and dirty cities. and the virtue of the mechanic, Allen knew from Few Americans could disagree that consequences firsthand experience the host of social ills that such as these would prove fatal to the delicate manufacturing had produced in Europe. In The balance of America's republican society, which Practical Touri st he wrote: depended Oil the independence, intelligence, and virtue of its citizen s for it s survival. The most highly colored sk etches of the moral de Allen's position in the debate was clearly on pravity and vices of many of the laboring classes of the Side of manufactures, but he acknowledged Manchester [England], fall far short of the realit y... God forbid, however fondly the patriot may cherish the validity of some of the opposition's argu the hope of increasing the resource s of his country by ments while quickly di smissing others. To begin opening and enlar ging the channels of national indus with, Allen rejected the agrarian notion that the try, that there ever may arise a counterpart 01 Man farmer was inhercrulv supe rio r to the mechanic: chcstcr III thc Ncw World.' , For tbese lectu re n"lt'"~ and other manuscrrpr m;l.ten· {> u~hJ.r l;l.h Alle n, "Notes oi an Address In I IiJ l 101 the .al~. see rh.... Z.lI:h;lTl;lh Allen M.anu'\oClIpt Collection. Rhode ls Pu rpose ..IO ngi nanng a Svsrcm 01 Pub hc Lectures ior the !.an 120 ZA CHARIAtl AlllN AND THl AR CH ITE CTURE O f IND USTRIAL PATIRNAl I S.\1 Allen felt, however, that the source of these con com rnun mes around ..... arertalls. then mdustr y IS not dirions was not manufacturing, but rathe r the likely to be the mean s uf rendering them licentious; manufacturing environment. The problems of and of impamng the punty oi those moral principl es, without which neit her nations nor mdrvrduals can he European industry he traced to preexisti ng cond i come truly great or happy.'" tions in those nonrepublican societ ies, pa rticu larly the relations between the employer and This benign image of the rural factory village em ployee, and to the practice of manufacturmg that Allen pamted addressed the question of in cities, where physical and, especially, moral manufactures on a relatively abstract level. In vices tlourished. In Europe, many factory owners establishing his own factory, however, he had adopted a laissez-fain: attitude and abdicated re to deal more concretely with the fundamental sponsibility for their workers' welfare. Where no implications that the factory system and the effort was made to up lift the wor king cl ass, but com pany -owned village posed for ow ne rs an d on ly to exploit it, disastrous results we re inevi operatives worki ng out the terms of indu strial table, Allen believed. But these prohlcrns would life in the United States. not arise in the United States. where republican Relations between Allen and lus ....·ork force insutunons were strong and nearly all manufac were carried on within the general framework of tunng establishments in the earl)' rxaos were republican ideology, the pohrical fanh that de ru ral and, as he wrote, " sprink led among the fined American society, though em ployer and glens and meadows of sol nary watercourses," op employee brought their diffe rent interpretations crated by "the sons and da ughters of respectable into the fac tory. For Allen, the repu blican soc iety farmers, who live in the neigh borhood of the offered freedom from the artificial distinc tions wo rks," who would work th ere only " for a esta blis hed by poli tical, social, and religious big timc.:" In these " li tt le Villages or hamlets, which ot ry ; hut while it eliminated institutionalized often appear to spring up as if by magic in the inequalities and substituted freedom of oppm bosom of some forest. around the waterfall which turutv, it did not ehmmate distinctions based on serves to turn the mill wheel ," Allen saw a par· merit or invalidate the concept of a deferential ticularly American form of manufacturing that socrctv. Allen likened the freedom of a republi he could describe in essentially romantic term s, can society to a race where the members begm one which drew its strength from the na tural at the same sta rt ing hne but thereafte r rely on landscape an d su ppor ted republican, agraria n so their ow n abilities. Wh ether th e win ne rs wen: of ciety rather than supplanting it." high o r humble origins, th eir success was based T he environmen tal sanc t ions for this kind of on their ow n achievements and was therefore manufacturing were especially strong in his na unassailable.II tive region, as he wrote in The Practi cal Touri st: However, both the frontrunners and the rest of It may be mrcnd ed fI lbrd., I I ~ .. . 10_ IbIJ , I . I H - 9. IbIJ., I I ' ~ . II . Allen . "Notes ofan A,hhc~s In I ~ \ l " 121 ZA CHARIAH ALLEN AND THE AH CHITE CTURE O F IND U STHIAL PATERNALI SM for the management hierarchy, while eschewing bad habits like intemperance, tardiness, and carelessne ss. This concept of reciprocal responsi bility was th e lin chpin of Allen's paternalism. For th e work ers, th e appropriate republican canons called for a healthy respect for the work er 's independ ence and a democratic suspicion of any possible tyranny of wealth and influence. They also held the owner to certain obligations, whi ch were based on the concept of fair pay for a day's work , with fairness defi ned by con sen sus and tradition and not by the employer's fiat . II, on th e one hand, Allen had the opport unity "", to use his contro l over the community environ ment to secu re a stable, industrious, and tra ct able work force, on the other hand he faced the task of trying to attract and retain the work ers he needed to make his venture a success. He had to overcome th e opprobrium tha t many Am eri cans attached to factory work, and he had to com pete with other employers in inducin g the available operatives to work in his factory. Pre vailing labor conditions and the attitudes of the American worker were to he constant factors in w Allen's plans for his manufacturing villages. o Allen 's first industrial community, the village , of Allendale, was built in I K22 on the woonas .l"J. .".. quatucket River in North Providence. It was n small in size, cons isting of a m ill, a dye house, and three cottages, and it was conservative in Allen repea te d the process of taking charge of the styl e. Allendale was apparently modeled on entire layout of the site each lime he de veloped Allcnvillc, Philip Allen's factory village, wh ich a ne w m ill . Here is his sketch (d'·prelim ilw ry was located a short distance up the Woonas xurvey of wat er power") of Georgiaville. Allen . quatuckct . Allenville was a m ill village of com Diary, // May rSq . RllfS Collection (RHi X3 parable size that had been built in 1813 under 6 14 7). the supervision of the Providence architect and builder John Holden Creene." At Allenvillc, and With these location s fixed, the housing was built at virtually all water-powered facto ries beginning in a convenient location, usually in a simple, with the eighteent h-century Engl ish textile mi lls, orde rly arrangement. the village plan began with the wa terfa ll as the Zachariah Allen followed this procedure at focus and then grew out of the engineer's solu Allendale, surveying and laying out the site with tion of the basic questions of where best to build Philip Allen and a su rveyor. He located the dam the dam, dig the raceways, and erect the factory. where he could capture the maximum fall (ten Ieet ] without affecting the mill privileges above 12. Za cha riah Allen , D i ar y, r ~ll - l~ , 1 Mar. I ~ ll , and helow him, chose a sit e for the factory just ZAMC. below th e dam, and laid out a short lane running 122 ZALHAR IAIl ALL EN AND -r u e ARCHIT E.CTURE. OF INUU~TRIAL l'ATERNALI"~1 alon g th e rive r rust above th e dam for th e dwell plcx tenements rather than as singlc-Ia nulv ing s. Access to the site was by a drivewa y run dwcllmgs. The in te rnal arrangemen t of each ning to this lane across th e intervening farm land ho use was dis nnctfy no ntradnional. with th e from the turnpike tn Providence (Sm ith St reet]. first lIoor div ided Into two side-by-side apart The construction 01 the village was the responsi ments, with the entrance to one in the tront and bility of local ca rpenter Bemarrun Sweet. and the entrance to rhc other 10 the rear, Each apart perhaps also the Providence firm of house car ment had a fro nt and a bac k room serving as par penters Tall man and Bucklm. The builders pro lor and kitch en . each with a large stone fire place. du ced plain, solid buildings, derived from the O n the second tloor the hou se was di vided hy a vernac u lar tradit ion rat her than any formal ar central partition running the lengt h o( the struc chitectural style. tu re. w ith eac h apartment having tine small and The mill itsclt Iwhich is the eastern ha lf of the two large bedrooms. present mill}was sixty teet by tbmv-six teet ami Modest is perhaps the best word to describe th ree and a hall stories tall, larger rha n the nor m the ove rall design of the Village. Hidden fro m tor rural burldings. yet em phatically utilitari an public view, Allendale assumed ItS place In the in character. Built of local ruh blestonc with a landscap e un obtrusively, its bu ildings cmpha srz light coating of stucco. the structure IS an ex ing th e cont inuity of indi gen ou s burldmg tradi am ple of the plain masonry co nstruction that tions , at least su perfic ially, The wor k force of typified northern Rhode Island mill buildings tor twenty-four men...... omen. and children was over most ot the rnneteenrh century. Cheaper than w hclmmglv Yankee, with a smgle Englishman, bnck or cut stone and posscssmg the same fire Approximately twe nty workers boa rded in the resistant propem cs. rubblcs to ne ha d bee n em cottages. the four women workers see m to have ployed in Providence whartsidc warehouses and co me (rom th e neighboring farms. Ther e were, in sim ilar utilitarian bui ldi ngs at an early dat e. addit lOll, three local fam ilies em ployed in ou t Rub blesto nc was readily available on or near work-picking and cleaning raw wool at home. most Rhode Island mill Sites, and like other At this ini tial stage. Allendale marked the em types 01 masonry It had the distinct advantage of bodrment of Allen's vision for American manu pro .... id mg sufficient fI13SS for the m ill st ruc ture facturing. However. the promise of stability a nd to withstand th e Vi brat ions generated by textile cultural conserva tism that th e litt le com m unity ma chinery, particul arl y pnwl'r looms. Rubble represented was challenge d almost rrnmediatel v sto ne remained a preferred material for Allen by th e on gcung pro cess of industriali zat ion . throu ghout his ca reer, and he reser ved a special disdain for ma nuf acturers who lavished th eir Despite an unce rtain bcg mmng and periodic capital on he wn stone rather than rhrs cheaper. vicissitudes, Allen persisted In rnanutacrurmg but equally useful, alternat ive.II and grad ually enlarged his operations . In the first The superfic ial conservatism of th e Allendale ten years he expanded his manufacturmg capac architecture is most evident in th e housing. The ity to th e exte nt that the work force mort.' than three identic al frame cottages-c-one an d a half doubled. By 18 \ 2 he was em ploying th irty stones high. th ree bays wide and two Jeep. with women, twenty-seven men. and ten chi ldren. broad gambrel roofs-c-are lat e examples of a ver The substantial mc reasc in the number of nacular house form common to Rhode Island women ope ranves was largely the result of since the rrud-cighteentb cent ury. The presen ce Allen 's subsntunon of power broad looms oper of tw n Intern al gab le-end chi m neys inst ead 01 at cd hy wome n for hand broad looms operated by th e traditional cente r chim ney provides the only men. Allen undoubtedly had to look beyon d th e exte rnal cl ue that the hou ses were buil t as du - local farm population to fill the incr eased need for wome n operatives, and as th e number of resi dent workers grew, he buil t three more gambrel- 123 Z ACHARIAH A LLE N A ND THE ARC lilTECIUR E OF INnU<;TRIAL r AT ERNALI<;M roofed cottages alo ngs ide the origina l three. between workers and managers lessened, a change These new buildings preserved th e hamlet 's that Increased the danger th at immorali ty and modest appearance, but this marked th e upper vice m ight rear their ugly heads and producti vit y h mit of the anginal plan's ca pacity to guide fu migh t suffer . ture growth. A second set of prob lems had more to do with As Allendale continued to grow, it assumed gene ral mdusrnal conditions and the workers' rc a distinctly different appearance . Malar changes sponw to the industrial order. Even as Ame rican began In the late 18 30S when Allen switched industry was growing more prosperous and esreb from the production of woolen to cotton cloth hshed as a fixture in the economy, its internal and revamped the facto ry, more than doubling conditions .....ere becoming unsettled. The mdus the building's Size, with an addition on the west rnous men and women of New England , though end and an external stair tower topped with a they may have been used to wresting their living neoclassical cupola In the center of the facade . from their "cold climate and ungrateful soil :' Architectural style became more pronounced and had grown restive under prevailing labor prac eclectic In the enlarged village, and an atmo tices and had begun to contest the existing bal sphere of the picturesque began to prevail over ance ot powe r In the workplace. The first gcn the ca rlin bucolic Simplicity. In addition to many eranon of American factory workers had already new G reek and Gothic Revival buildings, the vil experienced a form of culture shuck as they left lage acquired a central park , or green, and a large the ir trad it iona l occupations, where work pro number of shade trees. Far from being the embry ceeded by natural and personal rhythms, and OnIC cluster 01build mgs that it was in 1~22 , ente red a world whe re work was performed ac Allendale in 1~ .. 