USA > Rhode Island > The "Old Stone Bank" history of Rhode Island, Vol. I > Part 11
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The offerings were about the same as they had been before the Revolution. They were still called "lectures" instead of plays, however. Comedies were called 'Comic Lectures", tragedies, "Moral Lec- tures", and farces, "Humorous Lectures." Pantomimes were given under their own classification, and in one of the first performances in Providence the company gave the "Birth, Death, and Animation of Harlequin."
The players leaped at once to great favor and played to capacity houses. It is told that a group came into Providence one night from Pawtuxet but had to be turned away because the theatre was full. There was no reserving of seats in those days, although there was a regular an- nouncement to the effect that patrons de- siring the best seats should send their ser- vants for them before five o'clock. The theatre kept the same hours as before the revolution : the doors were opened at 5, and the curtain raised precisely at 6 o'clock. Later the hour was changed to 6:30 for con- venience.
In January, 1793, the players were obliged to leave Providence for engage- ments in Philadelphia. Mr. Harper's com- pany was superceded by one under the management of Solomons and Murrey. But this company was inferior and met with little success, even though part of its pro- ceeds were pledged to charity.
Harper did not come directly back to Providence, for the Newport Town Coun- cil had voted to grant licenses to players, and he went there for a while. He re- turned here in 1794, however, and the peo- ple of Providence procured for him and his company a more suitable hall than that afforded by the Court House. This was the rear part of a building occupied by Major McLane's Coffee House, and the first per-
formance was given there on December 30, 1794. The playbill announces :
"By Authority THEATRE, PROVIDENCE
Mr. Harper most respectfully informs the ladies and gentlemen of this town that the new theatre will be opened on Thurs- day evening next, 30th December, with a comedy called
"THE FOUNDLING, OR VIRTUE REWARDED"
Following this is a cast of characters and players, then:
"THE KING AND THE MILLER OF MANSFIELD"
Following the cast, there reads:
"Tickets to be had at the Post Office, and places in the boxes may be taken at the bar of the Coffee House every day of performance from 9 to 12 a. m. and from 2 to 6 p. m. The doors will be open at 5 o'clock. The performance will begin pre- cisely at 6."
On the 14th of April, the day after a per- formance by the players of "The Beggars' Opera", a meeting was held by many of the influential citizens for the purpose of raising a subscription for a new theatre. John Brown donated a lot at the corner of Westminster and Mathewson Streets, where Grace Church now stands, and sub- scribed for seven shares of stock. There were also large subscriptions from T. L. Halsey, Sr., John Corliss, Cyrian Sterry, and George and Jeremiah Olney.
Immediately work was begun, and con- struction of the building itself began on the 6th of August, 1795. It was the intention of the sponsors and builders to have it ready by Commencement-time, which oc- curred in September, but the work did not seem to progress fast enough. So great was everyone's interest in the theatre, however, that the carpenters all gave up their other occupations and devoted their time exclu- sively to work on the new building until it was finished.
It was magnificent. It fronted on West- minster Street and was 81 feet long by 50 feet wide. It had three front doors, one on the east for the pit, one in the middle for boxes, and one on the west for the
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gallery. The middle door had a canopy over it for ornament and protection from rain. The proscenium was 16 by 24 feet, and on it was inscribed the motto: "Pleas- ure the means; the end virtue."
There were a few adequately painted scenes, but there was no back drop, and the large green curtain had to be put to
this use. The curtain that was used later, on which was painted a panorama of the city of Providence, is now in possession of the Rhode Island Historical Society.
The last board was nailed into place on the afternoon of September 3, 1794, and that night it held its first performance, "The Child of Nature."
3 1583
CAPTAIN ROBERT GRAY
N O romantic tale of adventure, no thrill- ing narrative of travel is more color- ful or inspiring than the true history of the State of Rhode Island. Since its origin, our own little State has reared countless heroes, statesmen, explorers, and others whose deeds and exploits are acknowledged as milestones in American history. Through years of war and peace Rhode Island has given more than its share to that group of national figures who have guided the destiny of this country by fighting its battles, by carrying its flag to all corners of the world, by developing industry, and by promoting goodwill and prosperity.
