Weird Island: Recent Episodes

Weird Rhode Island

Small state, big on the weird! Weird Island brings you some of the strangest stories you probably haven’t heard before, all originating in little Rhode Island.

Maybe you’re a true crime fan, but you’re burning out on the binges and looking to shake things up. Well, look no further! We’ll bring you unsolved mysteries, conspiracy theories, weird history and even some MURDER (no need to completely leave your comfort zone). Join us as we uncover some strange stories from the smallest state.

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Oscar seemed like an ordinary kitten when he was adopted by Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation center in Providence, RI. But the staff and residents at Steere House quickly suspected Oscar had a unique ability. He seemed to be able to predict when someone was going to die.

Heads up, this episode is more speculative than usual. And it includes a lot of talk of death. Keep that in mind while listening.

Episode Source Material - Oscar

  • A Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat
  • Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat - Kindle edition by Dosa, David. Politics & Social Sciences Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
  • Classic cases revisited: Oscar the cat and predicting death - PMC
  • Meet Oscar, the Cat that Predicts Death and Provides Comfort
  • This Cat Sensed Death. What if Computers Could, Too? - The New York Times
  • Can animals predict death? | HowStuffWorks
  • Oscar (therapy cat) - Wikipedia
  • Cat's 'Sixth Sense': Predicting Death?

General on Cats

  • A Brief History of House Cats
  • Cats Domesticated Themselves, Ancient DNA Shows
  • The Taming of the Cat - PMC
  • Stress, security, and scent: The influence of chemical signals on the social lives of domestic cats and implications for applied settings - ScienceDirect
  • Dogs Vs. Cats: A Comparison of the 5 Senses – MIDORICIDE

Death and Diseases, further info

  • What to expect when someone is in the last few days of life | Hospice UK.
  • Core body temperatures during final stages of life—an evaluation of data from in-hospital decedents | SpringerLink
  • Heart attack - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic
  • Identifying human diamine sensors for death related putrescine and cadaverine molecules | PLOS Computational Biology
  • Programmed cell death and apoptosis in aging and life span regulation

Predicting Death

  • Development of multivariable prediction models for institutionalization and mortality in the full spectrum of Alzheimer’s disease
  • Predicting Death: An Empirical Evaluation of Predictive Tools for Mortality | Medical Journals and Publishing | JAMA Internal Medicine

Studies on Scents

  • Scents and Senescence: "Old Person Smell" Is Real, but Not Necessarily Offensive - Scientific American
  • The Scent of Disease: Human Body Odor Contains an Early Chemosensory Cue of Sickness
  • Sick People Smell Bad: Why Dogs Sniff Dogs, Humans Sniff Humans, and Dogs Sometimes Sniff Humans - Scientific American Blog Network
  • Sweat smells like ammonia: Causes and treatment
  • Disease and odor: An intriguing relationship
  • The electronic nose technology in clinical diagnosis: A systematic review
  • 12 Diseases Doctors Can Actually Detect Through Smell

Bio-Detection Dogs

  • Diagnostic Accuracy of Canine Scent Detection in Early- and Late-Stage Lung and Breast Cancers
  • Dogs can discriminate between human baseline and psychological stress condition odours | PLOS ONE
  • How Do Dogs Sniff Out Diseases? | Discover Magazine
  • The science of sniffs: disease smelling dogs :: Understanding Animal Research

Therapy Animals / Our Relationship with Animals

  • The difference between dead and away: An exploratory study of behavior change during companion animal euthanasia - ScienceDirect
  • Animal-assisted therapy in adults: A systematic review - ScienceDirect
  • An Evaluation of the benefits that animal-assisted therapy provide to the terminally iII and their families
  • Animal-Assisted Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Literature Review | SpringerLink
  • Measuring the Effects of an Animal-Assisted Intervention for Pediatric Oncology Patients and Their Parents
  • Pet Ownership and Cardiovascular Risk | Circulation

Other Animal Abilities

  • Toads able to detect earthquake days beforehand, says study | Animal behaviour | The Guardian
  • Sharks use Earth's magnetic field to navigate the seas | Science | AAAS.
  • Fire-chasing beetles sense infrared radiation from fires hundreds of kilometres away.

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Hey all! I’m taking a tiny pause on new episodes for a little while to work on some other things that inspire me. I’ll be back before you know it! And, in the meantime, I still have a couple of episodes to drop. So, I hope you’ll stick around. 

If you’re looking for something new to listen to while I’m taking a breather, I wanted to share some of the podcasts that I've been loving recently. Some local (see list 1!) and some that are just incredible podcasts I think will be up your alley. I have 100% forgotten some (Spotify history needs to go back farther!), so I’ll keep adding!

Local Stories:

  • Crimetown (If you haven’t already listened to this one, this is a MUST)
  • Mosaic (amazing)
  • The Memory Palace (One of my ALL TIME favorite writers. Not every episode is local, but you’ll stumble across many that are)
  • New England Legends
  • The Bowery Boys (New York, but lots of crossover)

Not local, but I think you love them:

  • Heavyweight (This is my favorite podcast of all time.)
  • Sidedoor
  • Unexplainable
  • Not Past It
  • Nice Try (highly recommend the episode on bidets)
  • HISTORY This Week
  • Ologies
  • Lore
  • Meet your Heroes

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While researching RI mills, I came across this one little snippet about the Ashton Mill in Cumberland, and had to know more: “Owens-Corning Fiberglas Company bought the mill... They operated in the mill until 1983. They made tire cord, drapery, and beta cloth for spacesuits for the Apollo Moon missions.”

Episode Source Material:

  • Address at Rice University in Houston, Texas on the Nation's Space Effort, 12 September 1962 | JFK Library
  • We choose to go to the Moon - Wikipedia
  • Beta cloth - Wikipedia
  • BA 500BC / CF500 F (Beta Cloth, Beta Fabric) – Bron Aerotech
  • Popular Science | November 1967
  • Comparison of Observed Beta Cloth Interactions with Simulated and Actual Space Environment
  • Beta Cloth Durability Assessment for Space Station Freedom (SSF) Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) Blanket Covers
  • Apollo Applications of Beta Fiber Glass
  • Lunar Dust Effects on Spacesuit Systems
  • Man in Machine: Apollo-Era Space Suits as Artifacts of Technology and Culture | Douglas N. Lantry
  • APOLLO SPACE SUIT
  • Journeying to the Moon in a Suit of Glass | Behind the Glass
  • Tensile Fabrics Enhance Architecture Around the World | NASA Spinoff
  • Owens Corning 2019 Sustainability Report
  • Our History
  • Owens Corning - Wikipedia
  • Owens-Corning Records, 1938-Present , MSS-222
  • OWENS-CORNING MILESTONES
  • Coated Membrane Materials for Use in Construction of Stressed Membrane Structures
  • Beta Cloth Patches
  • 50 Years on, Apollo 11 Spacesuit Continues to Influence Imaginations and New Designs | KQED
  • Textiles in space - Textile Technology Source
  • Space Mission Patches - About Patches
  • Toledo's Owens Corning made Apollo 11 spacesuits possible | The Blade

If you want to know more about: Playtex and Space Suits

  • Playtex - Wikipedia
  • What Did Playtex Have to Do With Neil Armstrong? | Arts & Culture| Smithsonian Magazine
  • The seamstresses who helped put a man on the moon: When NASA needed a lunar spacesuit, they turned to the women who sewed girdles and bras for Playtex - CBS News
  • How Playtex Helped Win the Space Race | Mental Floss

The Apollo 1 & the Space Race:

  • Apollo 1 - Wikipedia
  • The Legacy of the Apollo 1 Disaster | Science| Smithsonian Magazine
  • Apollo to the Moon: A History in 50 Objects
  • The Space Race: Timeline, Cold War & Facts - HISTORY
  • Apollo | History, Missions, Significance, & Facts | Britannica
  • How Apollo 11 Raised The Flag On The Moon, And What It Means Today
  • Where No Flag Has Gone Before:
  • How the race to the Moon–with an assist from pop culture–changed the meaning of the word 'technology'
  • Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences

Ashton Mill

  • Ashton - Blackstone River Valley
  • Labor news clippings, 22 scrapbooks, 1867-1902
  • National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form

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This week, I’m joined by Amanda Quay Blount, who just released her new book Meet Me at the Biltmore this October. She brought me a story I’d never heard before about this Rhode Island based Ford dealer. His name was Dutee Wilcox Flint, and he was one of the earliest and most successful Ford dealers in the world before he lost his empire, moved into the Biltmore, and largely vanished from memory.

Find Amanda's book, Meet Met at the Biltmore HERE! Meet Me At The Biltmore | Amanda Quay Blount

Episode Source Material

  • Meet Me At The Biltmore | Amanda Quay Blount
  • Dutee Wilcox Flint - The Meteoric Rise and Disastrous Fall of a Ford Dealer and Confidant of Henry Ford | Hemmings
  • Once Largest Auto Dealer in World — Lost Fortune in 1929 Market Crash | April 2, 1961
  • OT - Ford Agent Dutee Wilcox Flint
  • Horseless Age: The Automobile Trade Magazine, Volume 38 - July 1, 1916
  • Ford Times, Volume 7
  • The New York Times | June 8, 1940
  • Our History
  • Ford Motor Company | Detroit Historical Society
  • Ford Motor Company incorporated - HISTORY
  • Last day of Model T production at Ford - HISTORY
  • Chronology of call letters WDWF | Radio-TV Broadcast History
  • Resolutions and Ordinances of the City Council of the City of Providence ...
  • Crystal Receivers
  • Rhode Island Radio - WEAN
  • WPRO (AM) - Wikipedia
  • Radio World - October 7, 1922
  • https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Age-20s/Radio-Age-1922-11.pdf
  • This Day in History, 1927: Ford reveals its Model A to an eager public | Hemmings
  • Possner Castle | ArtInRuins
  • WPRV - Wikipedia
  • Introduction of the New Ford Car
  • http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/506218/575684.html?1444755798
  • http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/411944/479401.html?1410787237
  • US1480056A - Wooden shaft - Google Patents

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This week, as many get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, I wanted to revisit the story of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving that many of us learned as kids. Because, I found out as an adult that I didn’t really learn the full story–I learned a mythologized version of it. And I learned that while I heard a lot about the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth, I didn’t know as much about the Wampanoag people who were already in New England, many of whom were living in what is part of Rhode Island today. 