6 was a clea rly defined village, cording to the unch anging pace of the machine with th e mill at one end. a chapel at th e other, and the rigid time schedule controlled by the fac and a green in the middle. tnry management. Once In the factory, they wit In es tablishing new ins titutio ns and a new en nessed increases in the degree of mechanization vironme nral charac te r that em phasized Allen and th e work rate , which further decreased their dale's identity as a distinct and separate corn control over th eir labor . The workers' ant ipathy munuy Allen was acknowledging that his earlier for th ese alien conditio ns heightened as th ey en plan of gr,lfting th e factory syste m onto th e tra countered th e econ omic cycl e of industrial capi ditional rural New England society had encoun talis m, in whi ch overprodu ction and periodic tered serious difficulties. Rath er than abandon depression s led to extended workdays, wage re lus ideal of a manufacturing socie ty that st ill ductions, and layoffs. Th ese problems affected embodied th e traditi onal virtues, he began treat the textil e industry as a w hole, but th ey .....ere ing th e mill village as a society in mi crocosm , frequ ently exacerbated by avaricious manufac and he assumed th e respon sibility of providing it turers who ignored the evils growing up In their with th e necessary const ituent part s. estab lishments in th eir pursuit of profits. In A basic problem was th e simp le one of size see king ttl increase th eir control over th e con and scale. th e enlarged Allendale represented a ditions ot employme nt , workers resorted to significant conce nt ratio n of populat ion . Some turnouts, or strikes , agams t individual factor y sorts of co ntrols were necessary to avoid th e ow ners, and m the tH30s some pur sued polit i amorphous, chaouc grow th that Allen had ob ca l means of redress, orgaruai ng the short-lived served In European manufacturing cities. Simi workingman's party and a newspaper, the New larly, as the population grew, face-to-face co ntact England Arnsen." 14 See Cu)" Kulik, "Pa ...-t uc ket Vlll~~r and the Smke oj An A dduH ' The tensions In industrial relations, which cans to express rhc rr nanonal idenmv and affirm wer e wid espread In Jack sonian Am erica, were their cultural Independence from Europe . The com pounded In Rhode Island by th e struggle for ne w Greek Revival bui ldi ngs at Alle ndale, eve n cons titutiona l reform and the enfra nchise ment th ough they were rather modest exa m ples of the of th e nontrcebolding class , whi ch included most sty le, proclaimed th em selv es to be sym bols of a ind ustrial workers. While many of th e manufac new era of national progress, 10 contrast to the turcrs, including Allen, had lon g suppor ted con cottages of IH 21, which spoke of a link with sntutional reform, in the crisis of the DOH War the indigen ou s folk traditions of agra rian New in 1842 they Sided with the Law and Order part y, England. and against the ir more radical employees, in All en 's preference for the Grec ian mode had favor of civil order and th e due process of law. roo ts in his perso na l philosoph y as well. In The O ne of th e manufacturers' responses to th ese Pracrical 'Icunst. 10 a critique of the Oothrc archi strained co nditions was to accen tuate the in tec tu re of Yor k Cathedral, Allen remarked that stitut iona l and au thoritarian aspects of th eir es th e Grecian orders 01 architectu re . hit rhcu simple tablishme nts, a strategy that par all eled Amen tronrs In a more chaste swlc, as if In mvne the most can soc iety 's eager adoptio n of th ,.. ins u tunons of severe scrutiny (If therr faultless proportions. dcsrgn th e penitentiar y and th e asylu m as solutio ns for cdlv modeled to combmc beauty with unhty." th e problems of crime and mental illness. At In its faithful adherence to the ph ysica l laws of Allendale th e enla rged factory, with it s churc h nature, Greek arch itecture was, in Allen's eyes, lik e tower, was certainly a more assertive pre s deepl y express ive of the same virtues that he ence, and throughout th e rest of th e village th e found in the study of mechani cs. By em ployi ng new buildings ass ume d a more dign ified stature the G reek Revival mode throughout th e villa ge, through th e inc reased use of archi tec tural style. " All en was tr ying to create an environme nt that However, th e expressions of au thority were only would ins pire his workers Wi th the Ideals as one aspec t of Allen's pat ernali st ic efforts to re soci ated With the sty le: beauty, uti lity, and structure the village env ironme nt , He also so ught patri otism. to foster a sense of com muni ty and shared pur The Greek Reviv al build ings at Allendale in pose between wor ker and mana ger through th e cl uded the sto ne sto re built 10 front of th e fac usc of arch itectural and landscap e design, as well tory and six identical frame tenem ents, two and as through th e establishment of the institutions a half sto ries high with side -by-side entrances In of church , school, and public green. As is always the gable end. The latter bu ildings, whi ch app ear the case with pat ernalism, Allen assumed the today as th e not -too -distant an cestors of [h e right to decide wh at com m unity values should ubiquitous three-decker apartment house of be, th ough his personal beliefs precluded much the late-nin et eenth-century city, were built on of th e arroga nt ass umption of power [hat the th e lane north of the original cottages and on the critics of induvtrralism ass igned to " the lords of dnvewav leading to the turnpike, the loo m ." Despite his criticism of the tlon d Cothic style, The architectural style that Allen employed Allen bu ilt two Gothic Revival bui ldings as well, predominantl y was th e Gree k Revival, which en a chapel and school and a superintendent's cor' joyed a universal popularit y in this count ry in rage. The latter struct ure, designed by Tallman the second quarter of the ninet eenth cent ur y. Its and Bucklin, provided an overt expr ession of th e vogu e had much to do with th e desire of Amen- elevated status of its occupant in th e hierarchy 1\ John K~~",'n . Cl vlllzmg the M,]l"hme Technology f irsl Colton Milts ," In Brooke Hi ndle , ed , .\I'lIel1 125 1 ZACIlARIAlI ALLEN ANO THE ARCIlITE CT Ul\l: OF INll lJ -, 1RJAL I'ATlRt"All~M Thomas Alexander Tefft executed a plan of the vil/uxc \'choolhOlhe Jrl Allendale in /848. Engraving from ltenrv Barnard. Repor t an d Documents Rclanng to the Public Sc hools of Rhode Island for I S-tS (I'nwidence. /84Y). 2 1i~ RillS Collection (RW Xi (148). of vd la,l:c society. With its modish an d rather a W OOUl.:U knoll overlooking the m illpond on th e elabo rate appearance, this ho use con tr asted no rthe rn edge III th e vill age em phasized t hat the sharply wi th tilt' other ne w residential build building. In Its fun ct ion s as bo th a chapel and a ings , in which uniformity (If style and scale pre school, provided ,I spi ritual counte rpa rt to the dominated. " worldly toils" in the factor y. In the Allendale chapel. the Gothic mock Whereas church affiliation in many mi ll vil served primarily 10 enrich the small bu ilding luges was deci ded by the management, as a firm with the Impressions 01 age and venerability as believer In the Rhode Isla nd tradition of rel igious sociatcd with the Chnstian tradi tion. Designed freedom Allen put the quesuon of the chard's by the gifted Rhode Island architect Thomas sccranan affiliation up for popular vote. The rna Tefft , the stuccoed stone building evoked the rontv of the villagers were in favor of a Freewill small pansh ch u rches of England that Allen had Baptist chapel, and although Allen found some of admired during his travels." Its ca reful suing on the evangelical Baptist attitudes out of harmony with his liberal Episcopalian views, the chard became and remained a Bapnsr society. Allen 17 .' 1.H~' fC I Rut h Lillie, "The Aechnecturc oi a La m,"nrt"J CcntU_ Th uma- r\lc:uoo n Td :lI" (.' 1.A JI S~ , Bro.... n co ntributed to the support of a preacher, and Umver-uv. I ~71 l 'J. l ~" he made mccune places available to other de- 126 ZAC HARIA H ALLEN AN D TH E ARCIIITlCTURE Of INDU~TRIAL rATlRN A L I~M nornmauons in th e vil lage with an equal degree It IS In the power 01 almost cvery indiv idua l havln"': of tol eration." young persons engaged under his su pcnntc ndencc, tu The basement of th e cha pel contained a school confe r mcstrrnahlc blessing" by rakmg a decided per sonalmrcrest In providing lor their usc a lew Rood roo m furnished wi th a library of 400 volumes do books. suited to their several capacities and to then nated by Allen, and it was here that a Sunday busmcss and prospects III htc Such benefactors Will school was conducted for the mill children. Un receive an early return tor their JUdiC IOUS hbcrahtv by like presen t-day Sunday schools, this school IIldUCIOR the workmen on .....horn they depend lor tau ght reading. wr iting, and th e rudiments of an tau htulness and sobriety III the discharge of then scr elem entary education, albeit using th e Bible and vices to abandon frivolous and expensive amuscmcms and to pass their leisure hours at home 111 reading. religiou s tract s as baste texts. Becau se it was They will thus quahfv themselves better to fulfill open on Sunday, th e one free day of th e week, It therr moral obhgauon, as men and then dunes as an . rep rese nted the princ ipal educatio na l oppor rsrs 111 the vocations III which they may beengaged. tunity for tull-nrne mill wor kers. and wrll have less mduccmcm to spend then earnings. With its se rvices . its school for ch ild ren, ItS and oncnumcs the property confided to them by rhcir Bibl e classes for you ng adults, and Its readin g employers, III scenes of dlsSlJMtlOn and debauchery. room for all , the chape l represented a major addi In light of th ese sennmcnts, it is hardly surpns tion to th e vill age's religiou s, educational, and i n~ that on e traditional com m unity ins titution, soc ral lifc. For Allen , moreover , the cha pel's in the tavern, was prohibited in his village . m ns rc menrs were co m plemented by its role as a Though it I S not readily appare nt today, Allen conservative cultural instit ut ion, one that he earned out a major landscaping prog ram at Allen hoped wou ld have a stahlIizing influe nce on his dale. Unhaing his expcTlence as one of the coun employees. While so me early Freewill Bapti st s tr y's first srlvicuh unsts . he planted mature had taken an adv crsanal stance toward factory locu st s and other shade trees throughout th e owners who so ught to assume temporal authority village. In th e middle of th e lane thai passed ove r th eir workers, in th e I g40s th e Baptist rmrus 10 front of th e ongmal row of cottages. he laid tr y was wa rmng of intemperance and th e "dan ou t an elo ngated gree n. or com mon, which has gers of radicali sm " in political as well as religious largely disappeared wi th the subsequent widen ma tters. t~ Allen no doubt believed that the moral m~ of woonasquarucket Avenue . instruction and self-co ntrol promulgated in th e The sha de trees and the green Wel l' obviously chapel would encourage order and retard worker ,10 effort to im prove rhc natural am enities of th e unrest. This was not a purdy self -serving ani village, in the same way that the ar chitectural tude, for All en believed th at the habits ma king design increased the amacn ven ess of th e mill a good worker would also tend to make a better housing. bUI rust as the design of the superinten indrvrdual . In Allen 's eyes, se lf-improve me nt dent 's villa se rved to objectify the occupant's through mdustry, combined with intellectual higher sta tus, the new landscape featu res had so and moral education, was .:1 power ful form ula for cial function",as well . Allen had observed 10 hIS th e advancem ent of th e worker. The convenient Visit 10 Europe hnw pubhc parks and promenades congruence between his own interest s and th e provided unique sett ings for th e dem ocratic min goa ls he prescribed for his em ployees is illus Rling of all ranks of society, and he also kne w trat ed in th e following qu otation from his " Ad how they offered recrcanonal rchcf to the ur ban dress on the Value of Edu ca tion ": poor , and thus were among the few alternatives Iii Zachanah Allen, "Notes on Sect anamvm" [n.d.], [Provid ence, 1111>1 1, 10, and 1 ~1 Brews ter , " RI"" and rrolo:rl'~' Z AMC lIt the Freew ill R a r ll ~l ~ In Rhndc Island," Providence lnnmal. 1<,1 Sec "r rr h AnnualMecung oj t he Rhode Island B a rtl~t 20 May IMlo Sundav Sehoul A,'; 127 ______1 ZAC HARIA II AL LEN AN D T HE A RCHIT ECTUR E O F INDUSTRIA L PATE.RNAl ISM to the alehouse. The shade d walks and th e cent ral large new mill, a move that was prompted m part green rn Allendale were, in th is way, designed to by lus need to " keep up with the times," as he snmulate a sense of community by providing a put It." In an industry that was increasingly common ground for social in reracuon." domina ted by large concerns, such as the corpo As an exercise m community pla nning, the rm ration mills at Lowell and the multiunit firms provcments at Alle ndale we re a mater achieve of the Brown and lves and Sprague families in mc nt for Allen. In his usc of the assembled tech Rhode Island, Alle n felt he had to increase the mques of architectural and landscape design, he sca le of his operations to sustain his profi ts and an ti cipated the program of vi llage Im prove ments remain com petitive. In IH~2 this combi nation 01 that the country's leading architectural critic, circums tances brought Allen to purcha se the vil Andre w Jackso n Downi ng, was to propo se in his lage of Georgiaville on th e Woonasquatucket Rural E.HOyS. Significa ntly, in an ess ay of 18 50 River just a few miles north of All endale. th e author extolled th e traditional New England The Georgia Cotton Mill , one of th e state's village as th e count ry's best model for com m u pioneer cotton mills, was es ta blished in IKll. r ut v design ." But whi le All en was obvious ly in At the time of All en 's purchase, the village con fluenced by his na tive environment, he was a lso sisted of a sto ne mill with two additions and mspired by the ru ral factory villages of Georgian fifteen hou ses of sto ne and frame. The hou ses, England th at he vrsned in I K2h. Another vis ito r which incl uded multiple-unit residences and to England in 1826, the Ge rma n architect Karl small co ttages built in a plain ....ernacular mode. Fn ednch von Schmkcl. sketched a pleasi ng pic were arranged in two linear groups on the main tu re of the mills In the valley of the Stroud: lane which ran between the factory and the mill "T he fac to ry buildings lie hidden at a distance pond. The factory contamed 7,700 spindles, and under tall lindens, elms and larches and mingle the work force to taled around I SO me n, women, with small ch urches which arc equa lly pict ur and ch ildren. By the time Alle n's expansion was esq ue In thei r setti ng." ].' By Ilt~6 this harmo th rough. the industria l ca pabili ties had inc reased niou s blending 01natural bea uty with artificial twofold. with 16,6~o spindles in the old and new improvements and textile factory with churc h mills, te nded by 280 opera tives . described All endale as well . Allen 's plans for Ceorgiavil!c called for a new mill, housing for th e enlarged work force, and a Wh ile th e transformation of Allendale between rehabilitation of th e cxrsu ng property. In ordcr to 11\2 2 and 184 (, had been increme ntal. Allen was ob tain the additional wat erpower he wou ld need to develop a cohes ive approac h to m ill village for a second mill, All en purchased the Appl eby design by the time he was through . In his final gristm ill privilege directly above Cecrgia ville. essay at Ccorgiavi lle in Sm ithfield. he would em whic h all owed him to raise the height of the ploy the tech niques of archi tecture, landscape Georgiaville da m from seventeen to thirt y-five design, and inst itution-building sim ulta neous ly fee t. At th e same time, the millpond grew fro m III a unified program . 