Rhode Island Historical Society
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rhode Island Historical Society is a privately endowed, membership organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing Rhode Island's history, located in Providence, Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Historical Society was founded in 1822 and funded by many of Providence's early Yankee entrepreneurs, including Moses Brown and Henry J. Steere. 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 Society's collections include 30,000 objects and 500,000 written, recorded, and photographed items. The Society publishes the "Rhode Island History" as a tri-annual journal of The Rhode Island Historical Society.
The Rhode Island Historical Society owns and operates three main properties: the research library at 101 Hope Street in Providence, the 1786 John Brown House Museum (a National Historic Landmark), and the Museum of Work and Culture in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Currently, the society is planning to open the Heritage Harbor Museum in Providence. Many community activities are held at the society, and family genealogists often utilize the facilities. The Newell D. Goff Center for Ingenuity and Enterprise offers lectures and fellowship programs throughout the year, and annual teacher grants recognize innovative classroom teachers across the state.
Today, the Society continues to collect, preserve, and communicate historical information about Rhode Island and the United States. The Society remains a major historical archive specializing in early American, Rhode Island, and New England history. Major collections include: papers involving the Brown family of nearby Brown University, early official records from Rhode Island dating back to the seventeenth century, curiosities such as the "Roger Williams root," and various other documents, paintings and other collections reflecting early New England life.
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Categories: 1822 establishments | Registered Historic Places in Rhode Island | Protected areas of the United States | National Historic Landmarks of the United States | Historic preservation | Libraries | United States historical societies | History of Rhode Island | History of New England | Rhode Island culture
