USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Pawtucket > The lower Blackstone river valley; the story of Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln, and Cumberland, Rhode Island; an historical narrative > Part 11
USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Central Falls > The lower Blackstone river valley; the story of Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln, and Cumberland, Rhode Island; an historical narrative > Part 11
USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Lincoln > The lower Blackstone river valley; the story of Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln, and Cumberland, Rhode Island; an historical narrative > Part 11
USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Cumberland > The lower Blackstone river valley; the story of Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln, and Cumberland, Rhode Island; an historical narrative > Part 11
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In Memberof Hon Jateph Jeochs Er hate Cover hour of y Colony of Rhode and Decealed fir Day of Juut.A . D.
1740 MY
84" Year of his Age. He was
() much Honoura & Beloved in life& Las
inentedin Death: Hu was a bright Example
jof Vertue in every - ge of Life He was a Zealous Christian ale & Prudent Gover mour a lind Htubaart Tender Father, a good Neighbour da bfull Friend ;
"Grave, Sober Ple fint in _ haviour, Beau tifull m Ferion with aSoul truely
k &sweetly Tempered.
Governor Joseph Jenks' gravestone, 1740
Main Street from foot of Dexter Street, 1872
In 1721 the General Assembly voted that he "have £30 allowed him as a gratuity out of the General Treasury for his good service done the Colony during his agency."
In 1727 Governor Jenks wrote a letter on behalf of the General Assembly to King George II, in which he apprizes him of "a regular and beautiful fortification of stone built at Newport, with a battery where may be mounted sixty guns."
He married Martha Brown, a descendant of Obadiah Holmes and Chad Brown.
Governor Jenks was the tallest man of his time in Rhode Island, standing seven feet and two inches without his shoes. He died in 1740, and was buried in the Old Jenks Burying Ground.
The tombstone of Governor Jenks, now preserved in the Rhode Island Historical Society, bears the following epitaph :
"In memory of the Hon. Joseph Jenks, Esqr., late Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island, Deceased the 15th day of June A. D. 1740, in the 84th. year of his age. He was much Honored and beloved in life and Lamented in Death: He was a bright example of Virtue in every stage of Life: He was a Zealous Christian, a wise and Prudent Governor: a kind husband: a Tender Father: a good neighbor and a Faithful Friend: Grave, Sober, Pleasant in Behavour: Beautiful in Person, with a Soul truly Great, Heroic and Sweetly Tempered."
THE BLACKSTONE CANAL
Stretching across the Blackstone River Valley and following closely the course of that stream from Worcester to Saylesville, and then extending on to the center of Providence via the waters of the Moshassuck River can
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still be seen evidences of what was once considered a gigantic feat of engineering-the Blackstone Canal. This inland waterway was first talked of as early as 1796, and the project gained the enthusiastic support of many in- fluential citizens in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts, but, due to legislative difficulties in the latter State, the original plans to connect Worcester and Providence by water failed to mature.
Twenty-six years passed before the subject was brought up again-this time with success. Citizens in both Wor- cester and Providence held meetings, discussed the need of a canal, and ended by forming commissions and engaging engineers to investigate every detail which such an enterprise would involve. Benjamin Wright, the chief engineer of the middle section of the Erie Canal, headed the party of surveyors and assayers who laid out the proposed route. The results of the survey were very encouraging. The soil was found easy to excavate. There were large ponds all along the route from which a supply of water could be obtained. The difference in elevation between tide water in Providence and Thomas Street in Worcester was found to be 45172 feet, not a great difference considering that the canal was to be 45 miles in length.
After the favorable report of the engineers, promoters of the enterprise went to work to stimulate the enthusiasm of the people with a view to raising the necessary money for the project. The estimated expense was $323,319, and the sum set to be raised was $400,000. Here a first great mistake was made. So successfully did the promoters present the canal proposition that they could have raised $1,000,000 as easily as the $400,000 they asked for. Later on, when the actual cost of the canal proved to be $750,000 and they needed more money, the public had lost its faith in the enterprise and was unresponsive. It was a marked
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contrast to the mad scrambling for stock when the Black- stone Canal Company was first formed. Then, people in Providence bought all that was offered and hurried to Worcester to buy up any more shares that might have been left over.
