A new call for volunteers has gone out from the chair of our Museum Committee, Barbara Hail. Download our volunteer info and application sheet here. Or stop by the Museum between 1 and 4 on a Wednesday or Saturday, and speak to any volunteer!

The Spring 2019 Barrington Preservation Society Newsletter, published in May, is now available on the website.

Click this link to view the Spring 2019 BPS Newsletter.

Follow this link for a list of all available newsletters.

Vote to Save the Colonial Heart of Barrington

Nockum Hill is a quiet corner of Barrington, cut off from the rest by water and by the state of Massachusetts. Nockum Hill, for countless generations a focal point for the Wampanoag people of the area, also became the first English settlement center in our town when, in the 1660s, Rev. John Myles led a small group of Baptists to settle here under a covenant of religious toleration. Lot 3A, the parcel pending acquisition by the Town, is almost certainly the site of Rev. Myles’s meeting house, documented as standing by 1668—which made it possibly the earliest purpose-built Baptist church building in the Western Hemisphere.

Redrawing the Massachusetts boundary in the 1740s isolated Nockum Hill and saved it from subsequent development. What was once a colonial village center and meeting house is now open land with one narrow road and no utilities.

That unique survival has been threatened by proposals for dense development of Lot 3A, inappropriate given its rustic infrastructure, and contrary to the parcel’s importance for environmental conservation as well as its unique historic value. The Town has responded to those concerns by approving the purchase of this lot, with costs to be offset by agricultural easements and, possibly, additional grant support. The Appropriations Committee has approved the Town’s plan.

Voices in The Times these past two weeks have showcased the important conservation reasons for the Town to purchase Lot 3A and preserve it. From a historical perspective, this purchase would also allow all of us to continue to enjoy and better study the earliest colonial heart of Barrington.

How can you help? Turn out and vote to approve the acquisition of Lot 3A at the Financial Town Meeting this Wednesday, May 22, at 7:00 pm at the High School.

Nathaniel Taylor
President, Barrington Preservation Society

The Barrington 300 Committee selected artist Ted Hail to design this stunning medallion for Barrington’s Tricentennial celebration. Ted wrote about what inspired the choice of images on this celebratory coin: “I wanted something old and something new.” Old is represented by the gables of our landmark 1888 Town Hall. New is represented by the 2014 Barrington Bridge. The river under the bridge, and the Lantern of the 1856 Nayatt Point Lighthouse in the bottom of the outer ring, represent Barrington’s maritime heritage as a bayside town. These images are modeled in sharp relief and completed with the legend, “Barrington Tricentennial 1717–2017.” On the back simple text recounts the complex history of the town: “1717–1747, Barrington, Mass. 1747–1770, Warren, R.I. 1770–2017, Barrington, R.I.” The solid brass medallion measures two and one-half inches across, and was produced by Barrington Manufacturing Company.

Ted is a Barrington native and graduate of RISD, class of ‘74, where he majored in Illustration. Ted works in pencil, pastels, oil and watercolor paints, and acrylics. He recently retired from a long career as a graphic designer for Amica Insurance Company and is now writing a novel. The images have a personal meaning for Ted: “When the Town Hall was the Library, I used to dodge Mr. and Mrs’s Riccio’s dancing school by reading books on marine life in the basement and I would stand outside to hear the twelve o’clock whistle echoed by the one in Warren across town.” About the bridge, Ted said, “I would ride my bike “Red Lightning” and stop at the top of Barrington Bridge to look at red sponges growing on the piers and boats going under the bridge.” The Barrington bridge also symbolizes connection—between people, places, religions and work—from 1717 to 2017. Crossing rivers has been an important need in our area from the early colonial settlement era down to the present. It is a fitting symbol for our Tricentennial medallion.

Barrington—The Book is now on sale!

To order the book, or other BPS gift items, GO TO OUR GIFT SHOP PAGE.

The Barrington Preservation Society has produced the book Barrington to salute our town on its Tricentennial. A pictorial history, Barrington is part of the “Images of America” series published by Arcadia Press, a publishing house which has produced town histories for nearby East Providence, Warren, and Bristol, as well as other towns across the country. Now it is time for Barrington, as part of the Barrington 300 Tricentennial Year.

Barrington contains 128 pages (softcover) and 207 photographs. It begins with an historical introduction by historian Van Edwards, and contains eight chapters on Barrington’s neighborhoods: Old Barrington Village and Hampden Meadows; Ousamequin Farm and the Peck Estate; Nayatt, Rumstick, and Adams Points; Maple Avenue Neighborhood; Drownville and West Barrington; Bay Spring; Barrington Center; and Barrington Harbor. Authors Jean Douglas, Van Edwards, and Bonnie Warren have used their extensive knowledge to identify neighborhood buildings, landscapes, people, and events. Richard and Jane Donnelly edited the book.

Barrington was officially released at two events (private and public) earlier this week, and is on sale starting today. Copies of Barrington purchased at the BPS Museum, Barrington Public Library, or Barrington Town Hall, most directly benefit the Barrington Preservation Society.

Cost, including Rhode Island Sales Tax, is $23.53. Barrington can be purchased by check (no credit cards or cash) at the following three locations:

• Barrington Preservation Museum, Wednesday & Saturdays, 1:00 – 4:00 pm.

• Barrington Town Hall (Town Clerk’s Office). Mon–Fri, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm.

• Barrington Public Library (Circulation Desk). Mon–Thurs, 9:00 am – 9:00 pm; Fri–Sat 9:00 am – 5:00 pm; Sun 1:o0 – 5:00 pm.

Barrington may also be purchased by mail order from Barrington Preservation Society, P.O. Box 178, Barrington RI 02806, by check with an additional $4 per copy postage and handling (total, $27.77), or by online order (credit card) through the BPS website’s GIFT SHOP PAGE.

Who lived here exactly 100 years ago?

Look at residents, businesses, and advertisers in the 1917-1918 Bristol, Warren, and Barrington Directory, full book with searchable text on archive.org.

Click here to view whole newsletter (PDF).

Contents:

• Barrington 300—Just Around the Corner!

• BPS 2016 Annual Meeting Luncheon, January 10, 2016: Martha L. Werenfels presentation: “Breathing New Life into Historic Manor Houses: Three Projects,” including Barrington’s Belton Court

• Digging Into the Vault: Plaque News

• Harold N. Biggs Bird Carvings Acquired for the Museum Collection

• Other Recent Collection Acquisitions

Click here to view.

Highlights:

 • ‘Revisit Barrington History’: reorganized Museum exhibit

 • Barrington Historical Maps series now online.

 • Early Barrington Documents update

 • Barrington Infantry: Spotlight on Barrington’s Early Militia Flag

• Barrington’s Italian Families, oral history video by BHS senior Liam McGuirl

• Spinning Wheel Restored

• Nockum Hill News

• Grapes & Grains wine-tasting event, Thursday, June 4

Helen Tjader spoke to BPS earlier this year on Sowams’s past as the home of the Pokanoket (Wampanoag) people long before the first Europeans settled here as part of the Plymouth Colony. She has called on all of us to work to establish a National Heritage district acknowledging the Pokanoket heritage of the Sowams area.

A version of this talk has been set to beatiful natural video footage by nature photographer Nat Rea, showcasing the natural beauty of Sowams:

Sowams from Nat Rea on Vimeo.