Episode Source Material

  • Image 9 of Massasoit's town Sowams in Pokanoket, its history, legends and traditions,
  • Massasoit’s Illness, and How Winslow Cured Him - Account of Winslow visiting Massasoit Ousamequin
  • Massasoit, Chief Who Signed Treaty With the Pilgrims, To Be Reburied | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine
  • Sowams Heritage Area Brochure
  • Sowams Heritage Area Historical Overview
  • Sowams Lives Four Centuries Later - coastalmags.com
  • This Once Was Called Sowams - Reporter Today
  • Pokanoket booklet FINAL SMALL.pdf
  • with Ancient Records of Sowams and Parts Adjacent, illustrated. – Rhode Island History NavigatorSowams: with Ancient Records of Sowams and Parts Adjacent–Illustrated - Written by Thomas W Bicknell, 1908
  • Burr's Hill
  • Early History - Narragansett Indian Tribe.
  • Mount Hope Farm To Celebrate 400 Years Since First Thanksgiving | Bristol, RI Patch
  • All the Facts About Thanksgiving | Newport, RI Patch
  • Proclamation - Thanksgiving Day - 1806, Rhode Island - WallBuilders
  • For Indigenous people, Thanksgiving represents a day of mourning
  • White House Thanksgiving Turkeys in the Roaring '20s
  • How to Tell the Thanksgiving Story on Its 400th Anniversary | History| Smithsonian Magazine
  • This tribe helped the Pilgrims survive for their first Thanksgiving. They still regret it 400 years later.
  • Thanksgiving's hidden past: Plymouth in 1621 wasn't close to being the first celebration
  • Wampanoag History
  • Tribal chief who signed treaty with Pilgrims to be reburied
  • Pokanoket - Wikipedia
  • Wampanoag - Wikipedia
  • History of the Pokanoket Tribe
  • Pokanoket is the name of the Massasoit’s tribe, not “Wampanoag” – Sowams Heritage Area
  • Pokanoket not Wampanoag in 17th century Sowams   June 5, 2020
  • Warren's History
  • Burr’s Hill Pokanoket Royal Burial Ground – Sowams Heritage Area
  • The Myths of the Thanksgiving Story and the Lasting Damage They Imbue | History| Smithsonian Magazine
  • The true, dark history of Thanksgiving - Potawatomi.org
  • Everything You Learned About Thanksgiving Is Wrong - The New York Times
  • This Land is Their Land
  • Culture — Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
  • In 1621, the Wampanoag Tribe Had Its Own Agenda
  • Of Patuxet - Colonial Society of Massachusetts
  • The History of the Pokanoket Tribal Diaspora

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On December 31, 1843, Amasa Sprague was found murdered near his home in Cranston, RI. An Irish immigrant named John Gordon was tried and convicted of the crime, but even at the time, many believed he may have been innocent. 

Episode Source Material:

  • Opinion/Harrington: Mystery still shrouds murder of Amasa Sprague
  • John Gordon - Online Review of Rhode Island History
  • The Murder of Amasa Sprague, and the Irishman Persecuted for the Crime - New England Historical Society
  • Weird Hauntings: True Tales of Ghostly Places
  • Trial of John Gordon and William Gordon, Charged With the Murder of Amasa Sprague
  • State v. John Gordon, 1 R.I. 179 | Casetext Search + Citator
  • http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText11/SenateText11/S0371A.htm
  • https://read.amazon.com/?asin=B00XRFTWVI&ref_=dbs_t_r_kcr
  • Irish-Italian ratio in R.I.is close, Census Bureau says
  • When America Despised the Irish: The 19th Century’s Refugee Crisis - HISTORY
  • Dorr Rebellion - Wikipedia
  • amasa sprague | The Cotton Boll Conspiracy
  • The Execution of John Gordon, a Victim of Anti-Irish Catholic Prejudice - Online Review of Rhode Island History
  • Editors at Providence Journal Discriminated Against Irish-Americans - Online Review of Rhode Island History
  • The Irish of Rhode Island (Part I, 1638-1921)
  • New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial
  • Dorr Rebellion | Rhode Island's Very Own, Very Small Civil War - New England Today

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Have you seen The Conjuring, the 2013 Hollywood film so successful it spawned a franchise of supernatural horror films? Did you know it’s loosely based on the haunting of a Rhode Island family? The old colonial farmhouse in Burrillville, where they lived and experienced paranormal phenomena in the 1970s, has been described by some as one of the most active paranormal locations in the world. 

Episode Source Material

  • About | The Conjuring House
  • Andrea Perron on the true story behind The Conjuring | Freesat
  • Andrea Perron Conjures The Facts of Her Family's Haunted Past In "Bathsheba: Search for Evil" - Rue Morgue
  • Rhode Island’s ‘Conjuring’ house sold, with one stipulation: No one can live there year-round - The Boston Globe
  • 'Death is not the end': Member of 'The Conjuring' family returns to Burrillville house
  • ‘Bathsheba: Search for Evil’ tells true story of the Perron family, ‘The Conjuring’ inspiration - National | Globalnews.ca
  • Correcting the Conjuring House History | Skeptical Inquirer
  • Dispelling Demons: Detective Work at The Conjuring House | Skeptical Inquirer
  • https://preservation.ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur406/files/pdfs_zips_downloads/national_pdfs/burrillville/burr_harrisville-mill-village-hd.pdf
  • Ed and Lorraine Warren - Wikipedia
  • Ed and Lorraine Warren
  • Lorraine Warren, Paranormal Investigator Portrayed in ‘The Conjuring,’ Dies at 92 - The New York Times
  • About - NESPR
  • Perron Family Haunting - NESPR
  • From the archives: Ed and Lorraine Warren of 'The Conjuring' Have a Long History of Paranormal Investigation in Connecticut (April 1972)
  • https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/19251916:60525
  • The Terrifying Rise of Haunted Tourism
  • Andrea Perron returns to RI to tell the true story behind 'The Conjuring' | Arts And Living | independentri.com

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Ann & Hope… were two women. Then the words became the name of a ship, followed by a mill, and later a store. This week, I’ll bring you along as I learn the story of the Ann & Hope Mill and the discount department store that shared its name. And along the way, we’ll even uncover a bit of a mystery. 

Episode Source Material

  • Ann and Hope Store Complex (Ann and Hope Mill, Lonsdale Mill) | SAH ARCHIPEDIA
  • Ann & Hope mill sells for $3.5 million | News | valleybreeze.com
  • Developers unveil proposal for old Ann & Hope building | WPRI.com
  • HistoricandArchitectural Resources of Cumberland, Rhode Island
  • The Hermit of Study Hill: Where are Blackstone’s bones? – Rhode's Gallery
  • Brown and Ives
  • Lonsdale Company Records (MSS 9 SG 2)
  • Ann & Hope - Wikipedia
  • Passages: Irwin Chase, co-founder of Ann & Hope department store, paved way for Walmart, Kmart
  • The Wal-Mart Revolution
  • How to be a Billionaire: Proven Strategies from the Titans of Wealth
  • Captain Wilbur Kelly - Blackstone River Valley
  • The Landmark | BVHS
  • HistoricandArchitectural Resources of Cumberland, Rhode Island
  • The mysterious case of William Blackstone’s remains | News | valleybreeze.com
  • William Blackstone Memorial Park | quahog.org
  • National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form 1. Name 2 Location 3. Classification 4. Owner of Property 5. Loca
  • Blackstone River State Park, Bikeway, and Visitor's Center History
  • Mill Preservation in the Blackstone River Valley
  • Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes | 1972
  • Ann & Hope: America's First Superstore | Down the Rhode #1
  • 1993 Annual Report
  • Discount store - Wikipedia

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Have you ever been to Scarborough Beach in Narragansett and noticed that beautiful stone ruin just beyond the sand? Well, it turns out it’s the remnants of an old carriage house that once stood beside this mansion overlooking the water. The mansion was called Windswept, but locally it was known as the house built with Painkiller money, and it was built by a family who made their fortune selling this over-the-counter medicine called “Perry Davis’s Vegetable Pain-Killer,” remembered today as the first-ever nationally advertised remedy for chronic pain.

Want to know more? Check out these other podcasts:

  • Painkiller: America's Fentanyl Crisis | Podcast on Spotify
  • How The Opioid Industry Operated Like A Cartel - Fresh Air | Podcast on Spotify
  • Hooked | Podcast on Spotify

About Perry Davis’ Pain-Killer:

  • These Plantations | By J. Earl Clauson
  • History of Providence, Rhode Island - 3 - Published 1878
  • The Story of Perry Davis and His Painkiller
  • The History of Drug Advertising | Weill Cornell Medicine Samuel J. Wood Library
  • Mark Twain quotations - Perry Davis Pain-Killer
  • Chapter 12 | The Adventures of Tom Sawyer | Mark Twain | Lit2Go ETC
  • Perry Davis’ Vegetable Pain Killer | windowthroughtime
  • Great Island Historian's Log
  • Providence Landmark Sold: Built By Painkiller Family
  • Windswept

Perry Davis’ Vegetable Pain-Killer - Ads and Marketing Materials

  • Perry Davis' Vegetable Pain Killer - ECU Digital Collections
  • [Perry Davis, bust, facing right, on advertisement for Perry Davis' vegetable pain killer] | Library of Congress - Images
  • Lewiston Evening Journal - August 4, 1891 | Advertisement
  • US Navy Patent Medicine Perry Davis Vegetable Pain Killer c. 1900 color promo – Advertisement
  • Around the World in 40 Years Booklet Patent Medicine Used by Australian Gold Miners Pain Killer by Perry Davis → a Patent medicine booklet about Perry Davis’ Pain Killer
  • [Patent medicine labels for Perry Davis & Son, showing view of Providence, R.I., and four patent medicine bottles] / Kilburn & Mallory sc., Boston.
  • CIRCA 1900 BOOKLET - DAVIS PAIN-KILLER - PERRY DAVIS & SON PROVIDENCE RI - Advertisement
  • 1868 PAIN KILLER ALMANAC. PERRY DAVIS AND SON, PROVIDENCE RI

Patent Medicines / Medicine History:

  • History of Patent Medicine
  • "A most detestable medicine." America's Real Drug Problem
  • Pain-Killer: A 19th Century Global Patent Medicine and the Beginnings of Modern Brand Marketing - Ross D. Petty, 2019
  • How Advertising Shaped the First Opioid Epidemic | Science| Smithsonian Magazine
  • The History of Opiates | Michael's House Treatment Center
  • A History Of Opioids In America : NPR
  • Purdue Pharma taps a Gilded Age history of pharmaceutical fraud
  • History of aspirin - Wikipedia
  • The strange history of opiates in America: from morphine for kids to heroin for soldiers | James Nevius | The Guardian
  • Administered for pain, drugs like OxyContin have taken a massive toll | Hub
  • Prescription Painkillers | Northern Nevada Medical Center Reno–Sparks.
  • Medicated nation: 1 in 3 people take over-the-counter painkillers daily - Study Finds

Edmund Davis’s Death - If you want to learn more about that!