4 0 to I 22 acres." The I840S were a prosperous decade for All en Allen's preferred site lor the new construction and the cotton textile industry in general, and by was a level meadow on the southern edge of the the end of the decade he was pla nning to capi village, adjacent to the ongmal mill. However, talize on his success wi th an expans ion of his this sue posed a major problem: it was more manu fac turi ng ope rations . He decided to build a than 100 yards away from the wate rfall that 1 1 Zacharrah Allen, "Pubhc Squa res. Advoca ted by 14 Zacharrah Allen. ".\ \e mUlandOl 01 th e Estrmat es ollld Z Allen" (n.d I. ZAMC Calc u lation s made by Z . Allen In relanon 10 h l~ purchase Jnd ll. Andrew lackson Downing. "Our Country Villages." In Im orovem em s of the CcorglJ ,\ 1111 In the V,lI <1.':l" 01 N IPtr· Rural EH<1 .V ~ [New Ynr k, r~ q l . mgale begun .".13y I, 18) t" 118\ \ -\ II. aa. ZAMC. 1\. Quoted In Pierson. V, . 1\ lbtd.• -1 12< ZA CHAR IAH ALLIN AND THI AR CHITI CT URI O f INIl U STRIAL PATIRNALl S.'" - If,1I , ....J I . . . - • i • - - ~ ...... , . , .,- "-"'_. q -...... - ) 1- - I 0 • ,,,-,,, ~ 11 , J "·•, :z&.:r"':J.::t -ron=; 4 &2 . I .'."" ...... --_' ...... -... • S. B. Cushing drew this map of the Georgia Manufacturing Com pany's village in Sm ithfield rn 1840. The later notations were probably made by Allen. RIHS Collection (Rlli X3 46811. wou ld provide the power. Through carefu l engi north side as its front. In the center of the north neenng, Allen was able to design a power elevation he put a compactly designed external transmission system unlizmg ; 89 feet of hori stair tower that contained the principal ent rance zontal shafting that enabled him to transfer the to the mill as well as the first -floor coun nng me cha nic al power across the intervening dis T 129 ZA CHARIAH ALL E.N At"O r u a AR CH ITE. CTURE. 01' I N l> U ~ T R I A L I' ATERNALISM '0 , '/ ~ ~ ~~ • t o,.,. h ..... Ih..(( C~ {I . I .._I j-,.I /_.... ".. ' CI.I'-';#>. I d7-' '; ~ )'.,/ I rJ J,dl .. d II.. I I ,}{/'. / 9" I ".-;c-----, ~ Allen's orJX i naJsketch for the Ceorgia MiJ/. Allen, Diarv. p. 2 0 . RlfIS CoJJecrio n (RHi XJ 4181). vilion with sha llow piers separati ng the lon g with a modicum of neoclassical styling. In the window bays served as a visual anchor for th e de eastern building the ornament cons isted princi sign. In the pcdimcnted gables th at cro wned th e pally of pcdrrncntcd gables lit by solitary rou nd pavilion and the end walls, Alle n added a ste pped beaded win dows. The western boardinghouse cluster of rou ndheaded wi ndows that both pro was further decorated with pin-and-panel walls vided a contrast to the rigid rectilinear geometry and roundhcadcd windows on the third story. u! the firs t three stories and helped ligh t the attic Allen originally planned to have separate hoard story. Wh ile th e bulk of the factory was covered mghouses for men and women, which may ex with brown stucco, a coat of whitewash accentu plain the differences in styling." ated these ornamental tou che s. The appearance of the new complex was suffi The formal quality of the mill's sou thern fa ciently sansfvmg to Allen so that he added a cade was heightened by the two new boarding new front 10 the ongmal Ceorgiaville mill in the houses that Allen built a short distance away same neoclassical style. Th is improvement, he from th e mill, positioned so they framed the cen declared, gave the old mill "a modern aspect and tral pavilion when viewed (rom the south . Thn.'e some degre e of sym metr y, corresponding with stories high on raised basements, these apart th e appeara nce of the new mill.":' mentlike buildings were designed, like the mill, After completing the new engineering system 17 lbtd . 117 1 ~ ulh.Ul.lh Alkn. " ~1e mo r .l mi a ol.\lanu I.lctunn,l: 0po:f.ltl"n~ "(t ll"-\71. 141 , U '.1C. 130 ZALHARI AH l\LLE l'.: Al'.:D r u e AR CHITECT URE OF IND USTRIAL PATER:-';ALIS,"\ in all its particulars, Allen went on to carry ou t phisucanon on which Allen was now pursuing many of th e env ironmental reform s he intro his environmenta l design. The park-e-designed in duced at Allenda le, Shade trees, principally horse the latest fashion, flanked on one side by th e im chestnuts, were planted along the village st reets posing new 011 11 complex and on another hy a and even around the mill. A site for a new chapel ro..... of housing that presumably would have been was provided on the shore of the millpond, and burh 10 a complimentary design-would have Allen donated 1,000, a third of the construction given the village a formal, almost urban cha rac costs, for building It. Completed in 1~,6 afte r a rer, a marked departure from the Simple plan of design by his son-in-law Willi am Ely, thi s little the Allendale green. The ambi tious scheme W,1S Go thic stone chapel earned Allen 's approval as never to reac h fruition, however, as Allen went being "e xccedmglv picturesque and beau t ifu l. " l ~ bankrupt whe n hi!"> New York co mmission agen t A'I> at Allendale, the chapel's sec tarian affiliation failed in the panic of IHo. This ca lamity put an with the Freewill Baptist Church was decided by end to the park , the ne ..... housing, and Allen's public consensus. Before Its completion Allen plans for a puhlic reading room . In the spring of made the second floor oj the new mill available IS,8 Allen wrote this despondent footnote to for Sabbath services. the earlier plans:"All th ese ca..tlcs III the air The village already had a schoo lho use, but have vanis hed. " \l Allen replaced It with a modern struc tu re. Here However, Allen did not abandon hi s aim 01 he instituted evening classes for the mill work providing village residents ..... uh some form of ers , so that th ey might make profitable use of the recreational resort ; he simply lowered his sights free time they had gained by the shortening of and settled on a remote spot in the northeast COT' the workday from twelve to eleven and a half ncr of the village . Here, at the TOllway whe re the hou rs. ~I woonasquarucker River left the millpond and In 1 ~ 'i 6 Allen was co mpelled to buy a two-acre rushed down over a rock ledge, passi ng th rough a meadow south of the m ill, whic h had become glade of tall hemlocks, was a picturesque spot al paruallv flooded by wat er seeping from the en read v endowed with the restorative charms of larged millpond. He thereupon began to develop Nature, ASide from rranstormmg the ledge into a plans for converting the meadow uno a "very or scncs of cascades through a careful process 01 namental central village square" with a sma ll quarrvmg. Allen prese rved the spot 111 its natural brook wmdmg through it, a fountain fed by the state, int ending it to serve as a roma nt ic retr eat mi llpond, and evergreens and other orname nta l and picnic grove for his workers. T he location plantings. On the western borde r of this park he had the added advantage, from the workers' point contemplated bui lding another ro...... of housing. I I of View, of being Out of sight of the m 11 , but It The picturesque park he envisioned was 10 the was also a little too far away for them to visit mod ern tradition of romantic landscape archuec comfortably during then thurv-rrunutc lunch pc turc that had made its appearance 111 the United nod (forty-five m inu tes in th e sumrncrl. the on ly States relatively recently, principally in urban break in their eleven-and-a-half-hour work day. cemete ries like Mount Aub urn in Cambridge, Allen's bankruptcv in 1 ~ S7 disrupted but did Massachusett s 118, ll and Swan Point Cemetery not destroy hi s manufactu ring enterprise. HIS In Providence IIM47 1. In 1 ij~ 6 the most famous of son -in-law, William Ely, obtained control of th e Amencan romanuc parks, Central Park in Allendale, while his brother Crawford Allen pur New York City, was still in the formative stage. chased the Ccorgiavtlle mill estate at auc tion and though Alle n's park wuu ld have been far and then turned ItS management hack over to more modes t, th e plans indicated the level of so- Zachariah. By 1863 Allen had recouped enough av Iblll , 2 1 t'o 1 1 lbrd., 11>0. Ii'l l \0 1t1lJ -l ~ \ J II",! 161'. 131 ZA CHARI .... '" .... llE.N AND THE. .... RCHITE. CTURE Of INIJU STRI .... L rATlRNAUSM ------~'~------~.'t> .1'\. ~ "~",. ,, ~"""" .. tw..•~ • ~~ ? • A label used by the Bemon Manufacturing Com pany 0/ Ceorziavtlle, 1868. RIffS Collection (RHi X ~ .lOSI. of his fortune to buy back a half interes t in Allen used on his cloth labels. which showed the Oeorgiavillc. and he and his brot her conti nued to imposing struct ure standing in a grassy mill yard operate it as the Bemon Manufacturing Com dotted with a variety of trees and enclosed by a pan y until Zac hariah's ret irement in 187 1. neat picket fence. And in add ition to th e obvious Even though financia l reve rses forced Allen to ame nities of th e village's carefully ordered en forego some of his imp rovements, Ccorgiaville viro nme nt , th ere were othe rs, less apparent but under his manageme nt was st ill an im pressive no less important , such as a sani tatio n program example of a mod el mill village . The grand sty le that provided water closets. wet sinks, and drains and symmetrical design uf the mill and flanking in all th e mill housing." boa rdinghouses gave the new complex a monu Allen augmented the physical attractions of mentality surpassing that of any previous bu ild the mill village with certain inducements and ing at Ceorgiavrlle or Allendale. At the same improvements in the work ing conditions in the time, picturesque land scaping enhanced the factor y. He had a gene ral policy of offering wages natural setting and preserved the rural atmo that were higher than average in orde r to attract sphere. The parklike quality of the village was the best workers, and he also maintained a kind emphasized In the view of the new mill that of ment system hy which he encouraged em ployee s to refine rherr skills and Improve the \ 1· uch.UI;lh "11<:n. "Esnmated COM01 Improvements on manufacturing process. In at least one instance, the Gco rR1;l Mill hUlc irum I"~I'I to 11'I6","ln.d.1. ZA." C. he paid a mechanic a cash premium for the right 131 ZACHARI AH ALLiN AND T HE AR C H ITE CT U R i Of IN DU STRI AL I' A TER N ALI SM to use an invention that was developed on corn inducements of his pate rnahsnc prog rams and pany time." brought him int o drrecr conthct with his srnkmg employees. In these situations Allen's pate r In the real ms of civil engineering. environmen nahsrn assumed a sterne r appearance, and he tal design, and labor relations, Allen 's effort at used dismissals and evictions to mamtam his community planning was an apparent success, control over the factory community..... one that was singled out for favorable com ment Another factor that affected industrial rela by wr iter s of the day," However , Allen 's success tion s, and eve ry other facet of American society, was far fro m com ple te. For all hi s efforts at con was immigration. Not only had Allen's work trolling the manufacturing environme nt in hi s force grown. it was cha ngmg in character as well . villages, America's ind ustrial development was Undoub tedly th ere were st ill some sons and proceeding by th e acti ons of forces that were daughters of loca l farmers working in his factory, ofte n beyond control. The erratic billows and falls but a substantial and ever-growing proportion of of th e economy wer e th e most obvious exam ples th e operati ves wer e now foreign -born . These na of the ungovernable nature of industrialization . tives of Ireland. England. Scotland, and Canada T he success of the textile industry had spur red brought with th em th eir own tradition s, their its gro wth while heighten ing com pcrinon be own religion, and in many cases a strong heritage twee n manufacturers. The small-scale operatio n of craft solidari ty and resist ance to what they felt th at Alle n envisioned at the start of his caree r to be overweening authonrv. At this runc ture the was rapidly losi ng its vrabil uv as millowners earlier idea of a work force composed of farm boosted production to compensate for reduced girls on a temporary sojourn 10 the factory was profi t ma rgins. As Allen expanded his operations being supplanted by the reality of a permanent to remain ccmpennve. the small hamlet in for industrial population, one characterized by erb est solitude disappeared; with a resident wor k rue diversity rath er than sha red cultural values. force near in g 300 people, by 1856 Ceorgiavi lle Whil e Ceorgiav ille of 18,6 diffe red from Allen was one of the principal villages in Sm ithfield, da le of IMn in several significant aspects, these and eve ntually it would become th e scat of to wn fundamental changes to his o riginal idea l of rural governme nt. man ufacturing did not des troy Allen 's vision. Yet as the industry expanded over th e long Rath er th ey confirmed him in his beli ef that a run, it was still plagued by cycl ical depression s. strong paternalist ic approach was necessary to The ofte n violent oscillations of th e American control industrialization, to harness its eco econ omy could catc h even a successful ma nufa c nomic benefits while neutralizin g its sociallta turer like Allen off gua rd, as happen ed in 18 , 7. bil uics. For Allen , th e model factor y village Wh ether a pan ic or depression caused a manufac remained critical from a managerial point nf turer to shut his mills OJ run them on "sho rt view as an effective inst itution for indoctrina ting nmc," the resulting layoffs and wage reduc tio ns wor kers in industrial disci pline and elici ting crea ted tremendous ha rdships for th e wor k force maximum productivity. Allen ,1 1"0 reramcd his and accent uated the gap bet wee n employer and faith in the intrinsically progressive nature of th e employee. As All en experienced 10 18n and ne w machine technology and m the ability of 18,8, the extreme pressures exe rted by these eco factory wor k to provide an education in the ra nomic co ndi tions ou twe ighed the more subtle tional operation of the universe. By ms nllmg dis- HAllen. " Mcmou nd.a01 r-.bnu!.a<:lUnnR 0J'Cr.lIJ(1 n~ . " 1\· "Manutacturmg VIllaRe) " \0; " M.anu!.aClun nR V1IJaRc~. " nc"' ~p.art"r chppln/: In SCldP \I. Zachariah Allen. Diary. 