Excavation of the canal was begun in 1824 in Rhode Island, and two years later in Massachusetts at the Wor- cester end. This gave employment to many Rhode Islanders and stimulated Providence business to a very considerable extent. About 500 men from Providence were engaged in the work at one time, and North Water Street (later called Canal Street) was transformed into a busy business center. New warehouses were built along it with wharves facing on the canal. And general business through- out the city increased proportionately.
There were forty-nine locks in all between Worcester and Providence, all of them heavily constructed out of granite at a cost of $4,000 each. As for the canal itself, it was 32 feet wide at the top with sloping banks that made it only 18 feet wide at the bottom. Water was kept at a depth of 31/2 feet. But the canal was actually only dug nine-tenths of the way between the two terminals. For the rest the engineers depended upon slack water navigation, making use of the ponds along the way. They did not figure on such things as drought in the summer and ice in the winter, and consequently the loaded canal boats frequently became stranded for days and weeks at a time for lack of navigable water. This was of course ruinous, both to the canal company operating the boats and to the merchants who used them for shipping goods.
As a matter of fact the Blackstone Canal was always of more value to the public than to its stockholders. The latter received only decreasing dividends from the start of the project, but the former had the advantages resulting
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from the reservoirs which had been built along the route to hold back spring flood water in the ponds. More water flowed in the Blackstone River and there was enough increased hydraulic power to encourage the building of many manufacturing plants along the canal.
The final trouble that the canal involved came in the continual quarrels between the boatmen and the various mill owners over the water itself. The latter were drawing just enough water for their manufacturing to ruin the boatmen's business, and there was many a near riot over the matter. Mill owners even went so far as to tip loads of rocks into locks so that the barges could not pass through and the boatmen threatened to set fire to the mills. All this trouble might have been avoided had enough money been raised in the first place so that the canal company could have controlled all the water rights.
But matters went from bad to worse, and in 1848 the last toll was collected on barges. Before that time portions of the canal had been closed to passage. Providence auctioned off the boathouse terminal, and the following year the locks and land as far as Woonsocket were sold.
Taking the place of the canal was the new railroad, connecting the same two towns and giving rise to the remark that of "the two unions between Worcester and Providence, the first was weak as water-the last strong as iron."
On the morning of July 1, 1828, the pages of the Rhode Island American, a local newspaper, carried the following story :
"At about Io o'clock in the morning, the 'Lady Carring- ton' started from the first lock above tide water (opposite the jail), on Canal Street. A salute of artillery announced her departure, seconded by the cheers of those on board,
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and the shouts of hundreds of spectators who crowded the banks and surrounding eminences to witness this novel spectacle. The boat is of the largest size that can be admitted into the locks, being about seventy feet long, nineteen and a half wide, and as high as will admit of a safe passage under the bridges crossing the canal. She is covered on the top, having below a cabin nearly the whole extent of the boat, conveniently and neatly arranged. Her draft, when filled with passengers, does not exceed eight or nine inches. Among the passengers were His Excellency the Governor, two of the Rhode Island Canal Commissioners, and about fifty citizens. The boat was drawn up the Canal by a tow-line attached to two horses that travelled with rapidity on the straight levels (of which there are some very beautiful ones before you come to the Blackstone River). She might be conveyed with ease at the rate of four or five miles per hour.
Between the water and the Albion Factory, nine granite locks, of the most substantial masonry, were passed. Just before entering Scott's Pond, a beautiful basin of deep water, there are three continuous locks, by which you ascend an elevation of twenty-four feet. The novelty of ascending and descending from the different levels was particularly gratifying to those who had never before witnessed the operation. The boat glides into a solid iron box (so to speak) in which she is enclosed by the shutting of the folding gates. The water is then admitted through wickets in the upper gates, and the boat is rapidly raised to the level she is to ascend; the upper gates are then opened and she passes on.