  • The Mysterious Death of a Fisherman on the Grand Cascapedia River | Gaspesian Heritage WebMagazine
  • The American Fly Fisher

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Long before the quahog became Rhode Island’s iconic shellfish, oysters dominated local waters. In this episode, I’ll be diving into the stories of black innovators and entrepreneurs who shaped the oyster industry–including Manna Bernoon, who established Providence’s first Oyster and Ale House in 1736, the year of his emancipation from slavery. 

Episode Source Material:

  • Early Rhode Island: A Social History of the People | 1910
  • Johnson & Wales Culinary Arts Museum Celebrates African-American Food | Cranston, RI Patch
  • Providence Waterways: StoryMap
  • A noble tradition - The Bay State Banner
  • The Truth about Baked Beans: An Edible History of New England
  • ON THE RHODE TO FREEDOM | stagesoffreedom
  • Gabriel Bernon | Goodwin-Genealogy Wikia
  • Rhode Island's Shellfish Heritage: An Ecological History
  • Going Deep Into Oyster Country - The New York Times
  • History on the Half-Shell: The Story of New York City and Its Oysters
  • The History of Oysters: Its Rise as a Delicacy and a Staple Food Beloved by Many
  • A 19th Century Black Success Story: The Downing Family | HistoryNet
  • Ancient Australians and Americans Ate Billions of Oysters Over Millennia
  • Oyster Archaeology: Ancient Trash Holds Clues To Sustainable Harvesting : The Salt : NPR
  • How Oysters Became a Source of Economic Freedom for Emancipated Black Folks - Earth in Color
  • oyster cellars | Restaurant-ing through history.
  • Oyster bar - Wikipedia
  • CITY LORE; When the Oyster Was Their World - The New York Times
  • Thomas Downing (restaurateur) - Wikipedia
  • How a child of Virginia slaves became the oyster king of New York — and a favorite of the Queen of England – The Virginian-Pilot
  • George Thomas Downing (1819 - 1903) — BLACK and Education
  • George T. Downing - The Fight for Black Mobility: Traveling to Mid-Century Conventions
  • On Staten Island, one of NYC's oldest African American enclaves is preserved - Curbed NY
  • Rossville, Staten Island - Wikipedia
  • Finding Freedom Through Oysters in 19th Century New York (Part Two) | Department of History | NC State University
  • Ep 18 – Sandy Ground – The African American Oyster Community – City Between
  • Native American Secrets Lie Buried in Huge Shell Mounds - The New York Times
  • The Voluminous Shell Heaps Hidden in Plain Sight All Over NYC - Gastro Obscura

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In 1925, a massive bicycle racing track was built on North Main Street in Providence. Later that year, it would become home to the Providence Steam Roller, remembered today as New England’s first NFL Champions.

Episode Source Material

  • Rhode Island History | November 1977
  • Providence Cyclodrome | ArtInRuins
  • Forgotten Stadiums: The Cycledrome
  • Cycledrome History | Pro-Football-Reference.com
  • Cycledrome - Wikipedia.
  • Deflategate, Roaring '20s Style: New England's 1st Controversial NFL Champions | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report
  • Way before the Patriots, Providence fans enjoyed title ride with Steam Roller
  • Forgotten Stadiums: Kinsley Park
  • Motor-Paced - RI SPORTS CHRONICLE
  • Cranston Historical Society
  • Providence Steam Roller – NFL & the Great Depression
  • The Birth of the National Football League - HISTORY
  • How the NFL took over America in 100 years
  • Who Invented (American) Football - HISTORY
  • Providence Steam Roller
  • Decade by Decade The 1920s and Providence | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site
  • Thrill of the 6-day race: When endurance cycling was the sport to watch – Chicago Tribune
  • Rhode Island History Journal: Volume 77 No. 1 by The Rhode Island Historical Society - Issuu
  • A Revolution On Two Wheels: Columbia Bicycles - Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project
  • The Safety Bicycle and Beyond | Smithsonian Institution
  • Newark: Cradle of Cycling in the Sport's Golden Age
  • Six Day Bike Racing Was a Far More Brutal Predecessor of the Tour de France....Who Killed It and Why?
  • Six-Day Racing in America - Peloton Magazine
  • Bike Racing 1920s | Ephemeral New York

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So, you’ve seen his face on t-shirts and posters and on the covers of anthology books all over Providence, but who exactly is H. P. Lovecraft? Tune in to the first episode of Season 2 to find out! I cover a number of Providence locations in this episode, and you’re welcome to visit them while listening. Many are pretty close to one another. Here’s my recommended mini tour:

  • Lovecraft’s Birthplace Memorial (home demolished): 454 Angell Street, Providence, RI
  • Lovecraft’s 2nd Home: 598 Angell Street, Providence, RI
  • St. John’s Churchyard: 271 N. Main Street, Providence, RI
  • Lovecraft’s 3rd Home: 10 Barnes Street, Providence, RI
  • Lovecraft’s Final Home: 65 Prospect Street
  • Lovecraft’s Grave: Swan Point Cemetery

Episode Source Material

  • H. P. Lovecraft: Nightmare Countries (The Master of Cosmic Horror) by S. T. Joshi (2012) Hardcover
  • Today We Celebrate the Short, Unhappy Life of H.P. Lovecraft | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine
  • H. P. Lovecraft - Wikipedia
  • The Fantasy Author H.P. Lovecraft at 125: Genius, Cult Icon, Racist - The Atlantic
  • Her Letters To Lovecraft: Sarah Susan Phillips Lovecraft – Deep Cuts in a Lovecraftian Vein
  • Lovecraftian horror — and the racism at its core — explained
  • Howard Phillips Lovecraft: The Life of a Gentleman of Providence
  • Guide to Lovecraftian Sites in Rhode Island
  • H.P. Lovecraft Birthplace - Providence, Rhode Island USA - Childhood Homes on Waymarking.com
  • How to Find the Spirit of H.P. Lovecraft in Providence - The New York Times
  • Reanimating Providence | The Haunts and Hauntings of H. P. Lovecraft
  • I Am Providence”: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft – Chris Thayer - Issuu
  • A Literary History of Weird Fiction: An Interview with S. T. Joshi
  • The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H. P. Lovecraft

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In Smithfield, Rhode Island, out in the middle of the woods, there are the remains of an old village that disappeared over 100 years ago. A ghost town known as Hanton City, sometimes called Haunted City or the Lost City.  

To Visit: Walk the Hanton City Hiking Trail, starting from 70 W. Reservoir Rd in Smithfield. About 3/4 of a mile or so in (I didn't map it exactly) you'll see the remains of an old cellar on your right in a clearing. 

This is my last episode before a little summer break. Thank you to everyone who continues to listen and support me on this little podcasting journey! It truly means the world to me. 

Episode Source Material

  • Remembering Smithfield: Sketches of Apple Valley
  • Hanton City, Rhode Island
  • The Diary of Thomas Vernon: A Loyalist, Banished from Newport by the Rhode Island General Assembly 1776
  • Are There Ghosts in Smithfield's “Haunted City?”
  • Benjamin Harrington, of Providence (c.1618 - 1694) - Genealogy
  • They Live Alone in Ghost Towns - The New York Times
  • Ghost Towns - Why do we love abandoned places?
  • Ghost town - Wikipedia
  • William Harrington or Herrington
  • Herendeen Descendants Report
  • Town of Smithfield History
  • HistoricandArchitectural Resources of Smithfield, Rhode Island:
  • Hanton City Road Area -... - Greater Rhode Island Roaming | Facebook
  • The Early Records of the Town of Providence

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Have you ever been to see a show at the Providence Performing Arts Center and marveled at the gorgeous building? Well, you might be surprised to know that when PPAC opened in the late 1920s, the theater showed a different kind of show–movies! I’m joined by special guests Lynn Singleton and Alan Chille this week to dive into the history of Providence’s Movie Palace, these elaborately decorated movie theaters designed to make the average person feel like royalty. And Lynn and Alan will share some amazing behind-the-scenes stories that shed light on everything that goes into keeping a historic building like this one open for all to enjoy. 

Episode Source Material

  • https://preservation.ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur406/files/pdfs_zips_downloads/national_pdfs/providence/prov_weybosset-street-220_loews-state-theater.pdf
  • PPAC History | Providence Performing Arts Center
  • Loews Cineplex Entertainment - Wikipedia
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickelodeon_(movie_theater)
  • Movie palace - Wikipedia
  • The Theaters of Providence Part 2 – The Modern Era - Online Review of Rhode Island History
  • Rapp and Rapp - Wikipedia
  • Providence Performing Arts Center - Wikipedia
  • Providence Performing Arts Center | Rhode Tour
  • Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI - Cinema Treasures
  • The Theaters of Providence, Part 1 – The Early Years - Online Review of Rhode Island History
  • Loew's State Theatre, Palace Concert Theater & Ocean State Theatre
  • Politics and Pasta
  • History of film - Wikipedia
  • Silent film - Wikipedia
  • Providence Performing Arts Center (Loew's State Theatre) | SAH ARCHIPEDIA
  • Palace Theater, (Ocean State Theatre, Performing Arts Center), 220 Weybosset Street, Providence, RI
  • “Playing the Palace”: A History Of Motion Picture Palaces - The Credits
  • Movie Palaces Let Everyday Americans Be Royalty | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine
  • A very short history of cinema | National Science and Media Museum

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In South Kingstown, there’s an odd monument hidden away in the bushes off Tower Hill Road. It’s a four-sided granite pillar covered, from top to bottom on all sides, in a written inscription. And this inscription tells a story. But not one of a famous battle or prominent leader or politician or historical landmark. It tells the story of a gruesome murder that took place here.

To Visit:

Map to Koch Eye Associates in Wakefield, at 20 Hampton Way, Wakefield, RI 02879. Park in the Koch parking lot near the business’s dumpster. The monument is directly behind the dumpster. It’s in thick brush. You won’t see it at first, but if you walk to the edge of the busy road (be safe) right in line with the dumpster, you’ll see a break in the bushes where the monument is hidden.

