The Roger Williams National Memorial is a landscaped urban park located on a common lot of the original settlement of

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 ...

, established by minister Roger Williams in 1636. The national memorial commemorates the life of Williams, who co-founded the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and championed

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

. The park is bounded by North Main, Canal, and Smith Streets, and Park Row. __TOC__

Description

The Roger Williams National Memorial is a park located near the eastern bank of the

Moshassuck River The Moshassuck River is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 from the town of Lincoln to the city of Provi ...

, east of the Rhode Island State House and north of

Downtown Providence Downtown is the central economic, political, and cultural district of the city of Providence, Rhode Island. It is bounded on the east by Canal Street and the Providence River, to the north by Smith Street, to the west by Interstate 95, and to th ...

. It stands at the base of College Hill, upon which the early settlement of Providence was concentrated. The memorial is separated from the river by Canal Street, and bounded on the other three sides by Smith Street, Park Row, and North Main Street. The southern portion of the park has a relatively open grassy area ringed by trees, while the northern portion is more landscaped, with the visitor center housed in the 1736 Antram-Gray HouseNational Park Service
Antram-Grey House
accessed 1 April 2017 at the northeast corner, and a parking area on the west side. Major features in the northern section include the Bernon Grove and the site of the spring which prompted Williams to select the site.Alt URL
/ref> The park's visitor center features an exhibit and video about Roger Williams and the founding of Rhode Island, as well as information about historic sites in Providence.

Administrative history

The national memorial was authorized on October 22, 1965. The memorial was 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 ...

on October 15, 1966. The site was developed in the late 1970s after the land acquisition was completed and the buildings on the land were demolished. It was the only unit of the National Park System in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

until 2014 when the

Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park is a National Park Service unit in the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The park was created for the purpose of preserving, protecting, and interpreting the industrial heritage of the Blac ...

was designated.

Gallery

File:Roger Williams National Memorial Visitor Center, Providence Rhode Island.jpg, The 1736 Antram-Gray House serves as the park's Visitor Center File:Roger Williams national park2.jpg, The site commemorating the spring discovered in 1636 by Roger Williams File:Roger Williams National Memorial plaque, Providence Rhode Island.jpg, A plaque at the site

References

Notes

External links