11', 7 - 60 . l i l. a r t . l l~ , l<,l7. boo k, c . 11'I~6. ZA.MC; rerrnr uscenc es 01 Ruben C. McCm ZAMe mtck repu rtetl In the Pmndenc(' Sunday ioumal. Iy May 191M. 'ce, f>. p.!'I. 13-1 ZA CBARIAII ALLEN AND T HE AR CtiITE C1URE Of INlJ U \lRIA L I' A T ERNALI <' M ThIS 1922 archuectu rat dW\\1ng bv A/bert Harkness ,~ho ws pro- posed worker hcusmg on Depot Street in th e village of Wa ~ h Jng - ton. Coventry. fO I the Livi ngs ton Worsted Companv. RillS Cotlec tJOn (RHl X I 4 1 4 ~ J. , .. crplme and provrdmg an en ligh teni ng education, Allen ended his manufacturmg career to IS71, the: factory village cou ld he a potent forc e for ac half a century alter he had launched hi s ent er culturating the new rmrrugranrs and co rrectmg prise at Allendale. In his retirement he looked the apparent supersu uon and rrrauonaliw of the hack un the mill estates he had built up and the premdusmal culture they brought wi th them. contributions he had mad e to industrial pra cti ce The dangers that arose m th e abse nce of these with a strong sense of achievement. Yet once he paternalistic controls had become all too appar reli nquished control at Ceorgiaville. it became cn t to All en in Providence and other easte rn apparent how much the model factory concept ci ties, whe re the steam engi ne had mad e possible was dependent on person al vision and com mit th e deve lop me nt of urban man ufact uring. lust as me nt. T he new manager possessed non e of Alle n's he had witnessed in England in 18 25, the urban concerns for t he vill age as a soci al entity, but mdusrnal worker was heing exploited in the fac treated It solely as a source of profit or loss . tory and neglected outside it . Wages were de Though the phys ical appearance of the village pressed to ncar-subsistence levels, and pu blic changed little, the sen se of community and education and welfare were largel y ignored. In shared purpose that Allen had fostered evapo Allen's words,"T he nch [had become] practically rated, at least for the time being. accustomed to consider th e poor as so many Nonetheless, the conce pt ot the model factory living machines to operate for their profit or village was far from exunct. The design tech pleasure." If the nch continued to grind the poor niques that All en and srrrular-rrundcd manufac and abdicate their rcsponsrbilmcs as stewards, turers like the Hazards in Peace Dale had devel he believed, the failure of the republican expert oped were already being used by the professional mcnt and a decline int o feudal barbarism were architects and managers who were building the tmnunent." large co mpany towns of the late nineteenth cen tury, and they have continued ttl form the founda H Allen, "Pu blic SqU.1 IC ~ AJ vI>l;Jl eJ hy Z . Allen." 9. tinn of the new tow ns and pla nned co mmunities \34 ZACHARIAH ALLEN ANI> T HE ARCHITECT URE OF INOU<'TNIAL I'ATERNALI\M 1 • uf the present day." In contrast to the longevity should remind us that paternalism, whatever en joyed by these principles of environmental its faults, could be the construcuve product of design, however, the paternalistic ethos tha t power Wielded with a sense of social responsibil underlay the model village of the ninet eent h ity, at a time when SOCial responsibih ty was century now seems alien and autocratic, Yet often left outside the coununghouse door , even as we pass judgment. Allen's case history ,I>. See lobn Garner, The A1udf'/ Ccnnpanv Tuwn UTh 135 Twentieth-Century Rhode Island Town Government History: A Survey of Areas for Research William M. Ferraro the fast -paced economic, social, political , and cult ur al changes of the present centur y. Knowing Th e (Owns of Rhode Island essentially rim an the su pply of sources is the necessary prerequisite urban core centering In Providence. Peripheral to un dertaking any such exploration. geographically, the towns similarly have been relegated to the edges of historical research on II Rhode Island. This o bse rvation ha s particular validity in the area of twentieth-century town Multifarious sources ex ist for the study of government hi story. Slate politics an d party re tw entieth-century Rhode Island town govern alignment, the industrial cities and their ethnic ment hi story. Though there is some overlapping, laboring cla sses, have been and arc receiving su b these break down into three m ajor categories: sran rial scholarly attention,I bu t the towns must general-use sources, town-s pec ific sou rces, and also receive their du e .' formal monographs. The sou rce s themselves Having identified the " where" as Rhode Island have di stinct strengths an d weaknesses, and the towns and the " when" as the twenneth century, diligence and imaginanon of the resear ch er will I propose to establish paths of inquiry into this det ermine their actual value. Select ive commen beckon ing frontier along the lines of the three tary can only hint at the potential uses and over remaining cla ssic h istorical qu estions-who, all value of an y individual sou rce. what, and why. These paths arc meant to encour Among gene ral-usc sources, Rhode Islan d: age research that will eventually link up into a A Bibliography of Its Hist ory, ed ite d by Roge r rich and thorough understanding of town gove rn Parks, sta nds as the obv ious starti ng point. This mcnt pa rt icipants, practices, an d patte rns amid cross-inde xed volume co nta ins ove r 4,000 entries Wilham Ferraro I ~ a teaehlnl: Icl l" .... In the Amencan C IVI' Amencan P ohncal Science AS.'o( IC I.JW.n, 1970 1; Paul Buhle . ha auon Progra m at Brown Uruvcrsrtv Resear ch tor I h l ~ ar ~d " " Wurklng Lives An O I3I ItI~ I" ry tit Rhode Island Labor." ticle ....as supported In pan I:oy a gram imm the Rhode Island RUt 4" , nn.. 1 and 1 119!471 Comrnrnee lor lhe U u manltl e ~ 1 . In o1 n effort 10 achrcve cOn\I\lency, Ihl\ essav adheres I See. lor example. lohn D Buenker, " Urban Lrbcrahvrn SUI(lly 10 H~ focus on tw ennct h-centurv Rhode Isla nd IIIwns. In Rhode bl.aoo. I Y0 1 -1~1~ . " RhnJe t stand H I5for}' IRfH) \0 accordmg them .a place In table s and gene",li:..u nnl> on ly 119 7 11: \ 4 - ~ 1; Duane Lockard. New l:lIKI 136 TWl NTllTIl - C£I"TURY RHODl I S LA ND TO W r.; G OV£RNMlN T H IST ORY organized under state, county, and town head mgs, for an y segment of the twenncth century. Infor and having been issued in 198 .l, it is stili reason mation h om the Providence Journal Almanac abl y current.' The book 's main defect {which IS may, and somc n rnes sho uld, be supple mented no fault of its compilers! is that the lists of entries with figure s from th e Rhod e Island or Un ited under the town headings arc short, and among States censuses, but III many cases the Provi these lists titles addressing colonial, Revolution dence Jo urnal Alm anac saves the researcher ary, or nineteenth-century history predominate. the tedious task of locating town statis tics for A similar Imbalance characterizes th e massive census tracts not align ed with town bo unda multivolume Rhode Island his tones written or ries, statistics onen bur red in roll s of microfilm. edited during the first third of the twentieth cen Localhbrancs should keep back iSSUl'S of the, tury by Edward W. Field, Thomas W. Bicknell, annual reference volume." Another important and Charles C. Carroll. Carroll's work, the latest general-usc reference. nearl y as valuable as rhc and least biased of th e three, must rewards pe Providence luurnal Almanac, I S th e General rusal, hut on the whole these histories hold hull" Assembly's Rhode Island .\ fanua/ l ll\ o9 - I, of value for research on twentieth-century Rhode which also pnnts voung records and features Island town government history.' Professor brief biographies of the Assembly's senators and William G. McLoughlin's Rhode Island: A Bt represcmanves. centennial History merits attention for its sure Other important gene ral-use sources augm ent grasp of social, religious, economic, political, the sweep of facts availabl e in the providence technological, and cultural factors influencing Journ al Almanac and Rhode i sland Man ual. Rhode Island's history; but resting on secondary Newspapers are hoth the leas! acces sible and po studies, this hook too gives negligible weight to tentiall y the nchcst of these ncrn s. Fortunately, recent town government history.' th e Rhode Island Histoncal Society holds mi cro This survey of pertinent general-use secondary film for vmuallv ever y new spaper eve r published sources shows the importance of primary mate in Rhode Island. Central holdings. however, do rials to twentieth-century Rhode Island town not case the needle-in-a-haystack process of Hnd government research. Several readily available mg information in an unindexed new spaper, general-use sources warrant notice. The Provi . th ough having in rmnd a specific incident or date Jence Journal Almanac (1886 - I is a mine of reliev es some of the burden. Succor also may be information, It contains town officer rosters, obtained at th e providence Journal office library, election results, tax and valuation data, and popu where indexers maintain a topi cal clippings Hit' lation statistics for each town, and it presents lor each town ext end ing back about twenty and updates this mformation annually.Charts years, or at town libranes, wh ere an Index 01 rhc and tables indicating trends and shifts in these local paper may have been compiled : areas may easily be tabulated from this material While newspapers po~~ess potcnuallv vast }, Ro~el P...rks, ed . Rhod~ h/and A RJt'/uJ1(Iaphv of II, ~ Wi lh a m G Md .""ul:.hhn , Rhodt" hf..ln 137 - TW ENT ll TH - CENTURY RHODE I SlAN[) TO WN GOV l RN MENT HISTORY quant it ies of mforma tion 10 well -hid den rc cesses. Rhode island A ct .~ and Resolves and General Laws of Rhode tslond pos sess limited amounts of read ily accessible mtorm ation. Gen eral Assembly legislation and state laws most e tte n speak to procedural as pec ts of town gov cm mc nt or concl ude to..... n issues eit her rnsig rufi cant or im portant mamlv wnhm to wn boundancs. These sta te I I.'1,~ al records have their grea tes t val ue as frames for tesn ng or quesnon 109 to wn ~o\"C.. rnmcnt acnviues rather than as ends In themselves: The Wor ks Progn..ss Administ ration (WPAI. Rhode Island: A Guide to the Smallest Stare. Amencan G Uide Scn cs (Bosto n: Hough ton Mrffhn Com pany, 19\71and the sta te map pub lish ed annually by th e Rhod e Island Department of Economic Develop men t, Tou rism and Promo tion Division . round out the ... Igmficam gene ral use so urces for twentieth-century Rhode Island tow n gover nme nt resear ch. The WPA guide evokes a tangible sense of the state at a pivotal pomt in time , whil e the Rhode Island map illus rratcs spatia l relanonsh ip and factors freque ntly M em b er.~ oi the Women 's Christian Tem perance beari ng upon town govern me nt actions. Physical Unum at a lun cheon meetin g in r 9_~ 4. R1HS Col geography bnngs concrete ness to historical re lec tion (Rlli Xl (',r44) . search and thought. while gene ra l-usc sources merely whet th e ap petite of th e resear ch er interest ed in a particular twentieth-century town governmen t resear ch er, to wn or gro up of towns, town-specific sources though suc h minutes will yield spannglv unless can satisfy even th e most ravenous historical ap com bed through with care." petite. Tow n records rank foremost among the Intriguing st ories and patterns invisible to town-specifi c sources. These records encompass the casual glan ce eme rge unJ er d o se sc rutiny. town mccu ng and co uncil minutes, probate and A case fro m m y exami nation of th e Port smouth land evidence, tax hooks, and an y other nuscella record s sugges ts the trut h of this claim. From neous reports, corres ponde nce, or document s 1<:)1 0 through 1921 a runnin g hattie was waged in held m the tow n vault. Town clerks control Port smou th between the Women's Christian th ese records and have th e legal respon sibility to Temperance Un ion IWCT UI and vic tualing cs ma ke them ava ilable to the public upon requ est. rabhsh mems allegedly violating local liqu or o r Tvpewnncn in most tow ns since the mid-1920S, dinan ces and operating slot machmes. Muluplc town rnccung and co uncil minutes present th e entries in the co unci l minutes over this tw elve most att ractive and accessi ble mat erial tor th e year span tell a sto ry of the town counci l acting II. The enm p l l a ll "n~ 01 C eneral u:nn 0/ Rhode Island 9· Some wwos now record town m{"Cu nll. and town coun used In the rwennerh ccnrurvare rhose ot 1.'1 96, 1909 . r91l. cu p roc«"dmll.~ no rarc· These provide a verbatim record bUI 1 9 \ ~ . and I ~ \ I> There ha ve bee n reenacrm ems and chanltes arc 001 "cry casy 10 usc In t he Ia..