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History
Founded in 1822, the Society is the fourth oldest state historical society in the United States (after the Massachusetts Historical Society, New York Historical Society, and Maine Historical Society). The Rhode Island Historical Society was founded and funded by many of Providence's early Yankee luminaries, including Moses Brown and Henry J. Steere.[1] In 1854 the "Southern Cabinet" of the Rhode Island Historical Society became reorganized as the Newport Historical Society.[2]
Description
The Society has the largest and most important historical Rhode Island collection within its main library and three museums. The Society's collections include some 25,000 objects, 5,000 manuscripts, 100,000 books and printed items, 400,000 photographs and maps, and 9 million feet of motion-picture film. The Society offers through the Newell D. Goff Education Center a variety of educational programs including workshops, lectures, films, and walking tours of Providence. In recent years the Society has been very active in teacher training programs seeking to improve the quality of history teaching in Rhode Island. The Society also presents exhibits, films, concerts, and many other community activities and programs.
The Society’s most noteworthy recent advances include its first on-line collection access catalog and the first major restoration of the historic John Brown House, a $2.5 million project that should be complete in 2010.
Properties
The Society owns and operates the following notable museums and properties:
- Library of Rhode Island History (121 Hope Street, Providence)
- John Brown House Museum, (52 Power Street, Providence) (a National Historic Landmark) built in 1786;
- Nelson W. Aldrich House (Society Headquarters/Goff Center)(110 Benevolent Street, Providence), also a National Historic Landmark, built in 1822;
- Museum of Work and Culture (42 South Main Street, Woonsocket), a regional history museum devoted to the ethnic history of northern Rhode Island.
References and external links