In descending, the lock is filled and the boat glides in on the level, and the upper gates are closed, and the water drawn from the lower gates until the water is depressed to the level below. This operation occupied, in passing up,
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about four minutes, and in descending about three minutes. The average height of the lock is about ten feet. There were men hired for lock tenders, whose duty was, for boats ascending, to see the lower gates opened, and after the boat glided into the lock, to close the lower gates, and draw the water from the upper level until the lock was full, and then open the upper gates and let the boat pass out upon the level; and when the boats were descending, locks were to be filled and upper gates opened so that the boat would glide in. On the 4th of July the 'Lady Carrington' carried excursion parties to Scott's Pond, six miles, amid great rejoicings."
The paper then added the following amusing incident:
"A Mr. Arnold, who keeps a store opposite Smith Street, in company with a Mr. Olney, was sitting on a box or railing of the Boat 'Lady Carrington' and was very earnest telling a story when the Boat struck the bank of the Canal, and overboard he went. After pulling him in all wet through, he sat down and said 'as I was saying' and went on with his story as though nothing had happened."
One can still trace the route of the old canal as it follows along Canal Street, by the American Screw Company's works, and under Randall Street. Farther out in the country it becomes distinct for various intervals, disappear- ing entirely where it has been filled in. It was a noble experiment, one which could easily have been more fruitful in its results, and we might have seen the picturesque barges moving slowly along today through the Lower Blackstone River Valley.
JOHN W. HALEY
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SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND RAILROAD
At various places in Pawtucket, Central Falls and Lincoln there may be seen, along the apparently abandoned right of way of the Southern New England Railway Company, evidences of the unfinished construction of this railroad. The building of this road was a project of those in control of the Grand Trunk Railway system, a Canadian enterprise, in an endeavor to extend that system from Palmer, Massa- chusetts, through Southern New England, to tide water, with terminals at Providence and other points on Narra- gansett Bay. Palmer was the Southern terminal of the Central Vermont Railroad, which the Grand Trunk con- trolled, and this project seemed entirely feasible at the time that it was being considered. Strenuous opposition was made by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad officials but to no avail, as an Act was passed by the General Assembly at the January Session in 1910, incorporating the Southern New England Railway Company with a capitalization of $3,000,000.00 and the usual powers of eminent domain.
The right of way was acquired and laid out, and extensive preliminary work was done in the matter of construction. In Pawtucket, Central Falls and Lincoln excavations were made, swamp and low lands filled in and bridge abutments built. The unfortunate death of President Hayes, head of the Grand Trunk system, who went to England in 1912 to make arrangements for financing this project but who, on the return trip in April, went down in the sinking of the Titanic, after a collision with an iceberg, resulted in what was, at the time, expected to be merely a temporary delay in completing the construction of this railroad, but, as time went on, the forces behind this enterprise lost interest and the work of construction ceased in October, 1913. The original act of incorporation of the Southern New England
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Railway Company has been amended a number of times, and at the January Session of the General Assembly, in 1928, an Act was passed permitting the transfer of the same to the North Atlantic Terminal Railroad Company. This latter company apparently never organized and thus the whole project came to naught, the Southern New England Railway Company disposing of land to which it had obtained title by purchase, and allowing that to which it had acquired title by eminent domain to revert to the former owners thereof.
ROSCOE M. DEXTER
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City Hall, Pawtucket, dedicated February 10, 1936
Pawtucket Senior High School. Completed during school year 1926-1927
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
COMPILED BY ROSCOE M. DEXTER
Broad Street Baptist Church Year Book, 1936.
Central Falls Congregational Church Jubilee Celebration Book, 1895.
Cotton Industry of New England, by George Rich, published in New England Magazine, October, 1890.