·s vmce I\HI> . bu t no new compilation has )'el been ISSUN 138 TWEI"TIE TH- ClNT URY RHODE IS L AND T OWN GO \' E R N ...tENT Hl .. TO RY the role of a mediator reconciling the interest s of Scrapboo ks ( on tai n In/;; conscicnuouslv gathered the two parties . The counc il hired spec ial con clippings rm spec ific Issues or topics can save stables lor suppress ing the sa le of liquor, ordered many ted ious ho ur s of searching through ricws the town ..ergeant to mvesugate WCTU charges. paper microfilm or files. Personal letter s or di examined vrctualmg and entertain ment license ar ies may prov ide pcrspecuvcs and shades of apphc anons more th oro ughly, and-in a move rncanmg not found til officia l records or lormal probably aimed at em barrass ing the WeTU into accounts. The sca ncrcd na ture of th eir col lcc less rancoro us pro test and greater discretion nons an d oft en irr egular hours de trac t from rhe sto pped a meeting on 13 September 111 20 , aft er val ue of local historical socicues as research recei ving yet an other com m un ication from the sites, hu t rhev land the town histoncal sec tions WCTU regarding slo t machines in operation at in so me locallibranes]are wort h consulnn g. [Sec Island Par k, Portsm outh. and imme diately went App endix A for a lis ting of Rhode Island tow n with the town sergeant " to Island Park . search clerks ' offices, town libranes. and local hi storical in ,.; fourteen holder s of Victuallers licenses but soc ieues.] finding no machmes," '" The largest grab ba~ among ...nu rccs for twen ti Taken individually, any given entry relanng to eth-centu ry Rhud e bland to....' rt government rc thiS dispu te may seem of no great consqucnce, search consists of formal monograph s Wit h hut grou ped togethe r the enmcs show town offi these Items, lu ck pla ys nearl y as imponam a rol l' cials grappling with pra cti cal gove rn ment proh as scholarly in stinct s and ~ood sense . Mu ch of lems and developing a town m oral s policy. The th is monogr aph m at eri al tak es the form of an plot thickens wi th the incl usion of ot he r cou ncil n ual repo rt s, sta tistica l co m pilations. or plan de cisions during the pe riod to ban Sunday ice ning projecti on s.Since the II1'iOS the Rhode cream peddling and to prohibit second-hand ar Islan d Development Cou nc il and ih successor, ticle de alers from selli ng wares to minors." Pro the Rhode Island Departmen t of Economic De vocative town govcmrnem minutes may be spun velopment, periodically have iss ued "sur veys" of into a hi storica l web that supports an alytical the individual towns and cities in the sta te. pos itions and leads to further inquiries. AImed at encour agi ng economic ac tivity III the Time spent In town clerks ' offices should fa st ate, these profiles otter sna pshots 01 a town's rni lian ze the researche r with town government economic and governmental sit uation at di stinct activities over time and identify the most usef ul points 1O time. The challe nge for th e researcher approaches ttl the town-spe cific sources found in I S to connect , put in motion, or ot he rwise bring local historical soctcnes. Scrapboo ks, photo al life to these sna ps hots." Though not nccessa nlv bums, pictures, oral h istory n anscnpts and tapes, treasure trows, the reports nt other state boards. and epheme ral papers make up the usual loc al comrmssrons. an d dcparrmcnts may yield hits ut hi storica l society co llect ion. T hese sou rces have sign ifica nt mformanon." Unlike the cconormc var iable value for town govern me n t hi story, development monographs that neatly organizein- 10 . To..... n "I Pmt~mo .uh, Cou ncrl Records 1.1 110 0<:1 ' UI:I:("~ t ed by R..porl (lllndu~Ifl(l/.\l 139 TW ENTIET II'CENTURY R HODE I S l A N Il TOWN GOVERNM ENT H I S T O RY forma lio n by town, th e state bureau annuals tend As this survey of sou rces m cs to show, to organize informat ion topically or chronologi twent ieth-century Rhode Island town govern cally, intcmuxmg town data indiscriminately. II ment his tory incorporates extensive and varied the researcher muste rs sufficient fortitude, how terrain . Plowing through books, records, and ever , these sources reveal easily overlooked or tables ha phazardly will fatigue even the gamest forgotten interactions between the sta te and resea rcher. With an eye on casing entry into the local governments. field and its most fertile grounds, the remainder Some other formal monograph publications of this piece will concentra te on the "who," must be mcnnoncd also . From 1960 to 1976 the "what," and "why" questions tha t best mmate Rhode Island Bureau of Government Research and guide research efforts. jRIBG R1, srauoncd at the Umversuv of Rhode Is land , produced scncs of studies focused on im III proving administrative efficiency in local and state government. These arc sporadically appli Government without people provides little cable to town government history. Rhode Island baSIS for discussion except in theoretical term s, Local Government. Past, Present. Future. edited so it seems appropriate to establish paths of in bv Robert W. Sutton. lr., compels attention for qui ry first with "who" questions. Dunng the pe the breadth oi I[S contents and contentions. riod under consideration the fabled Yankees [Appendix B hsts the major pub lished products of dornmatcd the typical Rhode Island to..... n histon the RIRGR.I Directed at material culture and ar cal landscape. They made to ..... n mee ting govern chitectural hentagc rather than tow n govern- ment work and set its frugal and tacit urn style . me m . me recent Rhode Island Historical Preser During the muckrakin g era ea rly in th e twen vation Commission pam phlets on selected towns tieth cen tury, however, th ese often extolled sti ll may be cons ulted profi tably for insight s int o Yankees came in fur their share of abuse . Jour the contexts su rrounding tow n government pro nalist lincol n Steffe ns, Bishop William N. cesses. Lastl y, the seve ral tow n histories pub McVickar, and hist orian Irving R. Richman .1 1 lished in or abo ut nl7l'! for the United States leged rampant poli t ical corru ption among old centennial or from the late nin eteenth cent ury stock residents in the rural town s and de nounced through th e t wen tieth century to commemorate these same citizens as depraved and heathen .I' a notable town annive rsa ry may contain a nugget Th ese charges should he followed through in in or two of useful information and generate mo dividual towns and either confirmed or refuted mentum for looklOg into twentieth-century or, even better. explicat ed and explained. Did town governmen t topics ." polit ical machination s involve only leaders, or 14 A par1l,,111~t of these to ..... n hl~\lmn includes David and Henry J l'el k. 200lh Anmvellllry of Warren, Rhode 11 Sherman Baker. II., An muoncot $kerch of Norrh KWI{.Hown land fll,r on edl Skerch [warren . 1947 1. [Providence E. A john-...n. ,117(,1; welcome A, Greene. HIS ' t ~ . l incol n 1 "tdkn~ . " Rhode bland' A Corrupted ioncot .\/l.t'llh of the Tnwn of Li ncoln [Central Falls . E. L Pcop lc-Showm~ That American Crnzens Can Be Bought Freema n. 11I 7t1 1, Rev S S G n ~ ....old . An HI ~ lOrJCa l Sketch of [C heapltc Sdl Out Their Otle~ and Sratcs," In hrs The rhe Town of Hopkmfpn jHopc Valley. R.I . wcxxI Rrvcr Adver Slrlll(Xlt· fm SeJ(·C;o w:m mem l lqol>; repn nt ed., New York u-ser I' r e ~ ~ . 111 771, William Frankhn Tucker . thstoncal and london: lohnson Repnm Curp.. 19611 1, 11 0~6 o ; " Rhode .~ JielCh til the To...n n/ Cha rJe~fl lY.m I WC' ~ r c r l y, GB. and I. H. Island A SU tc I" r ~ a lc." .\ IcCJ U1 e·~ .\ ful{a.::rne 2-1 lfeb 190 <; 1: Utter. 11'1 77[; C. C. Beamon. An H l s lOr, ca l .~kel ch of rhe \ \O-~ \ ; and " Rhode I ~ la nd ; The: Good Old Amencan Stock." To...n 0/ SClruau. Rhoat' t stond IPh{'"n1x, R.I.: Capron &. In Tht Autu/lIl'Xldph.- uf u nw in Sreffen.s lNl"w York' Cam pbell, 111 771, D , H C ree ne, Ht vtorv of fhe Town of f ost Harcourt, Brace b. WOIIJ. ifnI ). 2: 4t14 -tl9. Wilham N Grum.., ch and Ad,tlcerIl Temnnv. from 16n 10 1S77!provl !'-\cVlckar. cd., To the People: of Rhw l' tsland A DlSclo,uH' dence I. A b. R A RC' IJ. 11177 1. Ohver Pa)'!>On fullC'l . The of rouucat Condnions and an A ppeal for Then Reform H" IOn' 0; Wa r.., dc. Rhod e Island. from In SeuJemerIl m larud es repnnteJ hom the New York fl'emng f'o" ,. n.d M42 fO f hel' le~e rIl Tlm ejPrO\'ldence Anltdl. Burlmgame 6 1190\111. Ilvln~ B Richman, Rhude tsta nd A Studv m Sep 140 TWf.NT IETH- CENT UIl.Y RHO DE I 'LAND TOWN t;O V f. II. N.' 1 E S t IlI 'TORY Table: J Party Voting in Rhode Island Towns , Selected Cubcmatonal Races , 1902-19K6 Thn fcab/~ pu~enf, town vollng tt~u/r~ for gubem arontll t ltel/orH at tonr vcar mff'tval~, Annual gube matonal tle,-· lions fook place until 1912, elt Cl/on., ~ lnet 1912 hove been everv 110'0 veetv Me fhe !(lo/nof r on rhe lahlr, ' ur ~eneral tvalua/lve XUIJellntS Toul Town To ..... n Town Ttlwn Tnu l % Total Town Repub lican Repuh Democranc Drmu Slate Town VOles fur Vutes for hcan VUles fOT crallc Vule ior V"le for Year Covemor Gove rnor Vote % Governor VOll' % Covcruur Cl,vern"r 1902 2 1,154 11,9 5/l :;4,0 9,19tl -ll.tl 59,7lJl J7.0 1906 15,03f1 13,97/l 5';.8 11,060 -l-l2 66,501 ,\7.7 19 10 22,803 12,tiM 55.s 10,139 ~-l .5 67 ,622 .\3.7 19U 25,062 I:l,:') I'l -l 607 1O,0 7l'S ]9"\ 78,0 2.\ 32,') 191 t\ 16,05-l 1:;,-l-l6 :;9.3 IO,WH -l0.7 80,361 .\2A 19l1 5 1,71'lO 17 ,9-l-l :;-l.0 lJ,R.\6 -ltl.O 158,410 .\2 .7 1926 54,614 ,\2,9W 60.' 21 ,65-l 39.(, 166 .199 ,n.1} IY30 70,1 75 -lO,t>ti7 60.0 2Y, ~ l'l S ," 0 221 .7RO 3 1.6 19.1-l 7.l,12t\ \:;, 253 -l!'l .1 ,\7, !'I 7,; SI. !'I 24 7,61'l::' 295 19.\H l'l 7,481 :;2,7 1-1 W3 .\ -l, 767 .W.7 .\ 11,2 1'1 9 zx.: 1942 70,2~5 ,U,f1 1'l 1 4lJ.4 .\:;,=. rw SO,6 lJR,I-ll' 29 5 19-1 (, 1\ 6,610 -l,;,f167 ..'i2.0 -ll ,S-l'J 48 .0 1 75,341 ,\ 1.5 19S0 W ,I23 -lo.m:; 4/'l.4 :;3,088 530 1%,809 ,\.\. 4 19::'4 114,695 '>2 ,1'l7U 46 .1 M ,l'l2S :;3. lJ J28,670 34.1} IlJ5M I1 H,9 7l'l 6'J,.1\1 5,H :W,M 7 46 .1 J4fi,780 37 .2 1902 114,o;U 62,0.... 6 54.4 SI,948 4 'i.6 J27,50(i 34 .1l 19M 111,fiJ(, HI,391 /'l6A 4 1,145 ,JJ.4 332,064 36.lJ 1970 B(,,155 72,110 S,U 6J,53S -l6.7 346,341 39.3 197-1 135,826 33,Y50 snn 101,1'17(, 70.0 .\2 1,660 42 .2 ly7!'1 1,\ :;,550 -lK ,92.\ 36.1 H6,627 6,J.Y 314,.\6.J H .I 1982 151,806 4,\,256 28 .5 IOH,sSO 71.5 336,661 H ,I 19/16 149,4 77 103 .062 "".9 46,41 5 .31 I .H 3. 326 47 ,7 did they Involve vote rs as well in the thinly popu to town offices Viewed in comuncuon with popu lat ed town s! Did cooperation with Republican lation figures suggests answe rs to these ques "Boss" Brayton exemplify personal and moral de tions. Anot her measur e of the case or difficulty pravit y, or Yankee nativist fears, or logical efforts of ethnic absorption may he drawn from property to preserve Yankee control and tradittonallocal and em ployme nt record s. Until 19 7 \ the Rhode autonomy in th e towns ? Island Cons titu tion withheld town meeting Th e ethnic immigrant influx intertwines inti vot ing privileges nn any question related to ex mately with Yankee political behavior during th e penditures or imposition of a town ta 1t from an y ea rly and middl e twentieth cent ury. Portuguese person not ownmg property in the tow n valued in Ne wport County, Italian s in Providence and at SI \4 , Ethnic s who hu ed out as farm or day la Kent counties, French Canadians 10 Woonsoc ket borers had 1m lc political incentive or power. and the neighbonng towns. and pockets of Scan Ethnics could wedge their wavtnto town govern dmavtens and easte rn Europeans in Hope Valley ment only through property o..... nc rslup. A few and western border towns put pressure on acc us studies of Portuguese im migrants in Rhode is tomed town govern me nt arrangements. What land may assist research ers in certain instances." ..... as Ini tial town government reac tio n to th ese hut work addressing ethnics and (Own govern new comers ? How did ethnics influence town ment must rest principally on fresh primary re government, and through what proces ses did search in demographic, tax, and electoral record s. th ey gain acce ptance? The rat e of ethnic elect ion l b, See, lor m-taoce, Donald R. Talt, Two Portuguese no. 141 INe...· York Colum bia Uruvcrsuy, r'>lll l and Belt)· Com m unnses In Ntw England [Portsmouth. R.I., and fall Llssach,"The Poncguese In Rhode 1~land" lm.J~lel ·s semmar RIver , !l,b5S-L Studu-s In HISIO,.,.. Economics. and Public Law. paper. Providence Col lege, 19711. 141 Tabl e 2 Party Vtltln~ In Rhode Island Towns. lnnapartv Com parison. IY01-IYX6 Th" ruble compare purf/'un 1'''/lnK m rho'10\\ n\ u'{.Jln-1 pUlf/~un l'OUllJi: m lhe Cillo" fUI Rhud... hlund gub"" nul' nal dn'uwl' The ,ume lour' I'elll mun'll/.f' In IllM!' I hUI b ...en fu/Ju\\'eJ See Ihe 1I..»mare on fhe Illbln 'UI general el'u/ull!u'e j{uIJ..lmn Town Town ... of Toul Town .,.Repub-". Toul Town Demo- Republican Republic an hcan Democrati c Democrat u; crane Year Vute.. Votes VOIO Vores V"le" Vote 1902 H ,:;·U 1I , 95~ 48,7 32,2 79 9, 196 285 1""" -l1),71 13,'J7!, ·n!' ,H,195 II .oeo .1.U 1910 .H,540 12,6M J 7.g 32 .-1-00 10,139 3 1.3 1914 41 ,1J96 15,:'i1\4 31 ,1 32 , 11)2 10,011\ .H.3 l'J l t! U ,61U 15,446 36.2 36,03 1 1O,60 K 29A 1922 14, 124 21,944 ,P." 8 1,9.1; 23,KM, 2'J.1 191(, t!',l ,; 14 32,%0 3(, .M 75,882 2Ip' " 21\ .5 19J O 111,0 70 -1-0,68 7 .l(,.3 IOK ,S42 29,4HH 27 .2 1934 lOS,un ,l;,253 ,\3.'i 140,239 Jl,K15 27.0 I'J3K 167,(J(JJ 52,7 14 3 1.6 129,603 .l4,7 67 16 8 194 2 91i ,?41 34 ,6 KI 35. 1 139,..07 .1'i,5M 2S.s 194 6 116," 'i6 -1- .; ,06 7 ,Fi.6 148,RR5 41 ,549 27 .9 1<) <;0 120,6H-1- -1-6 ,03 5 J!'l.1 176, 125 53,OHM 30 .1 1<) ;-1 U 7,UI 52,870 JI\ .6 11\9,595 til ,1\ 25 31 .6 19 'iR 116,.'>05 69,33 1 .N.3 170.275 .">9 ,6-1- 7 35.0 IY62 16J ,lJ."> 2 62 ,OMo V .9 163 ,554 SI,94 1\ 3 1.8 IY66 2lO.202 8 1.39 1 .l l'l,l 1 21 . ~6 2 -11 ,H S .UR 1970 1l 1.549 72,720 -1 2.-1 17.3,-1 20 6.\,535 .\ 6.6 197 -1 09 .22 4 J3,Y50 -1 9.0 2:i2,H 6 10 1..... 76 40A 197H l} S.-"91'> -1 8,92.3 5U 197.386 R",621 -13 ,<) 19K2 79,fI02 -1,U ; 6 'i.U 246 ,5M IOk,S50 4...0 191'6 2U K, ~ 22 IOJ.06! 4'>1 .'J 104 .504 "flA I S -14 .-1 Tabl e ,l Party Vlltln~ in Rhode Island To..... ns. Selecte d Presidennal Races. IIJOO- I IJX-l Town ,nrn 'OI Rom« ell", 1iuJ/ .\foo,.. candidac v m IlJ12 and A nJ"/," n" InJ ependem candidacv In lWUIarr Indudt'J In paten /h"\t'l \".. lh,' loo/note on Ih,' lanl.., ftll g,'O/: rlll evaluative xmddlnn TOldl Town Town Town Tuwn Toul % Tuul Town Rcpuhhcan R,'puh· I).;moua I IC J)em,,- SUII' Town V" II" tor VOI I' ~ tOI hcan Vorn l UI crane V"r e I", Vote fur Year I'te~ I Jem I'rnlJe nt VOl e % Prcsrdcm vorc % l'rcsrdcnr Presrdcnt I <)()() IR,SSI 12,k-1.l 69. 2 5,70K JO.I 56,54 11 .u.s 1<)0 -1 N ,OS-1 16,020 66 .6 k,lB4 33.4 (,1I, 6.S7 35.0 190k 25,9'>14 11,S9J 1'> 7.7 11 ,401 .n.3 72,J 17 .l5.9 19 11 2" ,K4<) I I,ll.'> 41." IO.!Q6 -10 .J 77,1'<)4 j ·L5 (4,R481 [ I!UI 191 6 2K,7 5S 16,1 73 50 .2 12,SK2 -1-3 ,11 kl,Kl1'> 32.7 1920 50,41 4 .