Episode Source Material

  • Jackson Was Murdered And Carter Was Hanged For It-But That Is All We're Sure About - Online Review of Rhode Island History
  • Memoirs of the Rhode Island Bar | Wilkins Updike
  • The Narragansett Historical Register | Volume 1 1882-3
  • The Narragansett Historical Register | Volume II 1883-84
  • The Narragansett Historical Register | Volume VII 1889
  • State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at the End of the Century: A History | 1902
  • Literary Gossip, Criticisms of Books and Local Historical Matters Connected with Rhode Island | 1902
  • South Kingstown Public Library Digital Collections | Hazard Diary 009
  • Joseph Peace Hazard Papers
  • Mysterious Carter Jackson Monument, South Kingstown, Rhode Island
  • Joseph Peace Hazard: Rhode Island Spiritualist · Introduction · Special Collections Exhibits
  • Murder memorials: A grisly history written in stone - BBC News
  • Murder stone - Wikipedia
  • The Gibbet: A Disturbing Execution Practice Meant To Deter Criminals
  • The Gibbet — History's Most Inhumane Punishment | by Hdogar
  • Who was Joseph Peace Hazard? | SKPL History
  • National Register of Historic Places Registration Form G
  • Hanging in Chains - Harnessing the Power of the Criminal Corpse - NCBI Bookshelf
  • The Incredibly Disturbing Historical Practice of Gibbeting
  • Memorials and Monuments
  • Why Just 'Adding Context' to Controversial Monuments May Not Change Minds | History| Smithsonian Magazine
  • Who do American monuments honor the most? A landmark study finally has answers.

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The history of the classic American diner started right here in Rhode Island. It began as something called a Night Lunch Wagon. But over time the diner grew and changed, following trends in the workforce, the American family, and food culture to become the uniquely American restaurant we know and love today. And one of my favorite diners around is Modern Diner–which also happens to be the first diner ever listed on the National Register of Historic places.

To Visit: 364 East Ave, Pawtucket, RI 02860

Episode Source Material:

  • If you really enjoy diners, read anything by Richard Gutman: American Diner Then and Now: Gutman, Richard JS: 9780801865367: Amazon.com: Books
  • A Life Devoted to the American Diner | Arts & Culture| Smithsonian Magazine
  • NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY-- NOMINATION FORM NAME LOCATION tq.
  • Modern Diner – Pawtucket, Rhode Island - Gastro Obscura
  • Restaurateur sues, wants shirt off Disney's rack
  • RHODE ISLAND DINER SETTLES TRADEMARK SUIT WITH DISNEY – Orlando Sentinel
  • Why So Many Diners Look Like Train Cars - Gastro Obscura
  • Streamline Moderne - Wikipedia.
  • Hidden for more than 75 years, the origins of a Chepachet diner are being revealed | WJAR
  • History of Purple Cat Restaurant to be preserved by new owners | News | valleybreeze.com
  • Drive I-95: Exit by Exit Info, Maps, History and Trivia
  • From Hash House to Family Restaurant: The Transformation of the Diner and Post-World War II Consumer Culture
  • DINER HISTORY
  • Walter Scott – Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame
  • Modern Diner
  • HOW THE DINER GOT ITS START – Daily Press
  • Diner - Wikipedia
  • Where No-Frills Fast Food (the Real Thing) Was Born - The New York Times
  • Rhode Island Diners – Where to Eat – Vacation Travel Info
  • From Chuck Wagons to Pushcarts: The History of the Food Truck
  • Food truck - Wikipedia
  • TH Buckley- Come Get Your American Dream
  • The Transition from Horse-Drawn to Stationary
  • The Classic American Entrepreneurship
  • The Original Lunch Wagons
  • The Masters of the Booming Lunch Car Industry
  • Appealing to the customers
  • Diners of New England | Randy Garbin
  • Bluefield Daily Telegraph | April 1, 1987
  • Clovis News Journal | June 22, 1986
  • Today's special
  • Haven Brothers: Legacy of the American Diner – Food on a truck, man! - Motif
  • PROVIDENCE DINER, 97, VS. CITY HALL, '87 - The New York Times
  • News in Antebellum America
  • Long Live the Lunch Wagon King! Worcester's Diners Prove Resilient | Mass Food & Wine
  • Whence Came the Rhode Island Food Truck? | Edible Rhody
  • History of the American Diner - Legendary Route 66

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If you’ve been to Kennedy Plaza, you’ve probably seen the big, shiny stainless steel piece of Providence late-night culture that is Haven Brothers diner. Maybe you’ve even eaten one of their famous Murder Burgers. But did you know that Haven Brothers traces its origin back to 1893, making it one of the oldest restaurants on wheels in America? 

To Visit: 12 Dorrance St, Providence, RI 02903

Episode Source Material:

  • Haven Brothers Diner - Wikipedia
  • Haven Bros
  • Haven Brothers
  • Providence Journal | Mark Patinkin
  • Drive I-95: Exit by Exit Info, Maps, History and Trivia
  • Aunt Carrie, Mother Prentice were ahead of their time | | ricentral.com
  • The Cowl | November 19, 1988
  • RI icon Haven Brothers gets a taste of movie fame
  • A Life Devoted to the American Diner | Arts & Culture| Smithsonian Magazine
  • From Hash House to Family Restaurant: The Transformation of the Diner and Post-World War II Consumer Culture
  • DINER HISTORY
  • Walter Scott – Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame
  • Modern Diner
  • HOW THE DINER GOT ITS START – Daily Press
  • Diner - Wikipedia
  • Where No-Frills Fast Food (the Real Thing) Was Born - The New York Times
  • Rhode Island Diners – Where to Eat – Vacation Travel Info
  • From Chuck Wagons to Pushcarts: The History of the Food Truck
  • Food truck - Wikipedia
  • TH Buckley- Come Get Your American Dream
  • The Transition from Horse-Drawn to Stationary
  • The Classic American Entrepreneurship
  • The Original Lunch Wagons
  • The Masters of the Booming Lunch Car Industry
  • Appealing to the customers
  • Diners of New England | Randy Garbin
  • Bluefield Daily Telegraph | April 1, 1987
  • Clovis News Journal | June 22, 1986
  • Today's special
  • Haven Brothers: Legacy of the American Diner – Food on a truck, man! - Motif
  • PROVIDENCE DINER, 97, VS. CITY HALL, '87 - The New York Times
  • News in Antebellum America
  • Long Live the Lunch Wagon King! Worcester's Diners Prove Resilient | Mass Food & Wine
  • Whence Came the Rhode Island Food Truck? | Edible Rhody

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When a friend said to me, “What about an episode about that time the Wright’s Chicken Farm kids were kidnapped?” I had to know more. Today’s episode comes right from the newspaper archives, from March of 1979. 

Episode Source Material:

  • State v. Ballard :: 1982 :: Rhode Island Supreme Court Decisions
  • STATE v. BALLARD | FindLaw
  • Newport Daily News Newspaper Archives, Mar 10, 1979, p. 1
  • Newport Daily News Newspaper Archives, Mar 9, 1979
  • Newport Daily News Newspaper Archives Aug 16, 1979
  • Newport Daily News Newspaper Archives, Oct 16, 1979, p. 8
  • Newport Daily News Newspaper Archives, Mar 13, 1980, p. 8
  • Wright's rules the roost

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Episode Description:

On the border of Providence and Pawtucket, there’s a strange intersection. One single road changes its name from Ridge Street to Pidge Avenue. With Ridge and Pidge being just one letter apart, it always seemed like a mistake. With the help of Providence Journal reporter Paul Parker, we get to the bottom of the mystery. And uncover another one along the way.

To Visit:

  • Intersection of Pidge Avenue and East Avenue, Pawtucket, RI
  • Pidge Tavern was at 586 Pawtucket Avenue

Episode Source Material

  • It's No Typo | Paul Parker | January 19, 2020 (Search “Pidge” in the Journal Archive)
  • Not gone after all - The Providence Journal, 3/8/2020
  • A Toll, A Tavern, and A Farm: A History of Pidge Avenue
  • New York Times | Granville Standish Jr. Obituary
  • Historic Taverns of Rhode Island | Robert A Geake
  • Rhode Island · George Washington's Mount Vernon
  • To George Washington from Nicholas Cooke, 4 April 1776
  • Rochambeau | American Battlefield Trust
  • Marquis de Lafayette | American Battlefield Trust
  • Dexter House | preserveri
  • History & Culture - Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail (US National Park Service)

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Carousels are playful and whimsical, bright and colorful. They evoke memories of childhood and innocence. Here, in Rhode Island, they’re not only time capsules of happy summer moments, but museums of folk art from the golden age of the American carousel.

To Visit:

Looff Carousel | Crescent Park | 700 Bullocks Point Ave, Riverside, RI 02915

Looff Carousel | Slater Park | 825 Armistice Blvd, Pawtucket, RI 02861

Flying Horse Carousel | Westerly, RI 02891

Episode Source Material:

  • Rhode Island: Looff Carousel (Local Legacies
  • History | Crescent Park Carousel
  • Crescent Park Looff Carousel - Wikipedia
  • Flying Horse Carousel - Wikipedia
  • Charles ID Looff - Wikipedia
  • THE CAROUSELS OF CONEY ISLAND
  • Charles ID Looff Historical Marker
  • Charles ID Looff - A Level Above - Pier Rats
  • When the Hippodrome Was Hip: The Looff Carousel and the Era of Seaside Amusement | KCET
  • Carousel of Happiness
  • The Dizzy History of Carousels Begins With Knights | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine
  • Carousel - Wikipedia
  • Crescent Park Carousel | Preservation RI
  • Crescent Park | ArtInRuins
  • A Horse is a Horse: FWMoA's Looff Carousel Horse
  • "Life's just a merry-go-round": Exploring carousel animals in the museum's collection | National Museum of American History
  • The History of the Carousel | Origins of the Carousel
  • Carousel AKA Merry Go Round – The Vintage Lens
  • Carousels, Roundabouts and Merry-Go-Rounds in Art | DailyArt Magazine
  • Carousel Carvers
  • Around the World of Carousel Art.
  • Crescent Park (defunct amusement park) - Wikipedia
  • Crescent Park
  • The Coney Island of the East Coast - Reporter Today
  • Brass Ring
  • Flying Horses Carousel - Wikipedia
  • The Watch Hill Flying Horse Carousel - WESTERLY RI
  • Andrew Christian and Charles W.F. Dare - Part 1
  • Brooklyn Daily Eagle | July 31, 1899
  • Trolley park - Wikipedia
  • https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/6974427c-b4f4-49ae-8ca2-05d79c1f90b8
  • Pawtucket Slater Park Looff Carousel

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Sometimes when I’m researching, I waste a bunch of time researching something only slightly related to the episode topic. Like the time I read an entire book about apples while researching the Tree Root that Ate Roger Williams. Today, instead of a regular episode, for each topic I’ve covered, I’m going to share one fun or interesting fact I learned while researching that didn’t make its way into the podcast.