Historical and Biographical Sketches of some of the Early and Succeeding Inhabitants of Pawtucket, by Rev. David Benedict (published in the Pawtucket and Central Falls Directory, 1869-1870, and also in the Pawtucket Chronicle).
Historical Magazine, published by The Pawtucket Times at the 250th Anniversary of Pawtucket in 1921.
Influence of Physical Features upon the History of Rhode Island, by David W. Hoyt, 1910.
In the Path of the Pioneers, by Slater Branch of Industrial Trust Co., 1925.
Jenks Family, Genealogy of the, by Ida Jenks Beede (an unpublished manuscript, a copy of which is in the Rhode Island Historical Society).
Lincoln, Historical Sketch of the Town of, by Welcome A. Greene, 1876.
Pawtucket, Historical Sketch of the Town of, by Rev. Messina Goodrich, 1876.
Pawtucket, Central Falls and Vicinity, by Robert Grieve, 1897.
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Pawtucket, Past and Present, by Slater Trust Co., 1917.
Pawtucket, Annual Reports of the City of, 1886.
Pawtucket, A Hive of Diversified Industries, Kenyon, IgIO.
Pawtucket and the Cotton Centennial, by Rev. Massena Goodrich, in New England Magazine, October, 1890.
Pawtucket, Official Program of the 250th Anniversary, October 8 to 12, 1921.
Pawtucket Business Men's Association, History of, 1931, by James L. Jenks et al.
Pawtucket, Program of Golden Anniversary of the City of, February, 1936 (Magazine Form).
Pawtucket Institution for Savings, One Hundred Years of, 1936.
Providence County, History of, by Bayles, 1891.
Rhode Island, History of, by Field, 1902.
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, by Bicknell, 1920.
Rhode Island, Three Centuries of Democracy, by Carroll, 1932.
Rhode Island, History of the State of, published by Hoag, Wade & Co., 1878.
Rhode Island State Manuals.
Rhode Island, Genealogical Directory of, by John Osborne Austin.
Rhode Island, the Old Stone Bank History of, (Vol. I and II), by John W. Haley, 1929, 1931.
Samuel Slater, Memoirs of, by George S. White, 1836.
Smithfield, History of, by Thomas Steere, 1876.
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1636 1936
TERCENTENARY JUBILEE
OF THE State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
(Lower Blackstone Valley District)
Places and Objects of Historic Interest in Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln and Cumberland
PAWTUCKET Old Slater Mill
Old Slater Mill, corner of Roosevelt Avenue (formerly North Main Street) and Slater Avenue. First successful Cotton Mill in America, established in 1790 by Samuel Slater. On March 29, 1921, the Old Slater Mill Association was organized for the purpose of acquiring, restoring and preserving this historic structure and maintaining the same as a museum of cotton machinery, equipment and appliances, and for such other pur- poses as may be connected therewith or incidental thereto.
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Sargent's Trench, to which the Slater Mill Trench is really a northerly extension, was originally dug about 1714 as a fishway to enable shad, salmon and buckies to get up into fresh water by going around the falls and the lower dam, but, as the fish did not seem to make use of the same, the trench began, about 1730, to be utilized for power purposes and, greatly improved and developed, was extensively used for many years up to the modern era, and until recently was still used in a lesser degree. As extended by the Slater Mill Trench it flows from the Blackstone River above the Slater Mill southerly between Roosevelt Avenue (formerly North Main Street) and the Blackstone River, crossing Main Street underground to continue under the Read Block and Arnold Building, where it is said to be thirty feet wide and nine feet deep, and thence easterly under Jenks Lane, back into the Pawtucket River a short distance below the Main Street Bridge. In the past it has been the subject of probably the longest series of litigation of any on record, beginning with the famous case of Tyler vs. Wilkinson, in which Judge Story, about 1826, rendered his famous opinion on water-rights.