\ 1'>, 10 1 71.7 1-1- .2M 21U 167 ,9KI 30.0 1924 6O"lO'J H .220 MU 2 1,OK'J 3 1.fl 2 10,1 1."> 3 1.6 I'J2.... 75,7.0 44 ,297 S8.5 .l I,441'> -II .S 137, 19.. 3 1.9 I'JJ2 7,l.!'OS 37,1O'J 50.3 ,l l'>,M 6 -1 <) .7 2M,170 27.7 193(, 9" ..U 5 SJ ,!'Kl'I 55 .<) -1 2,H 7 '4' 3 11.1l1i . ~ 1.0 1'J-10 955 ·\.\ 4 ' .I K2 49A -17 ,3 SI 50 .6 32 1,150 29 _7 1944 9 1,K9S H 572 47.4 4 11 ,.l 2.3 52 .6 2W ,3 77 30.7 194 " IOJ,.ll " .N, ltJO -l7." .'>-l, U K S2A .\2 7.692 .ns 19 '> 2 U6,oS'J ''',22 1 S5. ~ 60 .4JS 44 .2 41-1,49H .\3 .0 1956 131'':;04 11" , 199 62 .2 S2,30S 37 .8 JK1,6O'J 35.7 lY60 1.13,012 5S,KKJ 41 ,0 77.129 51'\. 0 "OS.S.U 32-l~ l YM IJ",tJO."> .\2. U I 23 ,- 1D-l,77" 76.5 39O,07K .l5. 1 1'>168 140, -10 5 54,61U .l l'l. 9 gS,72 1 6 1.1 JK4,'J3H .l6.6 1'J72 170,661 'JS,340 57 ." n ,J21 41A 41 S.1S7 41.0 1'J76 17K.3 71 K-I,02 4 41 .1 'J4,.l5J 52 .9 410,584 43A 191'0 195,1 79 71',85 1 40A H2,H6 41 .2 41 S,lJ6 7 -16 .9 lJ· J,Kk21 [17A1 19X-1 194 .1kJ 11 1.1 B 57.2 KUIU U .H 41OAII9 -17 .3 142 - TWENT I ETH- CENTURY R HODE I S l A N Il TOWN GOV ERNM ENT H ISTO RY Table '* Party vonng in Rhode Island Towns, Imrapany Comparison. I YOO -)IJS-1 Thu laMe compa res paruwn VO/lIlJ! In Rhode tstand W WrH ,,~..IJn.r p a 111Sdn VOllnS m Rhode lsland cme« In pressdentsal decllon< .\u !he /lJOlnore on fhl' Iab/e' ;O[ lCt' n nal " '"/l/U 1900 .n, 7R4 12,843 38.0 19,812 5 ,70~ 2.~.R 1904 41,60 5 16,020 3M.S 24 ,&39 K,m.. 32.3 190' 4.3,942 17,59,\ 40.0 24,706 K..m l 34,0 1912 27,70.\ 11,1 75 40,,1 .10,412 I O,IW , ,j'>o 19 10 -l4,RSK 16,1 73 .\ f, ,1 40,394 12,5M2 JJ.1 1920 Im ,4" .' 36, 16 1 33,0 55,0f,2 14,263 2S.9 1924 12S,1Ij6 45,330 ]0.1 76,606 21,m!\} 27.5 1928 117,522 44,297 37.7 II H,973 3 1,44(; 2(;A 1932 115,2M 37 , 1O Tables 1 through 4 sum ma rize part y voting in voung restrictio ns has had little, if any, effect on th e towns during twentieth- century presidential Republican ma jorities in the towns. Only th e electrons and selec ted gubernatorial races. Th ese aberrations of Th eodo re Roosevelt 's Bull Mouse tables suggest trend s and prompt queries about candidacy in 1912, Barry Goldwater's candidacy partisan behavior and population redistribution in 1964, John Ander son 's indep endent candidacy in the towns. The perc entage columns relate the in 19Ho, and the extremely harsh economic clio most telling stories, P The Republican s have mat e in th e state from the mid-t czos through reigned in th e towns throughout the twentieth the early 19Hosbrought on by President Richard cent ury, whether cont rol is measured in terms of Ni xon's decision to withdraw mater ele me nts of the percentage of to tal town votes or, becau se of th e navy from Rhode Island undermined Repub the markedly sma ller num ber of voters 10 towns lican supremacy in the towns, and even in these as against cities, th e percentage of overall Repub cases town Repub licans dis played greater loyalt y lican votes. Th e towns remained Republican bas to the party than their city breth ren. Who have tions through the storms 01 FOR's tenure and th e these Republicans been, and how have their ecli pse of state Republican part y power in the ranks changed through the years! Who led the "Bloodless Revolut ion" of 19\1;. Removal of local town Republicans, and how efficient have 17 The tables have been denved hum elccuon resula dcr,tdtmJ: of mffil lo..... n vote fi~re~ and mm"r O\'e r~talL n~ 01 found In the trovsaence ksuma l Alm anac and Rhode Island vore percerages tor Rcpubhcans and Democrat'. bur th ... MllnullI Ret u rns from the 111 10 1> ~uhcrnatn rl.1l elccnon have sk m ~ has neghgjblc Iml'd..:ton trends and pancms because been procu red Jlfcrtly imm the RhuJe leland Bo.1Td 0/ Elcc to n' cast 'o le ..... thr rdpartv vole. The rables, ho .....ever. I lu n~ Excep t fur mater third- party candrdacres. rhrrd -party should he vw wed as sURl!:eSIIVC r;lIhcr than dcfimtrvc. votes have been II'fJUTed. Thl~ omi~Mon rcsuh s m minor un - 143 TWlNTll T Il · CE.NTURY a a o n r I <; LAND TOWN GOVlRNM lNT HI STORY ~he Newport IDaily News .'''' _..------a._ .._ .CMlQ Fleet To Abandon ewportBase Phase-Ou t To He Completed By July 1, 1974 The Newport D aily News announced a navy pullout on 16 April 1971 . Photo courtesy ~f fohn T. Hopi. NUIS Collection (Rill Xj 6 /42). their organiza tions bee n ? H as Republican domi publi cans, or did th ey have su bstantial policy nance been transla ted into pol icy, and, if so, in and ideological di sputes with the oppositio n what manner .100 form;' Muc h wor k is needed to party! Wer e the town Democrats conce ntrate d in delineate the mdr vrd ua ls and specifics. manufacturing villages! Did the Democrats orga Cont rary to the prevailin g conception, th e nize and have strong lead ers ? As the ce m u ry pro tables show town Dem ocrats as mor e th an a grcssed. city Democrats assumed contro l over rnonbund remnant. DUTl nR the Republican hey the sta te political structu re. H ow di d town day exte nding over the first three and a half dec Dem ocrats fit into these new arr angemen ts! M i ades of the twentieth century, the Democrat s gra tion from the cities to the towns incr eased still managed to pu ll In 10 to .. 0 pe rcent of the after Wnrld War II and mad e the town vote an tot al town vo te . Who wer e these Democrats! even la rge r per centage of the total Sla te vote. As Wer e they merely naysayers or di sillusi oned Re- a resu lt of this m ovem ent, Democratic as well as TWENTIETH-CENTURY R HODE l !> l A N Il TOWN COV ERNMENT Il I <; TO R'· Republican numbers grew In th e tow ns. Has the ere ..... s, police forces, and fire departments have enlarged Democratic presence in the tow ns taken liver for amateur and ad hoc surveyors, sparked confrontation along partisan lines! Have constables, and companics. Pubhc servant partisan conflicts followed discernihlc economic. unions have added a new dimension to town ~(Jv · ethnic, personal. or Issue alignments; Have par cmmcnr. Population shins have also upset evrab usan allegiances tended to shIft; hshed economic patterns. Resrdennal trac t The post-world War II suburban migration th at development, shopping malls, and mdustnal has augmented the tow ns ' Democrat ic nu mbers parks have replaced farmla nd and open space. and overa ll voting weight has also placed treme n Tax controversies have come in (he wake of land dous pressure on trad inonal tow n meeting gov USt' cha nges and upgraded services. How have ernme nt and loca l decision -makin g processes. town governme nts reconciled the interests 01 Th e new tow n residents required. and have de longtime residents and newcomers: How have manded, governmental services nut previously town governme nts reacted to cries for "progress" provided in th e towns. Professional public works and "develo pment": Town debat es over zoni ng Governor R. Livingston Beeckman signs the WOl1J cn ' ~ Sutirage Act In Providence on 0 1 Aux"IJ.~t 1917, Amung those grouped beside the xovemcr are Elizabeth Upham Yates, M r ,~ . Edwin C. Smith. Afiss Phebe len (" k s, Senator Henry I. Kane, and Representative Richard Ienmngs. RIffS Cotiecnon (R}/i X3 614l). 145 TW f. NTI f. rn - C E. N T U R Y R HO D E. I .. l A N 11 T II W '" c: 0 V E. R N M E. N T III " TOR Y The snutb side of MiddletowTl TO\\71 Hall, Photo by Raymond Ball. 1940. RIHS Collection (RHi Xj 6146J. spea k most direc tly to these questions. Approved nne town cle rk's offices and held q.7 percent , or zoning codes, th eir Implementation, and their re 2 S of 170, of the town counci l seats; in additi on, vision reveal other tacets of these issues. four women were council presidents, and at least The iSSUl' of gender mu st not be overlooked. two were town moderators or managers.I. Who Aside from loca l school comm ittees, town gov were th e wom en now assuming governmental ern ment was a male preserve until the Ni ne roles? What caused their rapid movem ent into tccnth Amendm ent to th e Un ited States Con town government! Wher e do considerations of stitu t ion mandated women 's suffrage. This prest ige, status, and compensation fit into the amendmen t did not open any floodgates, men picture? Th e path of gender inquiry promises to con tinued to hold the vast maiorny of the major unco ver as mu ch about th e larger institutional town govern ment positions- clerk , council dynamics of recent changes in Rhod e Island member, mod cr.n or-c-Ior the next fort y years. tow n govern ment as it docs abo ut th e speci fic Only in the past two decad es have women mad e hist ory of women within th at governme nt. significan t inroads into tow n govern me nt leader ship. In 19(-,~ wome n headed eight of th irt y-on e IV tow n clerk's offices in Rhode Island and held .6 percent. IIr I of 16 -l, of the town council seats, "What" is the most expansive path of inquiry. No women were town council presidents, moo Possible topics for resea rch appear in th e fore erators, mayors, or managers. T....-emy years lat er, grou nd, in the backgrou nd, and on th e horizon in 111 19S" women headed twenty-three of rhutv- profuse numbers. Four subgroups-c-inte mal. fed eral, state, and nuscell.meous-c-help bnng clanry to the enormous array. P I 't.IU'Ul ' u tlubu.·,j trom the I'nwtdence IOUTnul AI mu nuc tow n l:n\'crnmcnt X"lunn ,. 19"', and 1<,1" , Inn-m al developments involving town govern- 1~6 TWENTI EIH-C E NTURY RHOUl '''' LAND TO w N GO\,ERN ...' ENT HIstORY rnent already have been broached In the discus dents look like puddle... when compared w nh the sion of zoning as a response to cha nging popu sea of federa l govern ment activity obl iging a lati on and eco no mic rea lities. It is important to town response dunng the twentieth century. not e he re that th e financial tow n meeting has Const itutional am endments dunng the opvnmz been th e principal form of govern ment in Rhod e decades of the cent ury establishing a fedcr alm Island towns, and de ... pitc numerous reforms It come tax, dir ect clccnon of senators, women's continues In place in man y of them . Nonthc lcss, suffrage. and national prohibition forced some al the tc... carcher should be warned not to view th e teration in town government and political prac town mcenng itself as the who le of town govern tices, and there is much supposmon that the me nt . Such a view drasticall y and mappropnat elv " 100 percent Amcncamvm" campaigns alter the limits the range of town governme nt history and United States' entry into World War I spurred on th e qu csucns that mi ght be asked about town a nat ivist resurgence and Ku Klu x Klan demon governme nt. Th e financial town mccnng ma y strations in Rhode Island towns during the H) 20"'. she pherd the flock of town government compo Sign ifica nt, if unsavor y, stories may rewa rd dig nents, but th e components have a WI: 01 their ging in these topics. own. For inst an ce, sc hool committees monito r The New Deal looms as a wate rshed in town tow n educational di rections and dec isions, and fede ral relation s. DIre phvsrcal want occasioned the actions and arguments resulting In school by the O rear Depression compelled many towns consolidation from the once ubi quitou s one to seek and accept outs ide assistance for the I1 r... t room schoolho uses present fascinating and man time. Alter state resources ran dry, the federal ageable research subiec ts." Highway surveyors, govern ment stood a ... the last recou rse. How did town sergeant s, and town tax collec tors all had the different towns re... pond to th e new bureau mini ature fiefdoms within the struc ture of town cratic form s and manage the plan ni ng of protects govern me nt during the first half of th e tw entiet h and th e tlow of relief fund s! century. How did these officials pursu e their du Foster , a town that historically had been at (If ties and dea l with the various segments of the nea r the bottom of Rhode Island tow ns m terms tow n citi::enry! How, and why, did they lose of annual per capita income, welcomed the New th eir power within the towns? O f course, room Deal. Town officials du tifully co mpleted applica also rema ins for study ing th e town meeting it tion s for road wor k project s fina nced throu gh the self. Who participated! How have th e interest s Emergency Relief Administration , sec ured ap represented changed over th e years: What has proval, and got th eir unemployed cit izens work th e level and sty le of discussion been! What ing. During 19}5, I'Hn, and much of 1917, the issues most consiste ntly provoke content ion! town coo perated wit h the Civilian ennservatlon Internal developments affecti ng town govern Corps JCCC) ca mp loca ted there, pu rchasing ment invanably hear some relation ... hlp to exter gravel for the worker') to usc m resurt acmg town na l events, and these have assaulted the town s roads. But this congenial state of attarrs did not from all an gles. Rcco nstrucnng and mr crp rcnng last. D urm g th e latter years of the decade Foster town government respon ses to th is barrage of soured un the New Deal-perhaps beca use eco events poses a monumental challenge for re nomic conditions had improved, perhaps because searche rs. Th e towns first faced national govern town citizens chafed at the loss of loca l auto n ment demand s during th e Revol unonary era and omy accepted along With outs ide ard, per hap... be were subjected to formal federa l gove rn ment 10 cau...e.' tradit ion al Republican senu mcnts reas tervenu on du ring the Civil War, bu t these prcce- serted themselves. The changed attitude.' surfaced I II . Ch.lrJo:~ Carroll, PublIC Education In RhoJt l siand. Gencr.lll A~....mblv's tole m pmmuunj.; scho..1rctorrn In the Rhode lvland Educatusn Circul ars. no. n!\ IPru\'Idcnee Sure to"·n ~.IM rhc general O;" nll"U Board " j Educamin, I II I III pnwrd..s m torrnanun rc~rli m~ the 147 IWtNTtlTH- CtNTURY RHODE ["LANIl IOWN tdJ\'lIlNMlNT HISTO RY clearly du ring the town cou ncil session of .