The South County History Center, which formerly operated as the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, Rhode Island, United States, that preserves and interprets the material culture of South County through exhibits and study of archival, library and artifact collections.

History of the center

The South County History Center was founded in 1958 as the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society by South County, RI residents to encourage the study and appreciation of the history of the region; collect and preserve materials of historic interest; and preserve and mark local historical sites. In 2016, the organization revised its mission and began operating as the South County History Center as a reflection of the organization's new vision.

History of the Old Washington County Jail

The Old Washington County Jail, today the center's headquarters, was the location of the former Rhode Island Washington County Jail. The Old Jail, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is situated at the crest of the hill on Kingstown Road and Upper College Road at the University of Rhode Island southeastern entrance on Route 138. The original jail on this site was constructed in 1792, and the existing building dates to 1858 and 1861. It was built for the purpose of confining criminals who disrupted the society of old Washington County. One of many locals tradesmen, Amos Reynold Sweet set the rafters of the structure with local oakwood, and built walls of

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...

greywacke and Westerly RI granite stones, mortar and the iron cell gates. The jail was closed in 1956, and the building by 1958 housed the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society Museum. The front section of the building was redesigned in 1958 to establish the museum art collection, library and

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

records, while the rear section of

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

cells was refurbished and opened to the visiting public. Image:pettaquamscuttmuseum006b&wsmall.jpg, Old Washington County Jail - Front structure built 1861.

South County History Center collection

The

artifact Artifact, or artefact, may refer to: Science and technology * Artifact (error), misleading or confusing alteration in data or observation, commonly in experimental science, resulting from flaws in technique or equipment ** Compression artifact, a ...

, archival and library collection was initiated in 1958 by donations from local residents' personal ancestral items of

Early American history The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...

. Today, the center's collection focuses on various aspects of South County life. Marjorie Webster Schunke,(1905-2002) a historian was instrumental in gathering the archived historical materials in the library and wrote volumes of printed research on local genealogy, sites and

cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

. On loan to Pettaquamscutt Historical Museum by his family,

William Russell Sweet William Russell Sweet (November 18, 1860 – October 15, 1946) was an early American artist, painter and sculptor. Biography William Russell Sweet was known throughout the Narragansett, RI area as "The Painter", (documented by the post office ...

(1860-1946) carved in 1896 a hutch cabinet themed upon the poem "The Song of Hiawatha" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published 1855. William Russell Sweet greatly admired the American Indian and depicted their lifestyle in some of his art pieces. William Russell Sweet carved many wood pieces including wall plaques, tables and chairs each of individual themes; such as the Sweet Coat of Arms, New England sea shells as quahogs and scallops, maple leaves, nuts and berries, textile weaving patterns, and animals. His great-grandson, Carson Young Sweet Ferri Carson Grant has placed on loan several other artworks to the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society Museum in RI. Image:williamrussellsweetart0008.jpg, William Russell Sweet's carved hutch cabinet 1896. Image:williamrussellsweetart0007.jpg, William Russell Sweet's carved hutch cabinet 1896- panel view. The 14-by-6-foot mural depicting a white overseer and black slaves in 18th century Narragansett, RI, entitled "The Economic Activities of the Narragansett Planters", the painting's subject matter—slavery—disturbs some people, while others argue it's important to remember southern Rhode Island's plantation past. The mural was painted by Rhode Island native and renowned illustrator Ernest Hamlin Baker in the 1930s, as part of the federal government's Work Projects Administration. It hung for nearly 60 years in the Wakefield, RI post office, until the post office closed in 1999.Jordan, Jennifer D., January 3, 2003, Controversial painting hangs in limbo, ''Providence Journal''

Contact information

Address: South County History Center, 2636 Kingstown Road, Kingston, Rhode Island, USA.

Footnotes

References

* Bickford, Christopher, Crime, Punishment, and the Washington County Jail: Hard Time in Kingston, Rhode Island, 2002, Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, Kingston, Rhode Island * Hoxie, Louise M., The History of Peacedale, Rhode Island, 1968, Chapter 4, p. 32 Wakefield Printing Company for Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, RI. * Joy, Robert, 1954, "Natural Bonesetters with special reference to the Sweet Family of RI", Bullentin of the History of Medicine, RI 28, No.3, p. 416-441. * McBurney, Christian M., A History of Kingston, Rhode Island, 1700–1900, Heart of Rural South County, 2004, Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, Kingston, Rhode Island * Greenwood, Courtney, December 17, 2005, Edward Everett Hale House to Become Museum, ''Narragansett Times'' p. 1 (Zwire) * McParland, Martha, Jan. 1968, Family who Practiced the Medical Art of Bonesetting, ''Yankee'', RI, Vol. 32, p. 80, 98–101. (reprinted from McParland, M., Feb. 16, 1830, Family who Practiced the Medical Art of Bonesetting, ''Providence Journal'', RI). * Jordan, Jennifer D., January 3, 2003, Controversial painting hangs in limbo, ''Providence Journal'', RI.

External links

*
Jordan, Jennifer D. 2003 Projo Providence JournalGreenwood, Courtney, 2005 Zwire Narragansett TimesMcBurney, Christian M. 2004, A History of Kingston, RI
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