Snake Den State Park is a public recreation area occupying on

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...

in the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Johnston,

Providence County Providence County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 660,741, or 60.2% of the state's population. Providence County contains the city of Providence, the state capi ...

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 ...

. The park includes a working farm, Dame Farm, and is largely undeveloped with limited recreational opportunities. The Rhode Island Division of Parks and Recreation is headquartered in the former, 22-room Palazzi family farmhouse. The park is named for a canyon-like fissure on the park grounds.

History

The farm was previously owned by the Steere and Dame families of Johnston. A Steere

family cemetery 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 ...

lies within the park. The state purchased the property in 1969 from the Palazzi family, who had preserved the farm in a historic condition that dates back to the 18th century. The park was established to rescue open space in the greater

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

metropolitan area and to preserve part of the state's farming history. A 2005 plan by the state to develop a

waterpark A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...

at the park was defeated by the citizens of Johnston over traffic concerns. Park plans call for the development of picnic areas and playing fields.

Recreation

The park is open year-round and features walking trails that provide visitors with opportunities to view the farm, foliage, and wildlife of the park.

References

External links

Snake Den State Park
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Division of Parks & Recreation {{authority control State parks of Rhode Island Protected areas of Providence County, Rhode Island Protected areas established in 1969 1969 establishments in Rhode Island