~ lul y ItS operauon. and the details and dy nam ics of 1917, when a vote ordered the town clerk to "ob th is process dema nd invesnganon. tam an opuuon from the town solicitor rela tive The Rhode Island state government joins the to the town's rcsponsibiluv m case of accident na tional government as an msugator of town on any of the wads being built by ccc." On government behavio r. w hat ma ter state action s <; March 19\1'1 the council voted and o rdered the have prompted respon ses from town gove rn town clerk to " not ify Farrell D. Coyle, Rhode Is ments; From early In the century the sta re has Land Works Progress Administrator, that the smven to centralize and coordinate the de livery co uncrl does not desire to take part In the Com of ....ervrcc.., What ha s been the nature and history muruty lmpro .... ement Appraisal as outlined in of town and ..tate government relations in the he, letter 01 recent date." Other refusals to rom areas of road Improvement, educational policy, in public works and public records programs fol water management, and welfare assistance! lowed. The Foster town government had as What circumstances have supported congenial sumed an active posture against federal assts relation", and what crrcurnsranccs have provoked ranee. This bnct account of the New Deal m one hO'm llty; Possible topics for consideration m town only suggests the nch possibilities for re elude high ....-ays l-y S and 1-29 1\ , proposed high search into this pivotal pcnod lor Rhode Island 's ways 1 - ~ 4 and I-S9S, the paving of dirt roads early local govcmmcnts.: m the century, racetrack referendums. the voter The New Deal forced towns to engage wi th a aborted "Greenhouse Compact," and the deci govemmcmal power ou tside of themselves and vron Ion the part of Providence, with the backing to revamp nadmonal budgcnng and administra of the Ge neral Assembly] to build th e Sci tuate ti ve pancms. Since then th e influence o f the fed Reser vou. eral gove rnment has not subsided. World War II The ho me rul e charter amendment to the state brought on J. mater naval bui ldu p dramaticall y constitution, adopted in June 19S I , ope ned a mt luencmg a few of th e coastal towns. How did new di mens ion for town gove rn me nt research. town govemruents res pond to th is sudde n an d wh.u role did town officials take in the fra m ing massive federa l presence! T he cold war foll ow in g and passa~e of th is amendmen t; Towns now had Worl d War II saw co ncerted [tho ugh short-li ved] th e option to rdrame their struc ture of gove rn civil defen se ac tivity in towns across the state. ment and gam ,I measure of freedom from the Wh ,lt did this tlurry of civil defen se activity reo Ge ne ral Assembly over procedural matters, lik e veal about cult ural tears and attitudes toward in f1 Il,ltin ~ bonds wi th in previously set debt limits. tcrgovemmcntal rcl anonst Lynd on John son 's Horne rul e charte rs an d th e debates preceding "G reat Socrcty" appealed to sta te and local gov th eir eve n tual acceptan ce or reiccuon offer UI1 crnmenrs with local improvement grants. What paralleled ins igh ts Into local attitudes toward moved some towns to seck fun ds lor "Green town gove rn me nt. Where has power been lodged ; Acres" programs and rcc rcanonal projects while Has the finan cial town m eet ing bee n worked others let the opponuruty pass ? Du ring the 19 7 0 5 Into the new system or scrapped! Wh at politi and 19 1'10 s " New Fcdcrah sr n" and block grants cal elements have coalesced aroun d proposa ls have kept the fede ral lever geared into the wo rk lor charters; Tab le Ii shows the results of home ings of town gove rn ment. Federal government ru le charter votes in Rhode Island towns. Re dccrstons and funds haw undoubtedly mtluenccd iectcd charters may prove m ore interesti ng sub changes 111 the structure of town government an d rects to r study, but all the listed yea rs, and sub- 10. LI:II1:1 h" ~l·'. h ' ~ 1l"I I" n dl:rk\ orticc, To..... n (II f ....- 11 Rrchard \1un.....n Iutl,l " A Hl""ry nl the Ne .. De.al m 11:1 . RCI:"IJ, '" Council ~nJ T" n ,'I, ke ll n ~~. no ~ . Ill..... n Yermont" ItlJ" Harvard Umwr'lly. 19 \ 91 which covers av mCl:tmjt mmUlI:' 110 ,'I,t n 19 l 1\ I u o ; cou ncel rmnutes II lulv f'C.' e1' " I Vetmt>m I" .....·n e ll;rc:ncnl:c_ du n njt the Ne ..... O<.-.al. 19\11, ~ . Record, 01CounCi l and Town .'I, 1ee t m~ , nu s . rrn,·.Jc, usctul corn paranve pcr cpecnves tot Ihmkml: abour councel , pen,1 "C"l"n m mU II:~ 110 \1J'· 19 '''1. 9 Rh' l The Rhode lstand State Council of Defense's tkxn in the "On 10 Victor .v" parade in t'rcvidence, 2 Mav lY4l. RIllS Collection (Rill XJ 6145). seq ue n t yea rs when revisions were cons ide red or scnta uve pe r town was ,I sy mbolic 1:'I10w to tow n made. should he ripe areas fur town gove rn ment government autonomy. research. A number of research topics that do not read O ne ot her ncrn in the su bgroup of state devel i1y tit lOW the in te rnal. federal, OJ state sub opments comes to mind. How did the towns re groups m;IY he inc luded in the m iscella neou s spond to th e Ge ne ra l Assembly redistricting subgroup. How did town gove rn me nts involve controversies chu rned u p by the Uni ted States themsel ves in the co ntroversial proposa l to bu ild Su pre me Court 's landmark apportionment dec i a nuclear power plant in Sou th County during sion III Baker v. Carr !IQn21, a decision calling the last decade! How has environmental ac for sta te assemblv rcprescntan on on the basis of nvism affected town government de hberanons "one man, nne vote"! Did town gove rnment and decisions! How have town governments ad wishes figure in any of the multiple proposals re d ressed the Issues 01 indusmal and rranspona viewed and rerecred during the hectic per iod III tion [acrhues! Early III the century several town lat e 1962; At the very least, the loss of the his governments cnthusiasncallv sought to attract toric pn vilcge to haw a mnumum of one rcpre- streetcar and rarlwav hnes th rough their towns, TWI.NT I ETH -CE""TUR Y RHODE I SLAND TOWN GOV ERNM ENT HIS TORY Tab le 5 the main town governments-may be deemed Rhode Island Towns Votes ano ther miscellaneous resear ch topic." on Home Rul e Charters A maior dsstmcrum hetween home /u lt' choJ rtt'l'i j, the ctea tum of all. appamted ve r,\u~ 2.1 , f or a brief overview oi streetcar developrncnr III Rhode III 1'l04, most special drsmcrs have been formed to meet Island, sec Samuel Henrv Rosenberg,"A Hrstury 01 Street water-supply or fireprotection needs oi mort densely popu Rarlwavs III Rhude lvlnnd' I t h e s l ~, Umvcrsuy 01 Rhode is lated areas wuhm the towns. A lew RlIIGR pubhcauons deal land, 1'Jt'> l l- wllh ~ r e d a l dlstncts, dw clhng on th en dlsadvanuges. I J. Smcc the abohshrncnt ot mcorporarcd school drsmcu, 150 T W EN Tl l T H-LEN TURY R HODE IS L AND TO WN C.OVlRN.'-1lNT H IST ORY VI century Rhode Isla nd town government history, Protcssor Mct .oughl in closed a 198} article o n he wary of the snares of nO';ta l~ la and annquan the prospects for Rhode Island histor y with a call amsm. S tTl\'C to build arguments a.. well as to for "mrensrvc monographic and problem -sol ving uncove r mfo rrnanon. l oo k at the towns on their studies of vanous aspects 01 Rhode Island's his o ....·n te rms, and do not led compelled to make tory, wn nen irom a vancty at methodologies and grandiose claims. The basic prac tice 01 to wn gov generatmg ne w kinds of data, " • The essay pres cmmcrn holds m ore of ge ne ral histo rical sigmfi en rlv before you has scou ted ways and means for cancc than the unusu al or famous person or thlo mapping an expanse of Rhode Island's hist or y too s i n~ llo odd event th at may he assocr an-d wi th a long left un explored. to wn, Have patience. Be imagma uvc an d se n In moving Into th e fronticr of tw entieth- siti vc. The field 15 wide open. GOllUhunting! Appendix A ThIS appendix lists mformanon r C):;I r dm ~ [O wn clerks' oifices , town lihranc s, and town historica l assoctanonv. All phone numbers have a ~Ol area clxk T he inform ation has been earhcrcd 110m Rhode lvland rclcphonc boo ks and David C. .'-13slyn, ed., The f)Tt' ~ervalwn 0/ Our RighI to Intotmanon and the Documentation (J/ ()lIT Ilerlfaxe, The Rhode tstand Record~ A He~mlt'nf Report , 1984-19S ~ [Pruvrdcnce: Na tio nal Hrston cal Pu hhc anon And Records Comrmssron. 191\;; ). :\13ny tow n h utoncal SOCieties do not have a permanent horne and do nor mamtatn phone numbers, bUI town clerks or hbrancs oncn ha ve cu rrenI mtormau on about these socicnes. The mosr comprehcn swc single research source lor all the towns IS the Rhode 1..land HI..toncal SOCiety Librar y, 111 Hope Street, Pnwi deuce 111 1-" 57;;1. Note Ihal the tolluwmg catalog i.. neither dcfinmvc no r Immune tmm the pa..saj(l' 01 nme. Barri n,;ton; Town Clerk, Town Hall, HI} County ~ u ·, \11 ; weaver Mcmorral Lrbrarv, ~ t Creve Rwd, 1~7 -19OO ; Pubhc Libra ry, III I COUnty Road, Avenue, 4\~-14'i} 1~7 -1910 ; Barnngton Prese rvat ion Socrerv Exete r: Tow n Clerk, Ten Rod RII..ld, 1<,l~ -'1\<,l1 ; Exeter Rri"lOl; Town Clerk, 10 Court SUCl't, 1'1-7000; Tow n Librar y located at the Town Clerk's Omcc, Ro!-:e rs Free Library, Hope Stree t, lSl·69~~ ; Bnstol 19~ 'VI<}1 lhstoncal and Prcsc rvanon Society, COUrt Stree t, FoMer : Town Clerk, South KilhnJ.:ly RO;lJ, \97-1771 ; 1'i\-712\ Public l ibrary, Howard HIll Road, Foster Center. Bcrrtllv ltle: Tow n Clerk, Ma m St reet, Harrisvill e, ",J7 ,~XOI; Fosll'r I'rcscrvanon SnC ll'IY, 'Tyler fr ee LI 'iM- ~ \00; lcsse M. Sm it h Mcmcnal Library, Main luary, MOllSUP vallcv, \97'7YW Street, Harrisville, 'ih!l-!ll ~ ~; Burrillville Historical GllICt'ster : Town Clerk, Put nam l'lke, Che pachet. and Preservation Soctcrv, Whipple Road, Pascoag ,0"'0100; Harm on y Puhhc Libr.rrv. Pumarn Pike, Charlestown: Town Clerk, South Count y Trail, Harmcn v, 9 ~",- 2Hso; G lol.:cs ll'f Hl'fllil ge Society \h 4-77 IIl; C ross Mill s Public l lhrary, C ross J\hlls, Hupkiniou: Town Clerk, Town HIIU Sl' Road, 177-2210; \6 ~-61 1 1 ; Charlestown Hrsnmcal Societ y A ~ha w a y Free LIbrary, Ma in Street , A~hol ",' ay, Coven try: Town Clerk, 670 Flat River Road, 1l 11-9170; 177-1770; Hopkmton Hrstoncal As"ouatlOn Pubhc Library, Flat River RO.ld, IH1-<}100; Coventry Jame stow n; Town Cle rk, 71 N a rra~ansett Avenue. Hrstoncal Society ~1 \ -0100; lamestown Lrbrarv, No rth "';1\0 Road . Cun"lOn: Clerk, C uv Hall, "69 Park Avenue, ~l\ -lon'i ; lamcsto ....-n Hrstoncal SOCICt\,' ~6 1 -1000 ; William Hall Free library, Illl; Broad, John slun : Town Clerk, 11~' Hartford Avenue, 7Ilr -1.F;0 \, I -MIll; xtanan I. Mohr "kmorJ;ll llhrary, r xtc. Cumber land: Town Clerk, ~'i Broad Sneer, l1" -l~OO ; mortal Avenue, 2 \1 -49"0 Edward I. Hayden Public Library, Diamond Hili lincoln : Town Clerk , 100 Old Rrvcr Road, \, "1100, Road, 11\-1;;1; Cumberland Prcsc rvanon Society l'uhhc l lhrary, Old River Road. \ \ \ '1111 Ea..1 G reen wich; To ....-n Clerk, t I I Pence St reet , lillie Compton: TO""'n Clerk. Commons. fq'i-4~00 , XS~- ~~IO , Pub lic Llhrary, 1\1 Petree Srrcc r, !lK ~ -9;1 0 ; Hruwncll Lrbrary, Commons, n "-"''il'> l, l.irrle E a~t Greenw ich I'rcse rvauon SUCIety Compton Hrstoncal SIJoCICt)' Ea"l Provid en ce: Clerk, !4, Taunton Avenue, ,\1iddlelOwn: Town Clerk, Ea..t Ma IO Road. "47 -~ ; Middletown l ibrary, West ,\ 1310 Road, S~n- I ;;7.; Middletown Hrs roncal Socrctv 24 wrlham G. McLoulUilm, " ~ ~· n t h ( M :;:: ln .l: Rhode Is1.mJ N a rr,,~ a nw lI: Town Clerk, 10 Frfth Avenue , 7S9' 10~~ ; Ill s t " I ~' I'I" hlcm " Ar r lOJch cs, JnJ Orru!tum llcs, " R/H 41 Narrag;ln..ett Pier Fn'c library, Kmgswwn Road, i I "s,)· 10<1 7Hy-y,07; Narragans ctt HI..toTl r J I SOCIe ty 15 1 , TWIN' I ~TH -ClNTU RY R HOI)l l~lANIJ TOWI'O CO\'lItNM l:NT Hl~ T()RY Nonb Kin~"own: Town Clerk. 1'10 Boston Nec k Road . KIO!:!>!"wn Road, KIO~... ton . 7!"·l'I l ' 4; Peace Dale 1<,1-l, 'l n I , l'ubhc Llhrary. 100 Boone Roa d. 194-H0/'l Public LlhrMY, KIORstown Road . Peace Dale, NUlIh Providence: Town C le rk, 1001'1 Sm uh Street, 71'1"40/'1,; I'cn.rquam...cun Hrstonc al SllC lety. Kmgs 1 U -O<,lOO , Pubhc Lrbrarv, 11'110 M meral Sp nn~ AVt: town Ro,ld . KIO ...:... tun. 7!'i \- 1111) nuc. l' , · ,1'> 00 Tive rto n: Town Clerk. High land Road , f>14 ·..JI77, Es North Smilhlit"ld: Town Clerk Tow n Buildmg. xtam ...ex l'ubhc Lrbrary, l l" High land Rood. (,14·1'1079, Succi. Slat crvvrllc . 71>7' 1100, Pu bhc Library, 10 UnuJO Puhhc Llhr.ITY, '''31.\1.110 Road , f>15-5H', vtam SUloCI. "/'17'171'10; Nonh Srmrhfield Hcnrage Tiverton l hvroncal Soci ety A ~"t l<.:I.lllUn. Stam St reet, Forestdale, 766' 07 I° w ar ren : Town Clerk, Town Hdll, "14.\1.110 Street. I'on... mouth: Town Clerk, 1100 East ....tarn Road. 24 ) '7 ' 40; (;t:"t~t· Ha ll Free Lrbrurv. "10 Mam M \ ·1tOI . Punvmuuth Free Pubhc Library Assocra Street, 24 ,' 7""'11 lion. 1 /'1 ,1\ b"l " 'am Road . f>I/'\ ·9.H7; Portsmouth War wick: Cle rk, Cuv Hall. 117'i 1\,...t Road, 7\1\-2 000; HI"lOfl cal ">OCll'ly, " 70 East Mam Road . 1'>" 3-91 7/'1 CcnrralLrhrarv f> OO Sandy Lane, 739") .$.1.0 Richmund:Tn....-n Clerk. Richmond Town House \\t'''lerh': Town Clerk, Town Hall, Broad Street, Road. ,W'1H7, Clark Mcmonal Lrbrarv, Shannock. )'}I'>'O '41 . We lerly Pubhc Lrbrarv, Broad Street. \ 1'> 4'1'> 100, Richmond Histonca! SocICI\' "J1'>'1 1i77; Wl; terly Hrsroncal SOCIety Scilu;ue: To....-n Clerk, .\ laln SUCCI . f>.P·I/'111, Norrh We..t Oeee n ....-ich: Town Clerk, Town Hall, vrcrorv SCHUdle Pubhc Lthrarv AS...ocr.num. C rccnvdlc Hl!dlW;,l)', \tI7-,OI f> , Pubhc Librarv. vrc rorv High Road. Nonh St:lIUale. f>.p-,r .,. Scrtuate Prewrva . way, \lJ7-U U lion and Hl ... toncal Socrcrv WeM war ....-ick : Town Clerk. 1170 M;,I lO Street, Smi th field : Town Clerk, 64 Farnum Prkc, lll 'f>l'>oo; 1'I11-'}200 , Robert H. Champlin Memonai libury, Crccnvrllc l'ubhc Lrbrarv, Putnam Pike, Crcenvrlle. 104l.\lalO Street. !'I11'1 '17 , O, Crompton Free Library, 949-,f> to. Hr-umcal Soc iety III Smnhficld 1"79 Mam Street, Crompton. S1l'1 '19 14, Pawtuxct South Kinjl; ... I0....-n: Town Clerk, f>f> Hl!dl SUCCI , Valley HI..w ncal Socrcry w akcticld. 71\<,l '9n I , Kmgston Free Library, I U <,l Appendix B Thrs appendi Xprovide.. wh at apparcn rlv IS the firsl puhh..hcd co mpendium 01 th e Rhode b land Burea u 01 Govern. mcn t Re... carch IRIBG R\ Research Serres. 1900 -t971l, and lnfurm nnon Sene... 19I'> r -197'. The Research Series conrams vornc ... u b... ran nal studies, while th e ln tor manon Scncs CtlnSI... h pnncipallv ol brief hl~h ly statis tical. se lccnvc, and nrnc-... pccrfic pamphlets. The Rescar ch Scncs Ihun ...: mclu dcs ...«me ..hur t annotations. RIBGR also I...... ued a regul ar m-wsh-ncr trom 1'1110 throu gh rhc dosltl;: ni the bu reau 111 the ... prm;: ot 191'1, . T he Spec ial Collcc nons J)1'I1"'IOIl ot th e UOlvc rsllY uf Rhode Island library hold ... a complete collccnon of RIBGR publicunnns. RIBCR Research Sones No. I: Robcn D lillian , Fundamentals of fl am e Rille, Nil. 7: Mnnhc..... I. Kulick, Financing the Af ailJleTlilllce I'}"O, oltlJe Nauon! ;)y.\tC11l of Interstate and Deiense No, 2: [uhn O. St ltcly. All Olltlilll of Rhode Island lflglnvllv,\, 1\l1l 4, .