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I've been making this podcast for a year! So instead of bringing you a normal story, I thought I'd tell you my own. 

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People began eating turtle soup in the 1700s, and they kept eating it through the early 1900s. Companies like Campbell’s and Heinz made canned turtle soup (and something called mock turtle soup). And it wasn’t just available. It was a real culinary obsession. In the early days, there would be these big, elaborate parties, called Turtle Frolics, where people would get together to enjoy it. Including a notable Turtle Frolic in Newport, prepared and served by a talented chef named Cuffy Cockroach. 

Episode Source Material:

  • Reminiscences of Newport - George Champlin Mason - Google Books 1884
  • A Newport Rhode Island Turtle Feast, 1767 – Afroculinaria
  • Turtle Soup: From Class to Mass to Aghast - JSTOR Daily
  • The Turtles of Philadelphia's Culinary Past
  • Early Recollections of Newport, R.I. From the Year 1793 to 1811 | George Gibbs Channing
  • One of New York's Queer Institutions | New York Times
  • Foodways to Freedom: African Heritage Entrepreneurs in 18th- and 19th-Century Rhode Island – The Rhode Island Historical Society
  • African Americans in Rhode Island Who Used Food to Achieve Independence - Online Review of Rhode Island History
  • Encyclopedia of African American Business
  • Rhode Island History | Volume 73
  • Black Southern Caterers: A History of Enterprise and Culinary Good Taste
  • The History of Catering in the United States | by KC Rippy | Made From Scratch Fine Catering | Medium
  • A Shining Thread of Hope: The History of Black Women in America
  • Dark Work: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island
  • The Negro in Rhode Island: His Past, Present, and Future
  • Separate and Sometimes Equal: African Burials in Colonial Newport
  • Newport's Turtle Party Slows Hectic Yule Pace - Los Angeles Times
  • 1776 Season 1 Episode 4
  • Colonial Dames and Good Wives | Alice Morse Earle | 1895
  • 50 Years of Christmas in Newport
  • An Archaeology of Manners: The Polite World of the Merchant Elite of Colonial Massachusetts | Lorinda B. R. Goodwin
  • What Ever Happened to Turtle Soup?
  • Turtle soup - Wikipedia
  • Why Don't People Eat Turtle Soup Anymore?
  • The End of Turtle Soup | History Today
  • Our Taste For Turtle Soup Nearly Wiped Out Terrapins. Then Prohibition Saved Them : The Salt : NPR
  • A ban on trapping the diamondback terrapin passes after advocates stick their necks out – Baltimore Sun
  • How America Fell Into—and Out of—Love With Mock Turtle Soup.
  • From Delicacy to Decline: A Tale of the Diamond-Backed Terrapin | Virginia DWR
  • Hoboken Turtle Club | New York Times
  • Journal of A Residence in America | Frances Anne Butler
  • Primer 0013: So Rich and So Green: The History of Turtle Soup

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In 1896, the very first auto race on an oval track took place at the Rhode Island State Fair, just one year after the first city-to-city auto race in the world took place. Cars were so new, no one knew what to call them. Horseless wagons? Motor wagons? Motocycles? Electric Traps?

Episode Source Material:

  • Left Turns In The Ocean State | Hemmings
  • Scientific American Volume 75
  • The Autocar: A Journal Published in the interests of the mechanically-propelled road carriage
  • 1896 Novel Race
  • My Home Track - Rhode Island and the late, great Narragansett Park Speedway - NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports
  • Boston Sunday Globe Archives, Sep 19, 1915, p. 15
  • Narragansett Park Speedway
  • The First Automobile Races in America (Upd. Cranston, Rhode Island) - PreWarCar
  • A Look Back On Rhode Island's Narragansett Park
  • Chicago Times-Herald race - Wikipedia
  • The Forgotten Car That Won America's First Auto Race | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine
  • Oval track racing - Wikipedia
  • Duryea Motor Wagon Company - Wikipedia
  • The Duryea Motor Wagon: There's a First Time for Everything | 2020
  • Time Lapse: Turrets, tents and hippies -- where, when, what's happening here?
  • History of Auto Racing
  • automobile racing | Britannica
  • Andrew L. Riker - Wikipedia
  • History of the American Automobile - Cole's Collision Center
  • Racing in America
  • Automobile History.
  • History of the automobile - Wikipedia
  • Race track - Wikipedia
  • Horseracing in the US | American Experience | Official Site | PBS
  • First asphalt superspeedway track | Guinness World Records(1.366%2D,%2Fh%20(76.26%20mph).
  • Riker Automobiles before they merge into Electric Vehicle Company and Columbia . . . . . .
  • The day electricity led the way in the first American auto race

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How did the Turk’s Head building get its name? Well, it’s actually built on the site of a colonial house and a store that had an unusual sign mounted outside--a wooden carving of an Ottoman Sultan. The store became known as "at the Sign of the Turk's Head." 

To visit: 1 Turk’s Head Place, Providence, RI 02903

Episode Source Material:

  • Providence in Colonial Times | Gertrude Selwyn Kimball
  • Old Providence: A Collection of Facts and Traditions Relating to Various Buildings and Sites of Historic Interest in Providence | The Merchants National Bank of Providence 1918
  • Publications of the Rhode Island Historical Society | Volume V 1897
  • Providence Magazine | January 1917
  • The Narragansett Historical Register: Volume VI | 1888
  • Turks Head Building | Wikipedia
  • Turks Head Building
  • Sights ~ The Turk's Head Building ~ Providence | I {heart} Rhody
  • National Register of Historic Places | Custom House District
  • The Legend of "Turk's Head": In Charles Dexter Ward
  • Providence Architecture | Locations | Turk's Head Building
  • National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomiflation Form 1. Name ci 2. Location 3. Classification 4. Owner of Property 5.
  • A Walk Through Downtown Providence
  • Flatiron Building - HISTORY
  • A History Of Metals In Colonial America [PDF] [4c30ubrbld80]
  • Ship figureheads and decoration | Royal Museums Greenwich.
  • Providence besieged by Great Gale in 1815
  • 1815 New England hurricane - Wikipedia
  • The Great September Gale of 1815 - New England Historical Society
  • Signs of the Times
  • Jacob Whitman | Rhode Island, U.S., Historical Cemetery Commission Index, 1647-2008

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In the middle of downtown Pawtucket, there’s an old, no longer functioning drinking fountain that most people assume is just a statue. But it’s one of only a handful of remaining Temperance Fountains, donated to the city by a man who believed that the solution to drunkenness might just be a glass of fresh, cold water. 

To Visit: Corner of Roosevelt Ave and Main Street, Pawtucket RI | You can map to 175 Main Street, Pawtucket, RI 02860

Episode Source Material:

  • Debunking the the bubbler myth
  • Henry D. Cogswell - Wikipedia
  • Boston Daily Globe | September 27, 1893
  • Temperance fountain - Wikipedia
  • “God's Free Gift to Man and Beast” - Henry Cogswell's Temperance Fountains | Rhode Tour
  • Dubuque Daily Herald | March 6, 1885
  • Sandy Creek News | July 28, 1887
  • Frederick Weekly News | May 29, 1884
  • Brooklyn Daily Eagle | July 16, 1883
  • Thompsonville Press | May 5, 1881
  • Stafford Springs Press | October 8, 1885
  • “All Benefactors of Man I Claim as My Brethren”: Henry D. Cogswell and his Fountains of Philanthropy | SPMC
  • Tompkins Square Park Monuments - Temperance Fountain
  • Cogswell Memorial Fountain
  • Temperance Fountain: Nobody Knows How Dry It Was - Heyday DC
  • Jenks Park and Cogswell Tower , Adjoining £80 Broad Street to the north Providence Central .Falls
  • Pawtucket Walking Tour
  • Shenipsit Lake - Wikipedia
  • Temperance Fountain – Washington, DC - Atlas Obscura
  • Prohibition: A Case Study of Progressive Reform | Progressive Era to New Era, 1900-1929 | US History Primary Source Timeline | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress
  • History of Drinking Water Treatment
  • Women Led the Temperance Charge – Prohibition: An Interactive History
  • A Brief History of US Drinking - JSTOR Daily
  • The time when Americans drank all day long - BBC News
  • Access to Free Public Water Fountains Might Have the Temperance Movement to Thank
  • 13 Weird Moments In The History Of Water Fountains | HuffPost Life
  • New York Times | June 11, 1859
  • Mark Twain: The Complete Interviews

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Episode Description:

While he never lived in Rhode Island, Edgar Allan Poe famously spent time here at the end of his life. He courted a Providence writer, Sarah Helen Whitman, and spent time at her East Side home, Swan Point Cemetery and the Athenaeum.

Episode Source Material:

  • About… – Edgar Allan Poe: Rhode Island
  • Sarah Helen Whitman, Providence Poet Who Dumped Edgar Allan Poe - New England Historical Society
  • Sarah Helen Whitman, Providence Poet Who Dumped Edgar Allan Poe - New England Historical Society
  • Sarah Helen Whitman - Wikipedia
  • Sarah Helen Whitman | Poetry Foundation
  • Sarah Helen Whitman | Biography, Books, & Facts | Britannica
  • Ulalume - Wikipedia
  • Poe & Whitman
  • Benefit Street: Sarah Helen Whitman Residence, Rose Garden, & St. John's Cathedral – Edgar Allan Poe: Rhode Island
  • “Ulalume” & The American Whig Review – Edgar Allan Poe
  • The Franklin Lyceum – Edgar Allan Poe: Rhode Island
  • Sarah Helen and Susan Anna Residence, 140 Power Street – Edgar Allan Poe
  • Swan Point Cemetery – Edgar Allan Poe
  • “Ultima Thule” – Edgar Allan Poe
  • Sarah Helen Whitman – Edgar Allan Poe
  • The (Still) Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe | History | Smithsonian Magazine
  • Poe Biography - The Poe Museum
  • Edgar Allan Poe & Sarah Helen Whitman | curio
  • Edgar Allan Poe and His Tumultuous Romances (US National Park Service)
  • Edgar Allan Poe on Valentine's Day
  • Poe, Lynch, and the Literary Salon Scene
  • Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Letters - SH Whitman to EA Poe (early August 1848)
  • Works - Letters - EA Poe to SH Whitman (September 5, 1848)
  • Works - Letters - SH Whitman to EA Poe (September 27-29, 1848)
  • The Last Letters of Edgar Allan Poe to Sarah Helen Whitman
  • Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Letters - EA Poe to SH Whitman (November 24, 1848)
  • Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - People - Mrs. Frances Sargent Osgood
  • The Life and Addictions of Edgar Allan Poe
  • Death of Edgar Allan Poe - Wikipedia
  • Edgar Allan Poe - Wikipedia

Virginia Clemm | History of American Women

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A mini episode this week, with another animal escape. Frosty the Polar Bear escaped from the now-closed Slater Park Zoo, twice!

