Vote to Save Nockum Hill at the Financial Town Meeting, Wednesday, May 22

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

BPS Presents: “If Jane Should Want to Be Sold,” May 1, 2019

Barrington Preservation Society presents:

‘If Jane Should Want to Be Sold”:
Stories of Enslavement, Indenture, and Freedom
in Little Compton, Rhode Island

by Marjory O’Toole
Executive Director,
Little Compton Historical Society

Wednesday, May 1, 2019, 7 PM
Salem Family Auditorium & Collis Family Gallery
Barrington Public Library Building
281 County Road, Barrington

FREE ● OPEN TO ALL ● REFRESHMENTS PROVIDED

Marjory O’Toole will present research from her 2016 book, If Jane Should Want to Be Sold: Stories of Enslavement, Indenture and Freedom in Little Compton, Rhode Island. The book represents three years of research into the topic of local slavery and freedom and uses hundreds of primary source documents to tell the stories of 250 enslaved and forcibly indentured people in Little Compton. Ms. O’Toole will share the personal stories of some of these people, including Jane, who was given the choice to be sold or not, and Aaron Biggs, whose testimony about the burning of the Gaspee was sent directly to the King of England. Through these local stories we can better understand the larger story of African and Native American slavery in New England and throughout the Atlantic world.

Barrington Preservation Society is a volunteer organization dedicated to researching, preserving, and educating about the history and heritage of Barrington. Our town Museum is open Wednesdays and Saturdays, 1-4 pm and by appointment

BPS Presents: The Vox Hunters In Concert

Barrington Preservation Society
& Barrington Public Library
present:

The Vox Hunters In Concert
Featuring Rhode Island’s Musical Heritage

Sunday, March 24, 2019, 2 PM
Salem Family Auditorium
Barrington Public Library Building
281 County Road, Barrington

FREE AND OPEN TO ALL

Barrington Preservation Society and Barrington Public Library invite you to enjoy an afternoon performance by The Vox Hunters.

Seekers and singers of old songs, cultivators of local music, and chronic multi-instrumentalists, Armand Aromin and Benedict Gagliardi, better known as The Vox Hunters, will perform old folk music with Rhode Island roots. For the past few years, their focus has been to uncover and revive a part of Rhode Island’s musical heritage and bring old Ocean State songs and tunes back into public consciousness.

Sponsored by the Calvin & Jean Cronin Fund.

New Exhibit: Recent Acquisitions

New Exhibit: Recent Acquisitions

Saturday, March 9, 2019, 1–4 PM
BPS Museum, Peck Center, Lower Level

Come celebrate with Barrington Preservation Society on Saturday, March 9, 2019, as we open a new exhibit, Recent Acquisitions, in the town museum on the ground level of the Peck Center.
     New acquisitions include turn-of-the-century dolls, toy soldiers, a hand stitched, Barton family christening gown, and period dresses worn by Ethel Antoinette Whitehead Tallman (1885–1977) to receive guests and take long walks in Roger Williams Park. The new museum display also includes a functioning 1918 Victrola with records, a Lace Pattern Book from Rhode Island Laceworks, as well as a lace cap, collars and camisole, and a hand-hooked rug by famed artist Molly Nye Tobey, who lived in Barrington for sixty years. Molly’s rugs are on permanent display at the Metropolitan and Shelburne Museums.

Also on display are a 1729 law book owned by Peleg Heath, a portrait of Lord Barrington, for whom the town was named, and a deed granting a major portion of land on Rumstick Point to Nathaniel Smith’s heirs.
     Join members of the society in celebrating Barrington’s heritage, its Native American and agricultural history, plaqued houses, service record dating back to the Revolutionary War, its heyday as a waterfront community and summer resort and its industrial past including the brick and lace works.

Barrington Preservation Society Museum is open Wednesdays and Saturdays, 1-4 pm and by appointment.

BPS Annual Meeting & Luncheon: Sunday, January 27, 2019

Join us for our Annual Meeting & Luncheon, Sunday, January 27th, 2019, at the Bluewater Bar + Grill, Barton Avenue. The business meeting (open to all, even those who cannot stay to lunch) will start at 12:00 Noon. The Luncheon will begin at 12:40 PM and will be followed by a presentation from our guest speaker, Jeff Howe:

The Lost Tavern

We will also present the prestigious Elizabeth Sargent Warren Preservation Award.

Reservations for the lunch are now closed.

Renew Membership for 2019:
For convenience you may renew your membership for 2019 at the same time as placing a luncheon reservation. Select the appropriate category in the list below.

