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A Brief History
This outline of East Greenwich's establishment and growth was
compiled from "The History of East Greenwich, Rhode Island"
by Martha R. McPartland, former East Greenwich Librarian.
The 16 square miles of central Rhode Island known as East Greenwich
celebrated its tercentenary in 1977. The eighth oldest town in the
state, it is located on the western shore of Narragansett Bay.
East Greenwich could well be named the "town on four hills".
Heading up from Greenwich Bay, the first rise holds the Main Street
business section. Peirce Street with its library and two churches
rides the second crest and residential sections cover the final
two levels.
Roger Williams, the state's founder, reportedly believed in legal
transaction to acquire property and received his Rhode Island land
by signed agreement with the Indian Chief Sachems. A king's Charter
in 1644 confirmed these deeds.
Narragansett Sachem Pessacus signed the submission of his land and
people to Charles II in 1644. Narragansett Country, including what
was to become East Greenwich, was acquired by the King's Commission
in 1665 as part of the colony of Rhode Island.
From 1675 to 1677 the Narragansetts and other New England Tribes
waged King Philip's War against the mostly British settlers. At
the war's close Indian captives were sold as slaves from the Wickford
trading post. Those that escaped joined other tribes. Their lands,
titles and jurisdictions became Rhode Island property.
Incorporated in 1677, East Greenwich, or Green Town, was named after
Greenwich County of Kent, England. It was renamed Dedford in 1688,
but quickly reverted to the original title.
Huguenot Settlement
Before the incorporation in 1677, a portion of the town was illegally
claimed by a group calling themselves the Atherton Company or the
Bay Purchasers. This land-hungry and occasionally ruthless group was
composed of Major Humphrey Atherton of Massachusetts, Connecticut
Governor John Wihthrop, Richard Smith and Richard Smith, Jr. of Cocumcussuc,
William Hudson and Amos Richardson of Boston and John Tinker of Nashua.
In 1659 an Indian expedition damaged the home of a settler. The Narragansetts
were fined 600 fathoms of wampum by the United Colonies and for payment
Narragansett County was mortgaged. In 1662 Major Atherton convinced
the Indians to mortgage the land to him in return for paying off the
fine. The Atherton group overlooked the original mortgage with the
colonies and laid claim to all the Narragansett Country, which today
includes Kent and Washington counties. The claim was not recognized
by Rhode Island Governor Andros and the disputed land was granted
to English settlers in 1677.
In 1686 the Atherton Company sold some of the land which had been
granted by the assembly to a group of French refugees called Huguenots.
Although not recorded, the Huguenot settlement is believed bounded
by Frenchtown Road on the north, the Exeter line to the south, South
County Trail on the east and the West Greenwich line on the west.
Forty eight Frenchmen each received 100 acres of upland and meadow
from the Atherton group. One hundred fifty acres were allotted for
a church and school.
The families had immigrated to the new world from the Bordeau and
La Rochelle areas of France to escape religious persecution. They
brought with them culture, education, fine craftsmanship and a strong
desire to make a new start. But their stay was short.
In 1687 men from East Greenwich attacked the French homesteads, stealing
their hay. Not understanding why the land they had purchased was claimed
by others and having difficulty communicating, most of the group left
disappointed for other New England towns.
A few of the hardy Frenchmen stayed, including Dr. Pierre Ayrault,
Moses LeMoine (name later anglicized to Mawney), and families going
by the names Targe, LeValley, Jacques, LeBaron, Geoffrey, Alaire and
Lambert.
East Greenwich and the Revolution
The Revolutionary War was a serious threat to East Greenwich because
of the threat of attack from the water.
In 1774 fifty four men, led by Nathanael Greene and James M. Varnum,
met at Arnold Tavern where they formed the Kentish Guards. At their
own expense, this military group built Fort Daniel on a bluff protecting
the entrance to the bay.
During the war the Guards furnished more officers to the Continental
Army than any other chartered command in the country. In addition
to the Revolutionary War they fought in the War of 1812, the 1842
Dorr War, the Civil War and The Spanish American War.
Manufacturing Blossoms
Up to the mid-eighteenth century manufacturing was limited to
a barter system between craftsman and customer. Carpenters were
the busiest and most common workers of the time.
With speedier transportation, goods became more accessible to East
Greenwich and in the mid-1800's retail businesses appeared on Main
Street. Some of the first shops sold home furnishings, groceries,
dry goods, hay, grain and feed.
These stores were followed by the Upton brothers with a pottery
kiln in 1771. In their workshop on the corner of King and Marlborough
they produced pots, bowls, jugs, plates, cups and saucers.
Other industries included blacksmiths, a saw mill and grist mill
run by the Greenes in Potowomut and cordage and cables for sailing
vessels from the Rope Walk on Castle Street. In the late 1700's
a saltpeter works, calico printing plant and tannery were established,
followed by card and hat factories.
Tillinghast Factory or Mount Hope Manufactory, the town's first
cotton mill, was built in 1812. Built along the headwaters of the
Hunts River, three miles west of the village, the factory became
a little mill community with 25 houses for its workers.
The Bleachery, at the south end of town, was established in 1840.
During its history a number of cloth printing and cotton finishing
operations took place, providing the main source of work for immigrants.
The abandoned Bleachery burned down in 1967.
Thomas Briggs' Boston Wire Stitcher Company (now known as Stanley-Bostitch,
a subsidiary of The Stanley Works) moved to East Greenwich from
Woonsocket in 1940 and began a long association with the town as
its largest manufacturer. The stapling machine producers became
a Textron Corporation subsidiary in 1966.
Electric lighting came to Providence in 1882 and arrived in town
six years later when Joseph Dews organized the Phoenix Electric
Light and Coal Company of East Greenwich. Located on Division Street,
it generated power for 500 lights. New dynamos increased that number
to 1,500 by 1890. The town took over for a short time, operating
as the East Greenwich Light and Power Company until 1895 when they
sold to Narragansett Electric.
The first telephone, a pay station, was installed at the Rhode Island
Pendulum newspaper in 1880, maintained by the Providence Telephone
Exchange Company. One year later the local directory listed 19 subscribers.
In 1921 the company merged with the New England Telephone Company.
The Kent County Water Authority has been supplying East Greenwich
with water since 1950. The authority was formed by the merger of
the Pawtuxet Valley Water Company, East Greenwich Water Supply,
Coventry Water Company and the Good Earth Company at Carr's Pond.
The Historic Kent County Courthouse
The Chamber takes great pride in its role in preserving the Historic
Kent County Courthouse.
The move to save the building began on August 15, 1991 with notification
from the state that the building would be closed for good, forcing
relocation of the Chamber, which was the final tenant. The Chamber
Board of Directors was saddened by the news the building would be
boarded up and left to deteriorate.
Then executive director Anita San Antonio appealed to the state
to keep the building open. Coming out of a recession, the state
was in no position to undertake a renovation and offered to sell
the building to the town for one dollar. The Chamber urged a meeting
between the town and state to plead for salvation of the building.
The Town Council agreed to an interim agreement to take over maintaining
the building until they could get the necessary approvals for ownership
and raise the money for repairs. A 14 member committee was appointed
to search for options.
In January of 1993 the committee presented a plan that called for
the courthouse to be renovated as the Town Hall. On May 18th voters
approved a $2.3 million bond issue by a narrow margin in a special
referendum and a building committee was selected to take charge
of the project. Reconstruction began in the fall of 1994 and work
was completed in November of 1995.
The Chamber of Commerce is proud that its' efforts helped preserve
an historic landmark and return it to a valuable resource for the
community.
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