Episode Source Material:

  • Life After Slater Park
  • Fanny the elephant to be freed
  • Newport Daily News Newspaper Archives, May 25, 1979, p. 13
  • Newport Daily News Newspaper Archives, May 23, 1979, p. 13
  • 'JATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY-- NOMINATION FORM flNAME flLOCATION CLASSIFICATION OWNER OF PROPERTY LOCATION

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WaterFire is the quintessential Providence experience, centering around a series of nearly 100 bonfires along the three rivers that pass through the middle of downtown Providence. But just 40 years ago, you might not have even known that those rivers existed. If you think WaterFire isn’t weird, well, maybe it isn't. But the fact that, at one point, Providence completely covered its rivers, is.

Episode Source Material:

  • Maps of the Great Salt Cove:Cove Basin and its Evolution | ArtInRuins
  • About WaterFire
  • Barnaby Evans, Artist | WaterFire Providence
  • Music of WaterFire
  • WaterPlace Park and Waterfire | Rhode Tour
  • Brown to co-sponsor WaterFire Providence, host Family Weekend visitors for Oct. 16 lighting | Brown University
  • Providence River Relocation | CNU
  • Rudy Bruner Award - River Relocation
  • "Downtown Providence: Parking Lot, Rail Yard"
  • Buddy Cianci, flamboyant and roguish mayor who rebuilt Providence, dies at 74 - The Washington Post
  • WaterFire - Wikipedia
  • The Providence Cove | Rhode Tour
  • River Relocation Project and Providence River Park
  • PROVIDENCE LOSING A BRIDGE TO GAIN A RIVERBANK - The New York Times
  • Chapter 6: The River Relocation Project (1984-1994)
  • Revamped Downtown Isolated City's West Side — ecoRI News
  • Providence River - Wikipedia.
  • Moshassuck River - Wikipedia
  • Woonasquatucket River - Wikipedia
  • A History of the Providence River: With the Moshassuck, Woonasquatucket & Seekonk Tributaries
  • Providence, the Renaissance City

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The Polar Express has become a Christmas classic, but did you know it was written right here in RI by author Chris Van Allsburg? 

Episode Source Material:

  • Chris Van Allsburg
  • Christmas at the Van Allsburgs' | Holiday House Tour - New England Today
  • About Chris Van Allsburg
  • AT HOME WITH: Chris Van Allsburg; Bad Things Happen To Good Houses - The New York Times
  • A Conversation with Chris Van Allsburg by Anita Silvey – The Polar Express
  • 36 Harwich Rd, Providence, RI 02906 - realtor.com®
  • The Polar Express - Wikipedia.
  • Blackstone Boulevard Realty Plat
  • 10 Wild Facts About Jumanji | Mental Floss
  • Jumanji Author Chris Van Allsburg on the New Movie | Time
  • Historic and Architectural Resources of the East Side of Providence
  • An Interview with Jumanji Author Chris Van Allsburg | Lincoln School Green Light Details
  • Chris Van Allsburg: From UM to world-renowned children's author
  • Writer's cliffhangers hook kids – Chicago Tribune
  • 8 Festive Facts About The Polar Express | Mental Floss
  • The Polar Express (Pere Marquette 1225) History & Movie Review
  • VAN ALLSBURG'S EXPRESS - The New York Times
  • Chris Van Allsburg

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The star of this week’s episode is a 58 foot long, 9 foot tall, 4,000 pound termite named Nibbles Woodaway. But you might know him better as the Big Blue Bug.

Episode Source Material:

  • Big Blue Bug
  • Get To Know Us | The Big Blue Bug Of RI, MA & CT
  • World's Largest Bug, Providence, Rhode Island
  • Creator of RI's Big Blue Bug dies
  • The Big Blue Bug in Providence is broken. What might happen next
  • Big Blue Bug gets lit for 29th year
  • Nibbles Woodaway and Lou Ferrigno join forces to benefit the RI Chapter of the ALS Association
  • Nibbles Woodaway
  • https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/2017/06/20/graffiti-suspect-turns-himself-in-ordered-to-have-no-contact-with-big-blue-bug/20487696007/
  • About Big Blue Bug Solutions | Pest Control In RI, MA And CT
  • Big Blue Bug Solutions
  • https://newspaperarchive.com/cedar-rapids-gazette-may-27-2001-p-45/
  • https://newspaperarchive.com/nashua-telegraph-may-26-2001-p-11/
  • https://newspaperarchive.com/independence-examiner-aug-05-1989-p-27/
  • Reticulitermes flavipes
  • Termite
  • “World's biggest” roadside attractions: a history of “world's largest” tourist traps.
  • Roadside Attractions Lesson Plan from the National Register of Historic Places
  • Lucy the Elephant
  • An Introduction to Eusociality | Learn Science at Scitable
  • Roadside attraction
  • 10 of the Biggest Bugs in the World
  • Rhode Island Looks Up To a Two-Ton Termite

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The first presidential phone call took place in Rhode Island, when Alexander Graham Bell called 19th President Rutherford B. Hayes as he attended a clambake at Rocky Point Park. 

To Visit: Rocky Point Ave. | Nothing to see but a sign, but you can stand where the first Presidential phone call took place, if that’s a thing you want to do. 

Episode Source Material:

  • Rutherford B. Hayes has first phone installed in White House
  • A clambake, slurs and phone sex: The long, strange history of presidential calls
  • American RadioWorks - The President Calling
  • Alexander Graham Bell and Rhode Island
  • March 10, 1876: 'Mr. Watson, Come Here ... '
  • First speech transmitted by telephone - HISTORY
  • TBT: When the First Telephone Call Was Made
  • Encyclopedia Brunoniana | Blake, Eli Whitney
  • Image 2 of Speech by Alexander Graham Bell, November 2, 1911
  • History of the telephone
  • Elisha Gray and Alexander Bell telephone controversy
  • Elisha Gray and the Telephone Controversy with Alexander Graham Bell
  • The Bell Versus Gray Telephone Dispute: Resolving a 144-Year-Old Controversy [Scanning Our Past]
  • Obama’s whopper about Rutherford B. Hayes and the telephone
  • Before 1929, Nobody Thought the President Needed a Telephone in his Office
  • Hotline established between Washington and Moscow - HISTORY
  • From the Telegram to Twitter, How Presidents Make Contact With Foreign Leaders
  • Electrical telegraph
  • History of the telephone
  • Who answers the White House phone, anyway?
  • Great Invention, But Who Would Ever Want to Use One? – Quote Investigator

View Details

Could a rumor that a sea lion escaped Roger Williams Zoo and made it all the way to the bay possibly be true?

To Visit: Roger Williams Zoo | 1000 Elmwood Ave, Providence, RI 02907

Episode Source Material:

Roger Williams History

  • Roger Williams Park - Wikipedia
  • Horace Cleveland
  • Rhode Island Providence 1T<.TT.7:::: Roger Williams Park Historic District See Description #7 Providence Tiernan #2 Rhode Isl
  • History of American urban squirrel
  • Temple To Music

Sea Lions

  • Sea Lions Return to RWP!
  • The Sea Lions
  • When the Sea Lion Escaped From Providence's Roger Williams Zoo
  • Our History | Roger Williams Park Zoo
  • Dancing And Dining With Betsey And Rhoda
  • Newport Mercury | September 27, 1946

Zoo History

  • History of Zoos in Parks
  • Zoo Was First—New York or Philly? – Zoo Walks Through History
  • Carl Hagenbeck
  • Investigating the Development of the Modern-Day Zoo
  • Carl Hagenbeck: The inventor of the modern animal park
  • The Hagenbeck Legacy
  • EVOLUTION OF THE ZOO

View Details

We’re heading to Woonsocket this week to check out a mural painted on what was an unassuming concrete wall you wouldn’t think twice about. But this concrete wall actually has an incredibly interesting backstory, one with ties to the Titanic. 

To Visit: Cass Ave, Woonsocket, RI - across from Woonsocket High School

Episode Source Material:

  • The Southern New England Railway
  • Southern New England Railway - Wikipedia
  • https://www.providencejournal.com/article/20140202/LIFESTYLE/302029971
  • NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON
  • Titanic helped sink New Haven Railroad
  • New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
  • New Hampshire Railroad - Historic Context Statement
  • Cass Ave. railroad abutment will be a concrete canvas for high school art teacher and her students as they’ll put paint to plaster to pay tribute to Charles Melville Hays Mural in the making
  • New York Times | Indict 21 in Deals of the New Haven
  • New York Times | New Haven Story One of Upheavals
  • Charles Melville Hays : Titanic Victim
  • Biography – HAYS, CHARLES MELVILLE – Volume XIV (1911-1920) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography
  • Charles Melville Hays | Titanic Database Wiki | Fandom
  • Founder of Prince Rupert died on the Titanic 100 years ago By DAVE KIFFER
  • Why the Titanic Still Fascinates Us | History
  • Cass Avenue mural recalls railroad that might’ve been
  • Paint progress
  • White Star Line
  • Titanic
  • JUST BEFORE SMASH HAYS SAID DISASTER
  • Railway magnate expected rescue from Titanic
  • JUST BEFORE SMASH HAYS SAID DISASTER
  • The Golden Age of Rail.
  • Charles Melville Hays Biography
  • The Truth about the Titanic - CHAPTER I - THE LAST DAY ABOARD SHIP

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In 2006, Rhode Islander Ron Wallace grew the first 1,500 lb. pumpkin--something no one thought was possible. Then in 2012, he became the first person in the world to grow a pumpkin weighing 2,000 lbs. Now his goal is to be the first to grow a 3,000 lb. pumpkin… 

Hear about what it takes to grow a giant pumpkin, then try for yourself: Giant Pumpkin Seeds Wallace's Whoppers

Episode Source Material:

  • About Wallace Organic Wonder & Ron Wallace Organic Fertilizer
  • Growing Giant Pumpkins in the Home Garden
  • The Great Pumpkin | Science
  • World-Record Giant Pumpkins and the People who Grow Them
  • Giant pumpkin - Wikipedia
  • Origin of the Giant Pumpkin – Plant Talk
  • History of Pumpkins | The History Kitchen.
  • Henry David Thoreau Grows the First Giant Pumpkin in America
  • Henry David Thoreau - Wikipedia
  • 'GREAT CAN DO' COMES THROUGH 1,061-POUND GOURD BREAKS RECORD, NETS COUPLE $50,000 PRIZE
  • Giant pumpkin weigh-off crowns a new winner

View Details

Out in Foster, Rhode Island a ghost is rumored to haunt the place of his death. A factory that once stood along the Ponaganset river. And his presence has been noted so often and for so long in this place that it actually became Rhode Island’s only officially documented Haunted location.