Pawtucket Falls, at the Main Street Bridge, gives Pawtucket its name, meaning in the Indian language, "Falls of Water." Just south of the Falls, between Jenks Lane and the river, was the location of the forge of Joseph Jenks, the Founder of Paw- tucket, who came from Lynn, Massachusetts, to Pawtuxet in 1669, and from there to Pawtucket in 1671, and established himself in the iron business, practically the beginning of the early iron age in America.
Slater Park, with entrances from Brook Street and Newport Avenue, borders on the Ten Mile River, and is adjacent to the Metropolitan Park development along that river. Purchased in 1894, and known at that time as Daggett Farm, consisting of about 200 acres, it has been extensively augmented and devel- oped and now comprises beautiful groves, lakes, roads, flower gardens, shrubbery and numerous recreational facilities. Con- tains "Friendship Garden" wherein are all the flowers mentioned in the writings of Shakespeare.
Daggett House. Property of the City of Pawtucket and located in Slater Park. Built in 1695, remodelled in 1790, and restored in 1895 by the Daughters of the American Revolution and now maintained by them under a nominal lease as a museum, showing a colonial home of the 18th century with period furniture and household effects. Open to the public at certain times during the summer, and on Wednesday afternoons at a minimum charge.
"The Old Pidge House," formerly known as the old Sayles Tavern, located on the east side of North Main Street, between Pidge Avenue and Lafayette Street. A part of this was sup-
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posedly built in 1640 and the building is claimed by some to be the oldest house standing in Rhode Island. Used by General Lafayette as headquarters during the encampment of French troops on Rochambeau Heights during the Revolutionary War. General Washington was met here by the citizens of Providence, April 5, 1776. Visited by Lafayette in 1824 upou his return to America. Licensed as a tavern in 1783. Now used as a private residence but opened upon occasions for historical purposes, Permission must always be had to enter and inspect.
First Baptist Church, at corner of High and Summer Streets, with Baptist Street in the rear and Meeting Street leading up street from Main Street, was organized in 1793, when that part of Pawtucket was in North Providence, as the "Catholic Baptist Society at Pawtucket in North Providence." This church was originally for the use of various sects and denominations, the Baptists having priority, but in 1841 the name was changed to "First Baptist Church." The tall steeple which formerly topped its belfry was removed several years ago.
St. Paul's Church (Episcopal), on northeast corner of Park Place and Church Street, established in 1815 when that part of Pawtucket was included in the Town of North Providence. Located opposite the southerly end of Wilkinson Park. The present building was erected in 1901 on the site of the previous church which was built in 1817.
St. Mary's Church (Roman Catholic), said to be the oldest church of that denomination in Rhode Island, was established in 1828, and its present edifice is located on Pine Street, corner of Grace Street. Its ancient cemetery in its rear on George Street, corner of Grace Street, bears mute testimony to the faith of its founders in years long since gone by.
First Congregational Church. Located at junction of Broad- way and Walcott Street in what was formerly Pawtucket, Massachusetts, organized in 1828. The first church building burned down in 1864 and the present building was formally consecrated in 1868, being then in Pawtucket, R. I.
Trinity Church (Episcopal), located on south side of Main Street, near School Street, established in 1845, in what was then Pawtucket, Massachusetts. "The present beautiful stone church was consecrated in July, 1853."
Pawtucket Institution for Savings, oldest bank in Pawtucket, chartered in 1828, actually beginning business in March, 1836, and this year celebrating its own Centenary. Present building at corner of Main and Maple Streets was built in 1896.
The location of the old Joseph Jenks house, the first frame house in Pawtucket, is marked by a bronze tablet on the present "Pawtucket Boys' Club."