The two great States of the Northwest, Washington and Oregon, became American territory as a result of the daring explora- tions of a native Rhode Island sailor, Cap- tain Robert Gray, who sailed up the Col- umbia River in 1791, after having been the first one to carry the American flag around the world, in the previous year. Captain Robert Gray was born in Tiverton, Rhode Island, in 1755 and he died in . Charleston, South Carolina, in 1806. His vessel, "The Columbia," was fitted out by a company of Boston merchants with jewelry, trinkets, and hardware for barter with the Indians in Pacific seaports. Previous to his dicovery of the mouth of the Columbia River he had heard rumors of such a great river
through Spanish acquaintances, and the American captain, for the sake of barter and needing fresh supplies, had his nautical eyes open.
It must have been some higher power that guided Captain Gray over the danger- ous bar at the mouth of the great river which he discovered and named. He was struck by the grandeur and beauty of the country and he at once christened this mag- nificent body of water "The Columbia" which was the name of the good ship which had carried him around the world. He then sailed several miles up the river, landed and took possession in the name of the United States.
Before sailing up the river, Captain Gray had met Vancouver, the English explorer, whose name is perpetuated by the largest city in British Columbia, by an island off the coast, and by an other city in the State of Washington.
Captain Vancouver had sailed over the very waters passed soon after by Gray, but failed to find the river. He had noticed also a change in the color of the waters but it did not impress him enough to stop and make an investigation.
After Captain Gray had finished his ex- ploration and gone to sea, he again met Vancouver and told him of his experiences
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and discovery. Vancouver immediately turned about, found the mouth of the river and sailed up the Columbia to the rapids.
Had Captain Gray's discovery been a little later, Vancouver might have been the first to chance upon the mouth of the river.
If he had, Washington and Oregon might be British territory today.
The house in which Captain Gray was born still stands in Tiverton on the Great West Road between Stone Bridge and Little Compton.
THE FIRST STEAMBOAT
I 'T seems to be the way of the world to al- low real genius to go unrewarded. Men gifted by nature with the ability to think ahead of the times and the courage to apply their ingenuity towards the creation of new and better ways of doing things, seldom re- ceive the encouragement they deserve. Such venturesome individuals are likely to be looked upon as dreamers with radical no- tions who should not be taken seriously. Rare indeed is the genius who is blessed with the funds necessary for developing his ideas to commercial proportions. A great many of the advantages we now enjoy were first conceived by men who were forced to abandon their inventions for lack of money, and who lived to see their brain-children appropriated by others who waxed wealthy on profits in which the inventor did not share.
Quite recently the newspapers recorded the death, almost in poverty, of a genius who visioned the automobile of today, and who succeeded in developing a motor car which has since become one of the leaders in the industry. Hundreds of thousands of cars bearing this man's name, have brought millions in profits to many men; yet the man whose foresight and creative ability laid the foundation for these millions got none of them. This unfortunate instance brings to mind, in many ways, the similar
fate of a Rhode Islander, who was little known, scarcely mentioned in histories, but who, nevertheless, was the first to suc- ceed in propelling a boat by steam power.
This genius was Elijah Ormsbee, and he was born in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, in the latter part of the 18th century. Elijah came from a large family, most of whom were carpenters. One of his brothers built the church which was replaced by the pres- ent Benevolent Congregational Church. The same brother also built the famous John Carter Brown house, which is still the most nearly perfect example of colonial architecture in this city.
After finishing his education in the Reho- both schools, Elijah Ormsbee came to Providence to learn the carpenter's trade, and in due time embarked in business on his own account.
Colonel Ephraim Bowen was of a de- cidedly ingenious turn of mind, and deeply interested in mechanical things. He en- trusted to Elijah the development of a steam plant to pump the water from his ore beds in Cranston and also to supply steam for similar purposes in his distillery. Ormsbee, by the way, was the only one available who was competent to operate these steam pumps, and when he left the job, the Colonel had to abandon the use of steam.