To Visit: In the woods off Route 6 and Ramtail Road, Foster, RI

WARNING: This episode includes talk of death and suicide. Please take care when listening.

Episode Source Material:

  • Thomas D'Agostino, Rhode Island's Haunted Ramtail Factory
  • Nehgs
  • History of Providence County, Vol I & II
  • National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form 1. Name 3. Classification 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Leg
  • The History of Horror: How Ghost Stories Have Evolved
  • Ramtail Factory, Foster, Rhode Island (Haunted Place)
  • Freaky Friday: Peleg Walker and Foster's haunted mill
  • Haunted RI: The Legends of Dolly Cole

View Details

Come meet me! I’ll be telling stories at the Cumberland Library on Wednesday, October 20th at 6:30PM. Check out this mini episode to learn the unique history of the Cumberland Library and its past life as a Trappist Monastery.

Event Details:

Wednesday, October 20th at 6:30PM

Cumberland Public Library, 1464 Diamond Hill Rd, Cumberland, RI 02864

  • Weird Island: A Night of True Tales about Our Little State - Cumberland Public Library, 2021-10-20
  • Weird Island Live at Cumberland Library Oct. 20 | Libraries | valleybreeze.com

Episode Source Material:

  • Monastery History
  • Cistercians
  • Our Lady of the Valley 1900-1950 | Saint Joseph's Abbey
  • What's the Story Behind the Cumberland Monastery?
  • Trappist | Definition, Monks, History, Beer, & Facts
  • ORDERS OF CATHOLIC MONKS AND NUNS: BENEDICTINES, DOMINICANS AND OTHERS
  • 6 Catholic Orders that Shaped Monasticism - Ascension Press Media
  • Trappists

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Belcourt Castle, the third biggest mansion in Newport, was built as a bachelor pad for Oliver Belmont and his many horses. Over the years, it developed a reputation for its paranormal activity.

To Visit: 657 Bellevue Ave, Newport, RI 02840 - Tours on Weekends

Episode Source Material:

  • Belcourt of Newport
  • Ghost Hunters Investigate Newport's Belcourt Castle
  • 'Ghosts of Belcourt Castle' - News - The Newport Daily News - Newport, RI
  • Belcourt Castle – Haunted Houses
  • The Ghosts Of Belcourt Castle - PDF Free Download
  • Benny Collin
  • Belcourt of Newport - Wikipedia
  • Oliver Belmont - Wikipedia
  • Haunted no more? - Entertainment - The Newport Daily News - Newport, RI
  • Belcourt Castle in Newport Gets a Face-Lift
  • Class and Leisure at America's First Resort: Newport, Rhode Island, 1870-1914
  • THE BELMONT BOYS AND GIRLS PART 2: Their 3 Sons, (and a Daughter!) —
  • belcourtcastle
  • The Weird World of ‘Haunted’ eBay: ‘Purchase With Caution’ (Published 2019)
  • Belcourt Castle in Newport Gets a Face-Lift
  • The New York Social Season – Edwardian Promenade
  • Memories of Belcourt Castle with Harle Tinney

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Don't just listen, see inside Barnaby Castle yourself at this years HALLOWEEN PARTY! Tickets at: http://www.kaitlyn-alyece-events.com/barnaby-castle

Last week we explored the story of Barnaby Castle and the first person convicted of committing murder via the mail. This week, we’ll dive deeper into that murder mystery and ask, what if the man who was convicted didn’t do it?

Plus, hear from one of the tenants living in Barnaby Castle about what it’s like to live in such a unique historical building.

Episode Source Material:

  • "A revolting transaction": Conrad, Barnaby: 9780877955344
  • American State Trials - Volume 13 - 1921
  • Extravagant Barnaby's Castle and Murder Most Foul - Online Review of Rhode Island History
  • Happy New Year… in April? – The Rhode Island Historical Society
  • COLONEL JOHN HOWARD CONRAD: CONRAD CITY NEVER FULFILLED HIS EXPECTATIONS by Jane Gaffin (This article originally ap
  • THE BARNABY MURDER. — San Francisco Call 10 May 1891 — California Digital Newspaper Collection
  • Why do Females and Males Have Different Handwriting Styles? | SiOWfa16: Science in Our World: Certainty and Controversy
  • Men and women differ in the neural basis of handwriting
  • Barnaby Castle
  • Barnaby Castle – Doors Open RI
  • Jerothmul B. Barnaby House
  • J. B. Barnaby Obit - September 19, 1889
  • New York Times - April 2, 1877 - General Notes
  • Dr. T. Thatcher Graves and The Rhode Island Mail Order Murder
  • The Bangor Mystery.
  • Oklahoma Bar Journal - October 10, 2009 - Volume 80
  • Death in The Mail. A Narrative of The Murder of a Wealthy Widow and The Trial and Conviction of The Assassin,… by Martin C Day - First Edition - 1892 - from Michael Laird Rare Books LLC (SKU: 3533)
  • New York Times - December 18, 1884 - Wedding Notice Conrad-Barnaby
  • New York Times - May 3, 1891 - The Barnaby Murder Mystery - No clue yet to the person who sent the poisoned liquid
  • THE BARNABY MURDER. — San Francisco Call 10 May 1891 — California Digital Newspaper Collection
  • New York Times - January 5, 1892 - The News in Providence
  • Mower County Transcript - January 6, 1892
  • New York Times - April 18, 1892 - Dr. Graves Wants a New Trial
  • Herald Democrat - August 7, 1892
  • New York Times - January 18, 1893 - New Trial for Dr. Graves
  • New York Times - February 8, 1893 - Dr. Graves Surrendered. His Counsel Determined to Force a New Trial at Once
  • Page 6 — Indiana State Sentinel 6 September 1893
  • Page 5 — Pontiac Gazette (1877) 8 September 1893 — Digital Michigan Newspapers Collection
"A revolting transaction"

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Barnaby Castle, on Broadway in Providence, is this unusual looking building designed to suit its original owner, this larger-than-life personality and self-made millionaire named Jerothmul Bowers Barnaby. But while the story of J.B. Barnaby is interesting enough on its own, it’s actually his death that launches the most fascinating and odd part of this story - because his death set off a series of events that resulted in the very first murder committed via the mail.

Don't just listen, see Barnaby Castle yourself at this years HALLOWEEN PARTY! Tickets at: http://www.kaitlyn-alyece-events.com/barnaby-castle

Episode Source Material:

  • Barnaby Castle
  • "A revolting transaction": Conrad, Barnaby: 9780877955344
  • Extravagant Barnaby's Castle and Murder Most Foul - Online Review of Rhode Island History
  • Barnaby Castle – Doors Open RI
  • Jerothmul B. Barnaby House
  • Happy New Year… in April? – The Rhode Island Historical Society
  • J. B. Barnaby Obit - September 19, 1889
  • New York Times - April 2, 1877 - General Notes
  • Dr. T. Thatcher Graves and The Rhode Island Mail Order Murder
  • The Bangor Mystery.
  • Oklahoma Bar Journal - October 10, 2009 - Volume 80
  • Death in The Mail. A Narrative of The Murder of a Wealthy Widow and The Trial and Conviction of The Assassin,… by Martin C Day - First Edition - 1892 - from Michael Laird Rare Books LLC (SKU: 3533)
  • New York Times - December 18, 1884 - Wedding Notice Conrad-Barnaby
  • New York Times - May 3, 1891 - The Barnaby Murder Mystery - No clue yet to the person who sent the poisoned liquid
  • THE BARNABY MURDER. — San Francisco Call 10 May 1891 — California Digital Newspaper Collection
  • New York Times - January 5, 1892 - The News in Providence
  • Mower County Transcript - January 6, 1892
  • New York Times - April 18, 1892 - Dr. Graves Wants a New Trial
  • Herald Democrat - August 7, 1892
  • New York Times - January 18, 1893 - New Trial for Dr. Graves
  • New York Times - February 8, 1893 - Dr. Graves Surrendered. His Counsel Determined to Force a New Trial at Once
  • Page 6 — Indiana State Sentinel 6 September 1893
  • Page 5 — Pontiac Gazette (1877) 8 September 1893 — Digital Michigan Newspapers Collection
  • American State Trials - Volume 13 - 1921
"A revolting transaction"

View Details

Pawtucket has it’s very own, tiny little “Walk of Fame” that Roadside America has dubbed “either the saddest or most optimistic Hollywood Walk of Fame.”

I've got a Live Episode coming up on Monday, September 20th at 7:30pm! It's on Zoom, and if you wish to attend please email  info@eghps.org and the East Greenwich Historic Preservation Society will send you the Zoom link!

Episode Source Material:

  • Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • Pawtucket, RI - Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • Woody Allen's handprints on RI walk of fame
  • Woody Allen Summer Project
  • DOWNTOWN PAWTUCKET HISTORIC WALKING TOUR 1
  • American Buffalo (film)
  • American Buffalo
  • • Movie genres by average box office revenue in North America 1995-2021
  • Domestic Yearly Box Office
  • American Buffalo Summary
  • American Buffalo movie review (1996)
  • Michael Corrente
  • Woody Allen
  • Irrational Man Filming Locations – Rhode Island, Newport, Providence And More
  • Irrational Man (film)
  • Irrational Man movie review & film summary (2015)
  • History of the Walk of Fame
  • Hollywood Walk of Fame | Explore
  • stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • American Buffalo (1996) - Financial Information

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In 2013, singer Taylor Swift showed up in Rhode Island with $17.7MM in cash and purchased a summer home called High Watch. Then, she wrote a song about it (see: “the last great american dynasty”). This is the real history behind Taylor Swift’s Rhode Island home.

