Roger Williams Park is an elaborately landscaped city park in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

and a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from cer ...

listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. It is named after

Roger Williams Roger Williams (21 September 1603between 27 January and 15 March 1683) was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantatio ...

, the founder of the city of Providence and the primary founder of the state of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

History

The land for the park was a gift to the people of Providence in 1872, in accordance with the will of Betsey Williams, the last descendant of

to inherit his land. It had been the family farm and was the last of the original land granted to Roger Williams in 1638 by

Canonicus Canonicus (c. 1565 – June 4, 1647) was a chief of the Narragansett Indigenous Peoples. He was wary of the colonial settlers, but he ultimately befriended Roger Williams and other settlers. Biography Canonicus was born around 1565,Benjami ...

, chief of the Narragansett tribe. The family farmhouse was built in 1773 and is now known as the Betsey Williams Cottage; the cottage and the Williams family burial ground (including Betsey's grave) are still maintained within the park. The original bequest consisted of about 100 acres. Additional land to the south was purchased in 1891 at a cost of $359,000, consisting mostly of unimproved land that was covered with woods and ponds; it brought the total area of the park to about 400 acres. The natural history museum opened in 1895.

2016 renovations

The Rhode Island Foundation began a renovation effort in the park in 2016 as a celebration of their centennial, beginning with the park's historic bandstand in December 2016. The renovations will expand to other park buildings and entrances. In June 2017, a dedicated bike and pedestrian lane was added to Frederick Green Memorial Boulevard as part of these renovations, although this change was opposed by some Cranston residents, including Cranston mayor

Allan Fung Allan Wai-Ket Fung (born February 25, 1970) is an American attorney and politician who served as Mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island from 2009 to 2021. He was the Republican nominee for Governor of Rhode Island in the 2014 and 2018 elections as ...

Gateway visitor center

In Fall 2022, a Gateway and Visitor Center for the park opened on Broad Street. Designed by INFORM studio, the center is intended to increase community access to the park. The center provides information about public events, amenities, and services in Roger Williams Park and in the surrounding neighborhood.

Layout

The park contains seven lakes which comprise approximately , and it is located in the southernmost part of the city of Providence bordering the city of Cranston. It was designed by

Horace Cleveland Horace William Shaler Cleveland (December 16, 1814 – December 5, 1900) was an American landscape architect. His approach to natural landscape design can be seen in projects such as the Grand Rounds in Minneapolis; Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Conco ...

in 1878 and was constructed in the 1880s. Many of the roads, bridges, and sidewalks were built by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

from 1935 to 1940. The

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 ...

called Roger Williams Park one of the finest urban parks in the US in their 2000 annual report.National Trust for Historic Preservation 2000 Annual Report.
/ref> It contains: * The Gateway Visitor Center on Broad Street * The

Roger Williams Park Zoo The Roger Williams Park Zoo of Providence, Rhode Island, contains more than 150 animals from around the world in natural settings. In 1986, it became the first zoo in New England to earn accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. ...

* The

Roger Williams Park Museum of Natural History and Planetarium Roger Williams Park Museum of Natural History and Planetarium is a natural history museum and planetarium within Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode Island. History The park and museum are named after Roger Williams, the founder of Provid ...

* The Roger Williams Park Botanical Center * Japanese Gardens * Victorian Rose Gardens * The Providence Police Department's Mounted Command center * The Dalrymple Boathouse and boat rentals * historical tours * a Carousel Village * The "

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

Boundless Playground" which is accessible for handicapped children * The Temple to Music * The Roger Williams Park Casino * many miles of walking paths

Images

File:Casino at Roger Williams Park.jpg, The casino File:Betsey Williams Cottage, Roger Williams Park.jpg, Betsey Williams Cottage (1773) File:Carousel Village, Roger Williams Park, Providence, Rhode Island.jpg, The carousel File:Dalrymple Boat House Prov.jpg, Clark Dalrymple Boathouse (1896) File:Museum of Natural History and Planetarium in Roger Williams Park.jpg, Museum of Natural History and Planetarium File:Inside the botanical center that opened in 2007 in the 435-acre Roger Williams Park in Providence, the capital of, and largest city in, Rhode Island.jpg, Roger Williams Park Botanical Center File:Rally 4 Recovery event at Roger Williams Park.jpg, The Temple to Music is the site of community events

Notes

: Her headstone name is spelled as "Betsey Williams," but she has been mistakenly called "Betsy" through the centuries, as it appears on numerous articles, postcards, and books.

References

External links

*
Roger Williams Park Map
{{Authority control Parks in Rhode Island Geography of Providence, Rhode Island Works Progress Administration in Rhode Island Protected areas of Providence County, Rhode Island Tourist attractions in Providence, Rhode Island Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island 1872 establishments in Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Providence, Rhode Island Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island