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Ormsbee worked as a carpenter, for a time, in Albany or Lansingburg on the Hud- son River. His observation of the difficulties experienced in navigating this river con- vinced him that there should be some way of utilizing steam to solve the power prob- lem for the river boats. When he got back to Providence, he borrowed a longboat from Clark & Nightingale and took it to Winsor's Cove, near Kettle Point, where he could work undisturbed. Colonel Bowen loaned him a coil from an old still. Ormsbee did all of the wood work and much of the wrought iron work on his boat. The necessary cast- ings were made in the foundry of David Wilkinson, at Pawtucket. Since Ormsbee had no money, he abandoned the idea of using side wheels for power in favor of a cheaper method suggested by Wilkinson. Consequently, when the boat was completed, it had on each side a set of paddles patterned after a duck's foot. These paddles were about two feet wide and hinged in the middle so that they would fold up on the forward stroke. The effect must have been rather grotesque, but they accomplished their purpose for the initial experiment. When all was ready. the first boat to brave the waters of Narragansett Bay and the Providence River under its own power, steamed out of Winsor's Cove at a speed of 3 or 4 miles an hour, and made a successful trip up the river to the Lower Wharf, as it was called, in Providence.
The next day Ormsbee took his new inven- tion to Pawtucket to show his friends there what he had accomplished. A couple of days later he returned to Providence, and after a few days of experimentation up and down the river, he dismantled the boat and re- turned it and the coils to their owners. He wanted to continue his experiments, but having no money, he was forced to give them up. He didn't give up his idea, how- ever, and in spare time built a miniature boat, about four feet long, with two wheels on each side, which were operated by hand. This model mysteriously disappeared and was never recovered. The date of Ormsbee's building of his steamboat is not definitely fixed, but is placed between 1794 and 1796.
While the original steamboat was still intact, a stranger who said he was Daniel
French, from Connecticut, approached Da- vid Wilkinson and asked to see the boat. He spent several days examining it carefully and then disappeared. Some three or four years later, Colonel John Stevens, of Ho- boken, built a boat to use steam power, and Robert Fulton was doing likewise. Mr. Wilkinson, having occasion to visit the Stevens and Fulton shops, found Fulton working along lines almost identical with those followed by Ormsbee. A number of years later, on the train between Utica and Albany, Mr. Wilkinson made the ac- quaintance of an old gentleman who was well posted on steam power. While dis- cussing boats, Mr. Wilkinson remarked that he hadn't much use for Fulton as an inven. tor, but considered him a collector of other people's ideas. To this his fellow passenger replied, "I always said the same thing, and Fulton would never have succeeded if he hadn't had that man, David French, to help him." He further volunteered the informa- tion that Fulton kept French locked up for about six months making drawings for him. This, then, may explain what became of Ormsbee's model, and justifies amply the conviction that to Elijah Ormsbee, and not Fulton, belongs credit for the first steam- boat. Fulton prospered, and Ormsbee got nothing.
Ormsbee built the first power driven loom. John Thorpe also invented a loom later, but both were supplanted by a Scotch invention, and again the pioneers profited nothing. After these unproductive expe- riences, Ormsbee invented a mortising and tenon machine for making window sash, to- gether with other machines for his trade, which he kept under lock and key strictly for his own use. This business brought him fair success and enabled him to build a home at the corner of South Main and Wickenden Streets. His shop on Bridge Street was swept away by the gale of 1815, with all its tools, drawings, and other con- tents.
A contemporary of Ormsbee's, David Grieve, also built a boat propelled by a screw made of lead which was driven by horses who worked a treadmill, although boys sometimes provided the motive power. This boat, called the "Experiment," once took the Masonic Grand Lodge on a St.
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John's Day excursion to Pawtuxet, in 1809, but a thunder squall drove it ashore on the east shore during the return trip, forc- ing the passengers to walk home. Grieve's creditors sold the boat to Boston merchants, and while being towed to Boston it was
dashed against the side of the towing boat and demolished, thus ending the career of "The Experiment." This also ends the story of two Rhode Island geniuses who gained neither money nor lasting fame, both of which they so richly deserved.