High School Student Membership 2024$5
College / University Student Membership 2024$10
Individual Membership 2024$35
Family Membership 2024$50
Supporting Membership 2024$100
Patron Membership 2024$250
Business Membership 2024$250
Life Membership$1000

If you have selected luncheon reservations and/or membership renewal, it will appear below in the Shopping Cart.  To complete your order, click the “Check Out” button to pay securely by PayPal. Luncheon reservations must be made by Monday, January 21!

BPS Annual Plaque Program & Pomham Rocks Lighthouse Restoration Lecture

Barrington Preservation Society presents

ANNUAL PLAQUE PROGRAM
and
POMHAM ROCKS LIGHTHOUSE RESTORATION LECTURE

Wednesday, November 28, 2018, 7:00 pm
Salem Family Auditorium
Barrington Public Library

FREE • OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
REFRESHMENTS PROVIDED

Four historic properties will receive a BPS plaque displaying the name of the first owner and building date. A new plaque will be issued to the house at 30 Walnut Rd. (Jerry W. & Cornelia Goff, 1902). Replacement plaques will be issued to houses at 170 New Meadow Rd. (Benjamin Drown, c. 1750, moved to site 1774); 6 Holly Ln. (Mary Eliza Dyer Carriage House, 1897 et seq.); and 84 Alfred Drowne Rd. (Walter J. Howland, c. 1900).

After plaque presentation to homeowners, historian David Kelleher will present a talk on the restoration of the Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, built in 1871 (At right). Exterior restoration began in 2005, the lighthouse was relit in 2006, and interior restoration was completed in 2018. The project will receive a Rhody Award from Preserve RI and the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission this month.

 

A Spooky Tour of Prince’s Hill Cemetery by Lamplight: Friday, October 26

Barrington Preservation Society presents

A SPOOKY TOUR OF PRINCE’S HILL
CEMETERY BY LAMPLIGHT

Friday, October 26, 2018, 6:30 — 7:30 pm

(Rain Date: Sunday, October 28th)

FREE • OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Get ready for Halloween and join local historian Jeffrey Howe on a spooky tour of some of Barrington’s oldest gravestones next to Barrington Town Hall. He will bring back to life the stories of Barrington’s earliest settlers as well as Revolutionary War, Dorr War and Civil War veterans. Founded in 1720 by members of the Barrington Congregational Church, the cemetery occupies a prime spot lining a ridge overlooking the Barrington River.

WEAR WALKING SHOES, BRING A FLASHLIGHT, PARK IN LOT BEHIND TOWN HALL, AND MEET AT THE PECK MAUSOLEUM.

Two Heritage Walking Tours, Saturday, September 15

Barrington Preservation Society presents

TWO HERITAGE WALKING TOURS

Saturday, September 15, 2018

Jennys Lane District • 10:00 am ~ 12:00 noon

Van Edwards, PhD, Visiting Lecturer, Bridgewater State
University and Bryant University
Park/meet at Police Cove Park, County Road

Alfred Drowne Road District • 2:00 ~ 4:00 pm

Joanna Doherty, Principal Architectural Historian,
R.I. Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission
Park/meet at United Methodist Church, 220 Washington Road

 

 

Jennys Lane District:  Historian Van Edwards will describe the role of Allen C. Mathewson, whose transition from gentleman farmer to developer created this charming waterfront summer colony, where he built five houses and two hotels during the late 19th century. Hidden in this neighborhood of attractive Victorian homes lies the site of the first meeting house of the Barrington Congregational Church, established in 1711.

Alfred Drowne Road District:  The afternoon’s tour, led by Joanna Doherty, will begin at the United Methodist Church, a dynamic community center built in four stages on land donated by Barrington’s major educator, Thomas Williams Bicknell. The tour continues by Bicknell’s house to five houses built by members of the Drown family along Alfred Drowne Road. This special Victorian neighborhood boomed with the opening of the 1855 Providence, Warren & Bristol Railroad, which led to the 1869 Staples Plat creating 58 house lots for sale to eager city dwellers.

FREE  •  OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Historic Barrington Bike Tour, Saturday, August 4

Join us for a

HISTORIC BARRINGTON BIKE TOUR

with

SYDNEY MONTSTREAM-QUAS, DIRECTOR FOR THE
AWARD-WINNING EAST BAY BIKE PATH HISTORIC SIGNS

Saturday, August 4, 2018, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Meet at Police Cove Park (adjacent to County Road and first
bridge to Warren) at 9:45 AM where the Tour will begin / end

FREE  •  OPEN TO THE PUBLIC  •  AUGUST 5TH RAIN DATE

Discover hidden town treasures and historical information such as:

• How many years did the train run through Barrington?
• How much did it cost to build Town Hall?
• Where can you find brick remnants from the former Barrington Brickworks?
• How did Haines Park escape development?

REQUIRED bike helmets. And don’t forget to bring a water bottle.

REGISTER with the Barrington Preservation Society via email at sutherlanddi1980@gmail.com.