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The location of the First cemetery in Pawtucket where the founder, Joseph Jenks, was buried, is to be marked by a bronze tablet on the present Masonic Building, near which same was located,
CENTRAL FALLS
Jenks Park, presented to the Town of Lincoln in 1890 by Alvin F. Jenks, a descendant of Joseph Jenks, the founder of Pawtucket. It has been developed and adorned by fountains, statues, and summer houses in the shape of huge metallic um- brellas. On top of a high rocky eminence commonly referred to as "the mountain" is the Coggeshall Memorial Clock tower, whose four faces, high up in the air, indicate the time to all four points of the compass. An excellent view of the landscape for miles around may be had from this tower, visibility on a clear day being as far as Fall River. This park is located on the west side of Broad Street, between the present Central Falls City Hall (formerly the High School Building) and the new Notre Dame Church, and extends westerly to Washington Street. It contains a number of acres.
Pierce's Fight. A tablet on land adjoining the Blackstone River on the upper part of High Street, a little north of the archway under the Boston and Providence Railroad Bridge, marks the location of this conflict in which the Indians, during King Philip's War, 1676, after ambushing Captain Michael Pierce and his soldiers from Plymouth and slaying most of them, captured nine men and took them to "Nine Men's Misery" in Cumberland where they were tortured and killed. (See Nine Men's Misery in Cumberland.)
LINCOLN
Lincoln Woods Reservation is owned and maintained by the State and contains about 604 acres, several miles of automobile drives, numerous foot-paths and out-door fireplaces, brooks and ponds, including Quinsnicket and Stump Hill ponds. This is a very picturesque public park of great natural beauty, well worth visiting. It is reached by way of Chapel Street in Saylesville and the Great Road, as well as by Louisquisset Pike and Break- neck Hill, and is about 3 miles from the centre of Pawtucket. Reservation and use of the out-door fireplaces may be obtained from Forests, Parks and Parking Division, State Office Building, Providence, R. I., or from the office on the premises.
Butterfly Factory, so-called from the remarkable resemblance to a huge butterfly caused by an unusual coloring and con- formation of several stones in its front wall, is located on the westerly side of the Great Road and adjacent to the Lincoln
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Woods Reservation. It was built in 1811 by Stephen H. Smith and was formerly used for years as a factory, but now is used as the Hope Riding Academy. It is said that the bell originally hanging in its belfry bore the date 1563 and came from the British frigate, "Guerriere," which was captured by the United States ship "Constitution," in the War of 1812. The bell is now in a private residence in Providence.
Hearthside. Located on the Great Road directly opposite Butterfly Factory and near the Quinsnicket entrance to Lincoln Woods. Built by Stephen H. Smith in 1811. It is of stone construction and a fine example of Colonial Architecture as influenced by the classic-style, and the Rhode Island Building at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904 was modeled after it. The tradition has been handed down that Mr. Smith built it with the prize of $40,000 which he won in a lottery. It is now occupied by Adam Sutcliffe as a private residence.
Eleazar Arnold Tavern. Located on the northeasterly side of Great Road, a short distance from the junction of Chapel Street, Front Street, and Great Road, and not far from Butterfly Factory, Hearthside, and the Quinsnicket section of Lincoln Woods Reservation. It is said that the oldest part of the house was built in 1687. The northerly wall of the building is com- posed almost entirely of the outside wall of the huge stone chimney and tradition has it that this was partly as a defense against hostile Indians. The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities has in recent years acquired this ancient hostelry and partially restored same to its original form. It is open to visitors by inquiring at the house in the rear or by telephoning Lincoln Antique Shop, Perry 2202.
Friends Meeting House. Built in 1703. Located on west- erly side of Chapel Street, Saylesville, a short distance south of the junction of Chapel Street, Front Street and Great Road. A very interesting relic and specimen of the old-time Meeting House. In the front yard the mounting stone, by means of which the women mounted to their pillions, may still be seen. This meeting house is still in use by the Society of Friends, usually called Quakers.
Blackstone Canal. Remains of this canal, opened for use in 1828, and extending from tidewater at Providence by means of 49 locks, to Worcester, Mass., are easily discernible at various places in Pawtucket, Lincoln, Woonsocket, and all along at intervals to Worcester. This canal was abandoned after a few years of operation, and the Charter of the Providence and Worcester Canal Boat Company was revoked in 1849, as the Providence and Worcester Railroad had come into existence and had proved to be too formidable a rival.