THE ARCADE
"THE city of Providence as we know it today, presents an interesting study in contrasts. In the very midst of historic sites that still seem to breathe the air of centuries gone by, rise towering structures of steel and stone that majestically dwarf their humble but honored companions. Everywhere about the city the rat-tat of riveting gun and the shrill whistle of a steam-shovel remind us that a continual transformation is taking place. A modern and magnificent Court House rises just south of College Hill, completely overshadowing that row of picturesque old buildings along South Main Street, places rich in the heri- tage of Rhode Island history, where some of the great industries of this community had their birth. There is one century-old building that seems to withstand the ruth- less hand of time. Located in the very heart of the business district of the city, the Arcade seems to keep up with the times, and justify its existence almost at the very foot of giant sky-scrapers.
Years ago the Arcade was the show- place of Providence-loved by the chil- dren, boasted of by the citizens, and ad- mired by strangers. At the time of its erec- tion over one hundred years ago, there was scarcely a shop or business place of any kind in its vicinity on Westminster Street. The business section of the town was then on South Water Street and North and South Main Streets, and was known as Cheapside. The Arcade is said to have been
inspired by the Madaleine of Napoleon in Paris, and at the time it was built several others were erected in this country. The Providence Arcade is said to be the only one remaining. It is built entirely of granite, and runs from Westminster to Weybosset Streets.
Each of the columns weighs thirteen tons, and, with the exception of those in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, they are the largest in America. It is still boasted that one of them was blasted out of the Bear Rock Ledge on the borders of the town of Johnston, and completed by the work- men in thirty days. James Olney agreed to haul the monoliths to Providence, and, after constructing a special low gear, and strengthening the bridge at Olneyville, he guided fifteen yoke of oxen, drawing their burden of twelve tons, through the woods. One column was broken in the moving, and after replacing it and getting the twelve others in place, the contractor an- nounced that he was practically ruined. The broken column now stands on the Field lot in the old North Burying Ground.
When six of these pillars had been left near the Weybosset Street Bridge, the archi- tects of the Arcade, Russell Warren and James Bucklin, assisted in placing them. Major Bucklin was in charge of the setting of each one. This task was completed in a single day. One man only was hurt when the building was constructed, and during the actual time the work was carried on, one
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1020
NIFLAI
THE EMPIRE-ABORN BRANCH OF THE PROVIDENCE INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS, EMPIRE AND ABORN STREETS, BETWEEN WESTMINSTER AND WASHINGTON STREETS. ERECTED 1929.
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man was killed. The Arcade cost $145,000. The east half was owned by Cyrus Butler, the west half, by the Arcade Corporation. Someone remarked at the time of its erec- tion that "it was built on ground before then occupied by a nest of combustible sheds." The news of the day referred to it as "a monument to the energy, good taste, skill and courage of its constructors, of which their descendants, and our city may well be proud."
The fashionable folk of Providence were delighted with the fine things found in the Arcade displays-forerunners of the mod- ern department stores - and a millinery shop most often visited was that of the "Three Sisters." These sisters were devoted members of St. John's Church, and greatly respected in Providence. The story is told of a member of that church who returned her bonnet to the milliners, asking that the bow on it be changed "to the congregation side," as its beauty was wasted on a blank wall.
At the time of the September Gale the milliners were hastening with a brother, who was very ill, from their home on Mathewson and Weybosset Streets. The carriage in which they were taking him out of the reach of a rapidly rising tide was overturned, and it was with great difficulty that he was rescued from the water. A neighbor, on her return home after the flood had subsided, complained that her parlor rug was ruined with dead fish and slime, and that she found a "little dead swine" on the top of her piano.
The three sisters, as age was creeping on, sold their shop in the Arcade and moved to a rose-covered cottage in the country, where, familiarly called Aunt Ria and Aunt Patty, they were the fairy god-mothers of the community. Many a child climbed the hair- cloth sofa, examined the precious knick- knacks on the what-not, and sat in the com- fortable living room, while marvellous doll's clothes were designed from a never- failing supply of bright-colored silk scraps.
"Aunt Patty was very lame-a misstep on the stairs had caused this-so that she sel- dom went farther than her own garden. She was a dear, familiar figure to the villagers, seated on her little green wooden stool, weeding, or leaning on her cane to examine some new blossoms, while the winds played with her soft white curls, on either side of her sweet old face .... Beneath the front steps dwelt a toad, which was very tame, and sat blinking in the sun while some child fed it with rosebugs . . . . At last, growing too feeble to keep house longer, the beloved milliners moved again to town."