~ t a t (' (;ov<'rtlt1U'tJI . n.d. No. S: Ch,n!cs E. Moan, Ir" f'u/>/ic E.mployn' Tril ininx Nil , 1: lkon-rty L. HrownlO"': . Nmth Kinj{sto.nl Select, (m thl' Slate Lt'I'd ill the Uniled .~t a t e ~ , 1904 . Twn Town , \ l 152 T WENTll r ll-C EN TU RY RH ODE ISL AN D TO WN (;OV lRN ME NT HIS TO RY Elecnons: The tnsn and Italians of Providence, No. 15: A Duecuvv of Local Govem m en s Officials 10 Rhode Island. 11,1 (,9, Rhode Nand. Il}h-.l IMp. No. 1] .: Richard A Gabnel, The Political Machine In So. 16 : S('hool Commsnees In Rhode tsland. 19 6 -.1 . -.lp. Rhode Island. 11}70 , No. 17: Selected Town Covemment Salaries m No. I": JOM:ph E,Cud uri, An Dutlme o f Rhode Island Rhode i sland. 11} 64 · I2p, Slafe covemmem. t rd ed ition, 197 1 S o. 18: Sala ries and Working Condiuons In Rhode No. 1'j: Stephen I. G rossbard, PPBS [planning, Pro Island Police Departments, 196",. 6p . gram m mg. Budgetmg Stru ctures] for State and Nil. 19 : valanes. h'urk1O,!: Condmons. and Beneril ~ In Local Otticials. 197 1. Rhode t siand FITe Departments. 19n... 9p . !'lO o. 16: joseph E. Cudun, Handbook for Rhode Island No. 20 : Frmge Benetns In Rhude Island Cines and Town and Cuy Clerks, 19", TO\\7J.s. 11)6 .. , I2p. No. 17; Dennis D. Sheehan and IOM'ph E. Codun, No. 21: Dnectcrv 01 Local Govemmem Oitictals 10 Rhode Island Asvessc rs' Handbook. 197'i. Rhode Island. revised, Il,jn, . 19P, No. I ii; Robe rt W. Sutton.Tr, ed., Rhode Island Local No. 22; Oll ecror)' o f Slate A ssocianons of Local COl" Go vernm ent. Past. Present. Futu re. t974_ emmell/ Ottictals. 19M. sp. No. 19; Proceedings of the r jth Annual Ins utute on No. 2] ; Dlll'crorv of Slate A.~ .H.lCIatlOm o f Loca/ GOI" Problems of Government, Intergovernmental Re ernmt'nI OffiCials. lyM. "p. .~ pons l b l i lfI e~ for Public Health. 19(,2. No. 24: Duplicates No . 2\. No. 20: Rhode tsland In th e Year 19 1J : Proceedings No. 25: Fringe Benefits m Rhode Island ClfIes Ol o f a Sym pos JU m. 1970 . TOlHH. I yhn, 9p. No. 21: Dieter Ham m crsc hlag, A New Town for No. 26: Seiec-sed Cu v Govemmem Salanes 10 Rhode Rhode Island. 11,170 . A study oi planmng a new Is/and. revised, 19nn. np town on Ihl' North Kingstown and South Kingstown No. 27: Salanes and h'orklng Condsuon -; In Rhode border aburnng Nana~nse tl Bay and enccrnpassmx Island Police Departments, 19f1h. ep. wr cktord. No. 28: satones. Workmg Condinons. an d Benetits m No. 22: Councils of Govemment. 11} 71. Rhode Island Fife Dt'parlments. 19M. rp. No. 23: Richard A. Gabncl. The Ethnic Factor In the No. 29: Selected TUII7J Govemmenc Salane-; In Urban Pollf _v. 1971. Rhode island. lyM , top. So. 2.1 : Chns unc Howel ls Rcnzern, The Rhode Is No. ] 0: M uO/c i pa l l n ~ u r a n ce and Surerv Bonds J1I land Consu tuticmal Convention. 197 -l. Rhode Island. Summarv of I'ractlces In Selected No. 25: v ictor L. Profughr and Edward G. w arr en , Sru Areas, lyn7. 7p. dent lntems III the Public Sector . 1976 . No.] 1: Trcbate Coull.o; In Rhode Island. revised. 11} 67. ep. RlBGR lnformauo n Serres No. ]2; IJlrectory of Local Government O!liCla/~ III No. I : Selected Town Govemmeni Saianes in Rhode Rhode Island. revised, l yn7 . rep. Island. I l,ln I, top. No. B : Scho(J1 Commvnees III Rhode island. ly67. Ip . Nu.2: School Cnmmntees In Rhode Island, 11} 6 1. W. Nu. 3": Dtrectorv of .'lillie AssoCla llUlls of Local Cov Nu.3: SlIJ le Taxes III Rhode lsiand. 19nI. aop. ernmenl Oflie/a Is. , y h7 up. No.": I'robase COllrls III Rhode Island, 1962. ep. No. ]5: Selec ted Cuy Covemmem Salaries in Rhode No. 5; Moblle Henne Regulation In Rbode Island, lsiand. revised , l yn 7. ep. l y fl2, np. Nu. 36 : Sniane« and W(JrkitlX Condalr.w .' 10 Rhode Nu.6: MUnJclpal Insurance and Surely Bonds in island Police Denartmerns, 11}67. Sp. Rhode Island. 1961. -lP, No. 37: Selected Town Government Salaries; in No . 7: Salaries and WorklnK Condnsons In Rhode ts Rhode Island. 19 n7 . 12p. land l'o1zce Departments. 1962. 6p. No. ]8: Frlllxe Benetits III Rhode Island Cales ~,1 No . Ii: Seleaed Town Government Salanes 10 Rhode Town s. I yns, tip. Island. 19 62 . rep. No . ]9: MUll/Clpai i'lanrung Boards 10 Rhod e Island. No.9: A DIKesf of Rhode lsland Slate Tax Laws. re Il}n" lP. Vi sed, 1962. 17p. Nu. .10: School Commutees In Rhode Island. 19 n8 . "P, No. 10: FrmKe Benetits In Rhude Island Cures n ) No . .I I : OllecfOry of .~ t a f e A~.soclarlOns of Local GOl'· T o\t-7H. 19(,\. l Op. ernment Otticials. 19 M1, qp . No. II ; Sa ft'ty CWes and Standards 10 Rhode Island No. .12; Selec fed Cuy Gtll'emmem Salanes In Rhode Cwes and Towm. 19 6 1. Mp. Island, re\"I'>Cd , 19M. 6p. No. 12: Salaries. \-\.'orkIng Condl/wm. and Benefits 10 No. oi l : Duectory of Loca/ CUl'emment Officials In Rhode Island Fife Departments. 196\. "p. Rhode Island. revised . 11}69. 1Ir. So. 13: A Dlgesl of Rhode Nand Stafe Tax Laws. No. ....: Selected TOI\71 COl'ernmenl Salalle~ 10 19(1} revlSlun , 19 6 \ _ 17p. Rhode Island, 19"9. '''p. :'Iio. 14: SeIec: ted ClI)' Gon>rnmenf Sa/anes In Rhode No. .IS: DlrecfOry o f Sfall' A 'SOCIallOns of Local COl" Island, 19n1 np . emmem O!tiClah, 19n9· 9r. 153 .... T W ENTI ET H - CENTUR Y R HOD EI SLA NIl T OWN GO V E: Il. N ME NT H I STORY No. 46: Duecunv uf Local Govem mem C iticials In No. 5;: Salanes. Working COTldltIfJTlS. an d Benetits In Rhode Island, rCVIM:J. 19 70 . z zp. Rhode tsiand FIre Depcnrnems: 1<)7 1. 20p. No. 47: Sala nes. Wot l< mx Conditions. and Fnn ge Nu. 56: Selected To wn Govemment Salaries JTl H('nelif~ In Rhode Is/and Pulice Departments. Rhode island. 19 71. t(,p. 1970. 17 p. No . 51 : Salanes. Worlo ng Co nditions. and Frm ge No . .18: Selected CII\' Govcmmem Salaries In Rhude Bcnems III Rhode Island Pollee Departments. island. rvvised, I Q70. " p. 197 1.20p. No. 4<) : Selected Town Covcmmem Sala ries In Rhode :"10. :;8: Dsrecunv of Local Covemmem OffiCIals III tstand. 197 1 r vp. Rhode Island. revised. 1<)72 . 1 2p. No. SO: Salane-; Workm ,lt Conditions. and Bent-tits In :"10. 59: D JTecwty 0/ Sfa le AssocI a tIOns 0/ LO(:111 Cov Rhode Island FITt' Departments, 19 71 rvp. ....rnment Oftinak 19 71. 13P. :\'0 .51: Dut'cton' of Local Government Ottiaats in No. 60 : Selected Cuv Covemmem Salaries III Rhode Rhode island. rC H!>Cd, 1971 11p. Island. 1973. 9r. ;"1;0 .52: .\chool Comrmueev In Rhode Island. 1970 So.61: Drrecrorv ot Local Covemmem Dtticials In 1'll71 7p Rhode lstand. revised, 1973. 2lP. No. 51: Duccunv of Stare A n o<" /a l w DS 0/ Local Gov No . 62: lJJTeCfmy of Stafe Assocre n cn s 0/ Local GOI" nomem Orticlak 1971. r tp emmenr Oftklals. 19 7}. IIp. No . 54: Selected Cnv Covernmem Salaries In Rhode No , 61: DJTeaory of Local Govemmem Officials m IdanJ, r~·v hcJ. 19 7 1 '1l'. Rhode i slan d. revised. 19H z ap. Volume 46 Index Mu rder. and /U\'It'" In l:Clr!I' !n.III ,It/ClI CnmmuOl'Y CollC/:e "I Rhode lelan d, '11 N"w England. reYle,"" cd, I 11 - 1 1 Cllnk~' , Parnck T , 7' Botelho, jovcc , 1 Cnnl" n, Noel r., 7 ~ AJ;lm~. h l~ln ry , Karhnmc. labor 1" Boulware, L. R.• h I Conrad. lame.. loIw".n. " '·ra;:c~ Akohullc bc.·v Puttsmouth and Brayton, Chade-, (·' I\o ...s"], 14 1 Cnoke. N lt:hula.., <,K\ Chn~t1.m Wunwn \ Temperance Union, Bnche r, Alfred Thornp..on , 1'.7 Cmh..",. GeOl!:e, 1 111 Il ~ 1 \ 1'1 -\ 11 , pruhlblll'.n In AlknJ.ah:, Bnd cn baugh , Carl, C,,' h ss Steam l ni:lOe Comp.mv 11 0,1 , "'I 11 1 - II' BnSIOI: home rule, 1,0 , lown hl'h"\'. 1 \ I C"rndl. Sarah. Pall RU 'rr OUlrClj1l' LIt,', Aldrich, Nel-on, I'll Brock. Edmund, .$b, 4<,1, 77 .\ 1I1 rd.'1. and !u ' IKe In barlvtnduwna l A11cn, Cr .l...",ni.IIII,I\I -11 Brody, David. 71 Nt',", f.nl'/.w d. reviewed. I Il - I \ AII"n, Philip, I III. IU Brown. Edwin, h .• lahnr hrstorv. 1 . 1 1-14 Cnvcmrv homo.: rule. 1 \ 0 , I"... n hr-torv. "11m, Zacharrah Ill. Ii'" 42 -4\, 4h. 411, 74, 711 All en , uch 155 • I NDEX Fact or u-s ,ce Ind ustTl.lh;:au"n Hanle y. 11 m , a t. jew clrv workers Uruon. a t> Fum w"rkC!s and labor mnH~ m... nt. Han lcv. john, I \ fc.... s In col..ma l Rhode I ~ l.lnd , ll'i Hardmg, Warr en G I t. lohn "" n. Lyndon B . IJI'I Eaunce. wrlham Hr. ~, Hams. WIlh am. lla -ll'i I" hnst"n home rule, I so ; 1O...·n hrs torv. f "'n :u". ,n Robert HaIH' 17 Hamson. Peter, 117 Fem andes lohn I"Tov"l labor hIS(or)', 1 . Hamson, WIlh .lm Hcnrv, 9 t Inhnstun'" , Wilh am. 11l H- t ~ Hartz. Lours. ?~ lom:s. Willis, lat." hll>wry, 1. I ~ rcnaro. wilham .\ 1.. "T wcnuc thCcmurv Hasbro CUmp ol n)', !I<,I, <,1 1 I s, r Coa t ~ Thread MIlh , I II , ,1 \ Rhode Island To.... n G"WTnmem Hi S' Hascotcs b m lly. II ~ uuv A Sur \'ey III Are.l< I"r Resea rch." H l."f1l."shntt M.Jnu f a l'tUI III~ Company, 1'1<,1 ; Kabablan. Helen, 78 I \ /o- ~ ~ Th e ReI/am'e lSol llm /: vcsscll, vol. Kane , Hcnrv I., photo , 1;I 'i Field , Ed....ard W , I \ 7 cover Kavscrman. David Richard. FlJl1 RII''''' Fmdlay, lames. 1 . 77 He ..... m, Seth, H (JUtT<.I}(.,. LJfO'. Murda . and /11"tK(OIn Fish er, Alvan . ilt. H &. HScr ew l'roducr e. 1>, EMly industtsal New E~land, rc· F0l:any, lohn L , .p Hill e. l c....is. 71> vrc....cd, r [1 - [ 1 Porwr. Ph ilip S., 7'i Hrstuncal resear ch . "Twcrurcth-Ccnrurv Katy lvessell. 90 Fmler Itnwn): and tedetal rclatllllis. 1~ 7 Rhude Island Town Covcrn rneru Hrs Kellner. Ceorge II . 71 ~H i home ru le, I ~o ; town hl,t"ry, l 'i I torv- A Survey "I Areas Inr Research," Kelly. Richard. 77 I \t. - q Kennedy Robcn E, 66-67 Callcaru. l UI ~ . 1~ Home ru le and Rhodc Isldnd towns, Ken sett, loh n Prcdcnck, 1i7 C amblinI'. slm machmcs and W"men 's I J I'I ~ 'i O Keough , fran CiS. a" Chnstra n Temperance UOIun. 1\ 11 - W Hoover. Herbert. 1" KIn,l/,. ....hrun Luther. II., 11> ,"7 C U VIII. LucIUS F C 11\ 7 11 Hope Clu b. I I Kln ll: I ' h l h p '~ War. II... 100J Cener... 1Elecr nc Cllmpoln~· ." 1 Hopkinton . luc.l[ hls""y. I ~ I Klfk, wrlham, 7/0 C ..n..rlJ l Law 0; Rh"J .. island. 1\ 11 Hou ~ln ,l/,. Znh.lrldh Allen ,m d mduvrrral Klybcr ll:. Alben T., 1; "Rhode Isla nd and Gn llll:lJ Vlllemtll . 1.0, 111'1 , 111. 111'1 - \ 'i paternahvm, 11\-1", 11. 9- \1 the Amcncan Nauoo," 8\ -<,1,1 Ge rstl e, Ga r ~· . labor hrstorv. 1, 1Y, n Hutchinso n . Anne , Il , Kml!:.tu s nl Lah"r. ... 7-1l Cercunv C u I. 7 ,-7" Kn"....lcs, lamo 0 ., 9t> Ccu lcm.l n, M.lrvln E n lndrans, tr ade "lIh Ru~n wrlhams. Ko l , ~ ul( David, labor h l~tor)·. 11> G lbb-., Kathcnnc, .~ <,I <,1" - 111 Kornbluh . G.lr)· john . ? S Grlbrerh. Frank o 11 <,1 lnduvmal .Jcudl'nh .Ind lab or history, Ku Klu x Klan. lt> C llkeSl' n. loh n S , II., 7" 1>9- 71 Kuho.; k, C.lr y, 1 G lass••vorks. II Indu vrnahzateon 1.J 156 IN U IX ...t c A l c ~· c )' , Parnck. I ~ Nich olson File C"mJ';ln~', !'I 'J P",ndeno'e Tnl>lIn.·. 21 ,"' ~ Al uon, AI labor hi_IOn' 1, 1.1-I~ , 17 , N rmrm, LU I ~ , " -10 Prude. lon.nhan. 111 \0-\1, H N lOl ~re t l ~ , h e ml, 107 ."'~ Aluon . M I~hOlci . la Nrxon, RlCh Olft.l M l ol l Qua ker" m celom... l Rh"de Island, ~ <; M ~ Ca nn , john B , H North Kln~SI".... n horm- rule 1<; 0, t" .... n Ou tnnev, Richard . n Md ....;;! "h)'. I" ....rph (S,;n.lI utl, 157 I ND EX R0l'eT wrlhams College. 92 Sprague, A. & W,. 01. Vernon, Samuel, 87 Rogers, Sarah, ll7 Sprm glje1cJ Mvmin.l: News. " 1 vcnazzano, Crovanm da. 8" '14 Roman Carhohcrs m . ~ u Catholic Chu rch Steffens, Lincoln, 140 Vietor, Stephen, 71> and labor hrst urv SIIIeS, Ezra. 81> Von Schinkel, Pncdnch, 11'<{ Rooscvch, Theodore, 141 Srrarght , MIke, 4Y Royal Mills, 2 , Stuart, Gilhc n , .'II> wadbrook. MJry, labor hrstory. 27 Royal Weaving Company, T7 Sund ay blue laws, 11'1 Walla\:e, Hen ry, , O ~" I Rural b,says. 12l' Sulton, Robert W , 140 w allc ndon , Ellen, 71> Ryan , Gene, M Swccr, Bcniarrun , 12,1 w alsh, Charles A., 01. \ Warren : horne rule, 1,0; town history, Sa\:cII, NICola , and Bartolomeo Van::C" l. Talbot, Srtas . YO '" 24 -1 ~ Tallman and Buckhn [curpc ntcrs]. 111, warumc Rhode Island. llY- '11 Sattel. Alan, labor hrstorv, 2 WatMlIl , Frankhn I , 71l Sansbury, Gal l,lahnr history, 2, Ill- IY, Taylor,'" Maureen, 7'<{ Westerley: home rule, I so; town hislory, 01.1-42, 64 -M, 711 Tefft, Thomas Alexander, 121> 1,1 Savles FlnJshln!, plant, vol I cover, I" Tcxerlcs - labor hrs torv, 11-11, 17. 19-24, West Warwick: horne rule, 1, 0, lown hIS' Saylesvrlle Bleachcry, '\0 -1 I lY - \0, H , V'-18, 4 \, 46, 411 , Sayles wry, 1\2 Schwartz, Charles, labor hrstory, 2 Fini, hm l/: pla nt , vol. I cover. Zachariah Wh art on, Ednh, '<{I> SCIence o f Mt'dl 158 UNIVERSITY PRESS O F New England The Correspondence of Ro~er Willi.,ms, 1629-1682 GLENN W. LaFANTASIE, edito r For the first time all the letters of America's famous American history seeking a gene ral appreciation of religious dissenter, advoc ate of religious freedom, and his life and times. Among the topics raised in the the sepa ration of church and state, friend 10 the letters are relations with the Indians, religious and Indians, and founder of Rhode Island are available in political developments in the Providence Plantations published form. This two-volume set contains every and Rhode Island, news about people and events in known piece of correspond ence by or to Roger wn, revolutionar y England, Williams' protests about Iiams from his days as a cha plai n in England in 1629 treatment of religious dissenters in the Massachusetts to the eve of his death in New England, including a Bay Colony, and complaints to his neighbors about few letters never before published. Coupled with disorders and divisions. extensive annotation and detailed commentary. these documents reveal for modem readers the multifacrtcd All documents are arranged chronologically and tran dimension of Williams' career in Puritan New Eng scribed in full from authenticated sources, retaining land and the central role he played in settling and original spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. developing colonial America. The volumes contai n extensive annotations and edi torial notes, a ge neral introduction, a history of The collectio n replaces an incomplete and faulty Willia ms' personal papers, a description of editorial ed itio n of William s' leit ers published in 1874. It methods used by the ed itor, a glossary of Indian should immediately beco me the sta ndard source for names. and a cu mulative index of names and subjects . both scholarly resear chers interested in specific aspects of Williams' career and students of colonial ten.. plgt'. J7 illw.st..tKms. 6 """p!. Two-roll<..... sa, $Joo.oo Publi shed for The Rhode Island Historical Society. A Brown University Press book. University Press of New England, 17 Y.! Lebanon Street, Hanover, NH 03755