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Limerock. Reached by way of Louisquisset Pike, is a picturesque locality containing a number of very old dwellings and lime kilns that have been operated for nearly 300 years.
CUMBERLAND
Old " Ballou Meeting House," located in the northerly part of Cumberland, near the Woonsocket line and Iron Mine Hill. "The Baptist Church in this vicinity was started in 1732, and the meeting house built largely through the efforts and contributions of the Ballou family was erected in 1740." This is a very interesting old structure and should be visited to be thoroughly appreciated. Adjacent to the above is the old graveyard.
Diamond Hill Reservoirs, in north part of Town, furnish the water supply for the lower Blackstone Valley and belong to and are maintained by the City of Pawtucket. Comprise two large reservoirs, upper and lower, from which by way of the Abbott's Run Stream, the water runs down into the Robin Hollow Pond and thence into the Happy Hollow Pond at Valley Falls, where a Pumping Station of the Pawtucket Water Department is located. Fine roads and beautiful scenery await persons desiring to visit it. The history of the Abbott's Run stream is very interesting and should be told more in detail.
Arnolds' Mills and Abbott's Run are two picturesque localities located just South of the Diamond Hill Reservoirs. Abbott's Run takes its name from a man named Abbott, a servant of William Blackstone, who granted him an extensive tract in that vicinity. In this vicinity are several very old cemeteries, including the Peck Cemetery and the Friends Cemetery.
Nine Men's Misery. The place where the nine men captured by the Indians at Central Falls during the King Philip War, which ended in 1676, were, according to tradition, tortured to death. The Monks of the nearby Cistercian Monastery have in recent years erected a cairn to mark the spot, which was appropriately dedicated by the Rhode Island Historical Society, November 11th, 1928, on Armistice Day.
The Cistercian Monastery (Trappist) called "The Monastery of Our Lady of the Valley," is located on Diamond Hill Road, about 4 miles north of Pawtucket and Central Falls. It com- prises about 500 acres and "the buildings, of granite quarried on the premises, have that modest beauty that is characteristic of all Cistercian architecture." In August, 1900, seven members of the community of the Abbey of Petit Clairvaux, founded in Nova Scotia in 1815, came to Rhode Island and took possession of this location, which had been previously acquired and tem-
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porarily prepared for them. Their number has now been increased to 65 or more, and the material results of their labors may be seen by visiting their establishment. The Cistercian Order of Monks is a very old organization, dating back to more than 800 years ago, and this monastery is one of three in the United States. The monastery has a very interesting booklet for distribution to those who ask for it.
Monument to William Blackstone. In the yard of the Ann and Hope Mill of the Lonsdale Company, at Lonsdale, near the Catholic Oak; William Blackstone, a Clergyman of the Church of England, came from Boston in 1635; reported to be a religious recluse who rode on a bull, carrying his books with him, and settled at what was called Study Hill, in Lonsdale, on the banks of the River which now bears his name, planting the first apple trees in these parts. He became a friend of Roger Williams and often visited him and others in Providence Plantations, and is reported to have held religious services under what later was called "Catholic Oak."
The " Catholic Oak." Formerly a very large Oak tree but now in decay; surrounded by an iron fence, located at the junction of Broad and Mill streets, Lonsdale (new village), near the monument to William Blackstone. Tradition has it that here he held services of the Church of England. In Bayles History of Providence County, Vol. II, page 251, it is said that: "For 70 years it was the Church of the neighborhood, meetings being held under its branches. Here Rev. James Cook Richmond ministered the Episcopal Service for many years," beginning on Whitsuntide, 1844; and it is said he named it the "Catholic Oak." Later came the building of Christ Church in Lonsdale.
Prepared by Hon. Roscoe M. Dexter, Chairman of the Lower Blackstone Valley District, Tercentenary Jubilee Celebration.
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