So you see that when the historic land- marks of our city make way for modern progress and twentieth century ideas of beauty and efficiency, we gradually erase from our minds happy memories of some face, figure or event of the past. There is probably an interesting romance threaded in the true history of the old Arcade. Hun- dreds of business projects, thousands of clerks, and millions of eager shoppers have come and gone during the century of its existence.
MOSES BROWN
THROUGHOUT the records of Rhode Island history we see the frequent recurrence of the name of Brown. Then, as now, there were many Browns, but standing high
among the bearers of the name we find one called Moses. With all due respect, Moses Brown may properly be considered one of the most unique characters of his time. His
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long and useful career began in Providence, on the 23rd of September, 1738, and con- tinued right up to his death, but little more than a fortnight short of his 98th birthday, on September 6th, 1836. He was the young- est son of James and Hope Brown, direct descendants of Roger Williams' colleague, Dr. Chad Brown. The life of Moses Brown covered nearly half of the existence of the Colony and State. He outlived not only his three brothers, Nicholas, Joseph and John, but his three wives, his children and grand- children as well.
When Moses was 13 years old his father died and the boy went to live with his uncle, Obadiah, whose daughter Anna became his first wife, in 1764. In his uncle's will he shared equally with Obadiah's children in the considerable estate and his marriage added his wife's share to this sum. Of his three children, one daughter died in in- fancy; another, Sarah, married William Almy in 1794; and his only son, Obadiah, died in 1822, at the age of 52.
Born a Baptist, Moses continued in this faith until the year following the death of his wife, Anna. A religious impression gained at this time caused him to become a Quaker. He joined the Society of Friends in his 36th year and his after life is notable for the strictness with which he adhered to its tenets. He was an ardent Abolitionist and the founder of the first Anti-Slavery Society. Of his own volition he freed all of his own slaves and, in the deed filed with the Probate Court, urged them to build lives of economy, sobriety and honest labor. He offered them all remunerative employment, giving to those who had no useful trade, the free use of an acre of land. It is recorded that he never lost track of his former slaves, and was always ready with substantial aid when needed. Although a confirmed pa- cifist and objector to war, Moses Brown was first of all a patriot. Love of country came before his religious scruples, and his re- sources were offered freely to the Govern- ment. During the two wars, he aided dis- tressed non-combatants and obtained leni- ency for those whose belief forbade them to bear arms.
The cotton industry of America owes its existence to Moses Brown. He was keenly interested in the subject. At this time cloth
woven in this country had cotton only for the weft, for, it being impossible to twist cotton to the strength necessary for the warp, linen was used. In England, Ark- wright had perfected a cotton spinning process which was so closely guarded that all attempts to introduce it here had failed. When Samuel Slater came to America, Brown invited him to come to Providence. Slater, now called "The father of American cotton manufactures," convinced Brown of his ability to duplicate from memory the Arkwright machines. A partnership was formed with Moses Brown's son, Obadiah, William Almy and Samuel Slater, and with the financial backing of Moses, and the as- sistance of those famous mechanics, David and William Wilkinson, America's first cot- ton mill was established at Pawtucket. This was in 1792, and the partnership continued for 30 years. The product was equal in every respect to the English cloth, and al- though England tried hard to break down the new industry by shipping cloth into the country at greatly reduced prices, a pro- tective tariff intervened, and American cot- ton manufacturing prospered.
Moses Brown was very proficient in mathematics and, like Washington, was an expert surveyor. Together with his close friend, Stephen Hopkins, he assisted Joseph Brown in observing the transit of Venus, in 1769. Joseph Brown spent $500 on this ob- servation, which was accomplished so ac- curately that it was accepted by the United States Coast Survey. The spot where it was made is now called Transit Street. Moses Brown was for several terms a most useful member of the General Assembly. He served on many important committees, one of which settled the long disputed boundary between this State and Massachusetts. He was a member of the committee which drafted the stinging protest against the Stamp Act.
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