Episode Source Material:

  • Holiday House (Watch Hill)
  • The Outrageous Life of Rebekah Harkness, Taylor Swift’s High-Society Muse
  • The story of Rebekah Harkness is way more complicated than Taylor Swift lets on
  • Who is Rebekah Harkness and Why is She the Star of Taylor Swift's 'The Last Great American Dynasty'?
  • Rebekah Harkness, the Scorned Socialite of Watch Hill, RI
  • Taylor Swift's new album tells a tale about a St. Louis-born oil heiress
  • Clambakes and superior sunbaking at Rhode island's historic beach hangout.
  • 'IS THERE A CHIC WAY TO GO?'
  • A LIFE OF FLAMBOYANT DESPERATION
  • REBEKAH WEST HARKNESS, 67, PATRON OF DANCE AND MEDICINE (Published 1982)
  • Jolfrey Ballet Cuts 2‐Year Tie With Rebekah Harkness Fund; Leader of Troupe Rejects ‘Ultimatum’ to Name It After Foundation and ‘Vague Assurances’on Control (Published 1964)
  • William Harkness Marries Mrs. Pierce
  • Harkness, Rebekah West
  • Standard Oil
  • Who Is Rebekah Harkness, Star of Taylor Swift's 'The Last Great American Dynasty'?
  • Joffrey Ballet
  • The Last Great American Hideaway: A Brief History of Taylor Swift's Rhode Island Feud
  • Taylor Swift's Homes All Over the US Valued at More Than $81 Million
  • Watch Hill, Rhode Island
  • WATCH HILL TO POINT JUDITH: 20 MILES OF SUMMER FUN (Published 1981)
  • Taylor Swift House on the Hill | Watch Hill, RI - Rhode Island
  • Folklore (Taylor Swift album)

View Details

In the entrance of the Rhode Island state house there is a cannon with a cannonball stuck in its muzzle. And for 100 years, no one checked to see if that cannon was filled with explosive gunpowder.

To Visit: Rhode Island State House | 82 Smith St, Providence, RI 02903

Episode Source Material:

  • Our Story: The Lives and Legacy of Those Who Served in Battery B First Rhode Island Light Artillery
  • On the Gettysburg anniversary, a cannon in R.I. has a story to tell
  • First Floor - Rhode Island - Nellie M. Gorbea
  • The Gettysburg Gun
  • Civil War monument to Battery B 1st Rhode Island Artillery at Gettysburg
  • Battle of Gettysburg - Wikipedia
  • Pickett's Charge Facts
  • Artillery in the Civil War
  • 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery, Battery B
  • William Jones, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery – Killed at Gettysburg
Our Story: The Lives and Legacy of Those Who Served in Battery B First Rhode Island Light Artillery

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Some people spend months or years trying to visit the highest point in every state. Rhode Island’s is Jerimoth Hill, and it’s the 5th lowest highest point in the U.S. But if you think that means it’s always been easy to get to, think again. 

To Visit: The trailhead is right on Route 101/Hartford Pike, approximately 0.8 miles east of the Connecticut state line. Parking is across the road from the trailhead. Be careful crossing Rt.101/Hartford Pike.

Episode Source Material:

  • Highest Elevation Points in The United States
  • Visual The Highest and Lowest Elevation of Every US State
  • US Lowpoint Guide
  • Reaching the Highest and Lowest Point in Every State
  • Highest point in Delaware | The Delaware Geological Survey
  • 50 Completers
  • Highpointing
  • 4 Responses to Unofficial List of Highpointing Records
  • The Effort Scale of Highpointing the Fifty US States : Articles
  • 1 Response to The Birth of the Highpointers Club
  • Jerimoth Hill
  • ABQjournal: Why RI's Jerimoth Hill Is Nation's Toughest Summit
  • Jeopardy Champ Ken Jennings Finds the Highest Point in…Rhode Island?

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Precious Blood Cemetery in Woonsocket is one of Rhode Island’s most haunted cemeteries, after a natural disaster left spirits searching for their loved ones--and even their own body parts! In addition to its paranormal activity, this cemetery features interesting graves, including that of Marie Rose Ferron, America’s first stigmatic.

Episode Source Material

  • Precious Blood Cemetery – Woonsocket, Rhode Island
  • Precious Blood Cemetery
  • Rose Ferron Foundation of Rhode Island - Woonsocket, RI
  • Precious Blood Cemetery & Aram Pothier Mausoleum – Blackstone Valley Tourism
  • Precious Blood Cemetery, Woonsocket, RI | lostinnewenglanddotcom
  • Precious Blood Cemetery | Woonsocket, RI April 2nd, 2015 Som…
  • FRENCH AND BELGIAN
  • Creepy EVP's Heard while Investigating Precious Blood Cemetery | Haunted Adventures
  • Haunted Cemeteries of Rhode Island
  • Haunted places around the world: Visit -- if you dare! | CNN Travel
  • Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries - Cemetery Details
  • L'Eglise du Precieux Sang
  • Gov. Aram Pothier
  • Mayor Aram Pothier
  • Hurricane Diane - August 15-19, 1955
  • Worst Hurricanes in New England History
  • Hurricane Diane, 1st $1 Billion Hurricane, Wallops New England in 1955
  • Preserving the legacy of Rhode Island's historical cemeteries
  • World War II State Park History
  • Dam Breaks, Soaks Rhode Island Area | NY Times

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Hidden away in Woonsocket, RI is a church that has been called the Sistine Chapel of New England. Inside is one of the largest collections of frescoes in the United States. While the artwork is incredible, it’s only the beginning. After the paintings draw you in, what you find are stories--because all 475 people painted into the frescoes are real people who lived in Woonsocket in the 1940s. And some of these stories will make you say, “Wow, I’ve never heard something like that before.”

To Visit: 84 Cumberland Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895 - Tours Sunday 1-4

Episode Source Material:

  • Mission Statement
  • The 40 Angels of St. Ann, the Sistine Chapel of Woonsocket
  • The Miracle of the Woonsocket Mill Order
  • New England Notebook: One Reporter, Six States, Uncommon Stories - p. 47
  • At 100-year celebration, St. Ann Center recalls church's past military connection
  • French Americans
  • New England French
  • Quebec diaspora
  • Guido Nincheri
  • Guido Nincheri: An Italian-Canadian Treasure
  • Guido Nincheri, Inducted
  • Guido Nincheri, 86, Won Papal Medal for his Art
  • Marguerite B. Forget - Obituary - Woonsocket, RI - Fournier & Fournier Funeral Services

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Have you heard the story of Hachiko, Japan’s most loyal dog? Find out why there’s a statue of Hachiko hidden in Woonsocket, RI.  

To Visit: 1 Depot Square, Woonsocket, RI 02895

Episode Source Material:

  • Akita (dog)
  • History of the Akita Breed - The Akita Breed
  • Akita History: Hachikō & the Revival of the Devoted Japanese Breed – American Kennel Club
  • 15 thoughts on “What does Hachiko mean?”
  • Hachikō
  • Hidesaburō Ueno
  • Hachi: A Dog's Tale
  • Around New England: Woonsocket's Railroad Station's Deserved, but Short-Lived Stardom - Design New England
  • Hachiko - A Dog's Loyalty
  • 10 things you didn't know about Hachiko, Japan's most loyal dog 3 days ago
  • Hachiko Breed Information: History, Health, Pictures, and more

View Details

Episode Source Material

  • The Birth of American Industry: Why Pawtucket? - Online Review of Rhode Island History
  • The Industrial Revolution - The Big Story - Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor
  • Rhode Island and the Industrial Revolution | EnCompass
  • Slater Mill | EnCompass
  • Brown University Portrait Collection
  • Wikipedia, History of Rhode Island
  • Samuel Slater - Wikipedia
  • David Wilkinson (machinist)
  • How America's Industrial Revolution Was Launched by Spies
  • Hannah Wilkinson Slater and Mary Dixon Kies | Profiles in Sewing History - Threads
  • How Industrial Espionage Started America's Cotton Revolution | Smart News
  • Moses Brown - Wikipedia
  • Moses Brown (1738-1836) Papers
  • RI Historical Society | Volume 33:2 May 1974 - P. 35
  • Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution [ushistory.org]
  • John Slater (1776-1843)
  • Francis Cabot Lowell
  • Slater, Samuel
  • US Slavery: Timeline, Figures & Abolition - HISTORY
  • Thomas Jefferson and the Embargo Act of 1807 (thoughtco.com)
  • Industrial Revolution | Definition, History, Dates, Summary, & Facts
  • Rhode Island and the Industrial Revolution | EnCompass

  • 3 - Report on manufactures. - Full View

  • Cotton production in the United States
  • Pawtucket Visitor Center Signage

View Details

Episode Source Material:

  • GEOLOGY OF MASSACHUSETTS AND RHODE ISLAND - 184
  • The American journal of science
  • Rhode Island State Rock: Cumberlandite
  • Cumberlandite Raw Cubes stone of Venus – Song of Stones
  • GC51DR2 Only in Rhode Island (Earthcache) in Rhode Island, United States created by Twohig260
  • Walking RI: Hunt for RI's rare state rock at Cumberland's Blackall/Ballou Preserve
  • Cumberlandite - Cumberland, Rhode Island USA - Places of Geologic Significance on Waymarking.com
  • Historic and Architectural Resources of Cumberland RI
  • Avalonia
  • Igneous Rocks.
  • 2 Replies to “Igneous Rocks: How Are They Formed?”
  • Intrusive rock | geology
  • Gabbro
  • Geology of Rhode Island
  • Eastern Avalonia

View Details

Episode Source Material:

  • Gotham state of mind: what do comics tell us about cities?
  • Why Superhero Comics Are Obsessed With Cities
  • DC Finally Confirms Metropolis is Located in New York
  • CLE Myths: Ohio Bell Building Inspired Superman
  • The Architecture of Superman: A Brief History of The Daily Planet
  • Daily Star - Supermanica
  • Daily Star (DC Comics)
  • The Daily Planet in Film and Television | Arts & Culture
  • Architectural Critic Will Morgan: Superman Building
  • Industrial National Bank Building
  • Industrial National Bank Building
  • Industrial Trust Building, Providence RI
  • PHOTOS: Inside Providence's Superman Building
  • Crumbling face of an icon: Can 'Superman' be saved?
  • Providence Magazine | Industrial Trust
  • Providence's Most Iconic Skyscraper Needs a Superhero
  • Adaptive Reuse, Innovation, and Saving Superman — The Providence Foundation
  • Art Deco architecture of New York City
  • The Beauty and Backstory Behind Art Deco Design
  • Peregrine falcon - Wikipedia
  • The Falcon Eye | peregrine brown falcons

View Details

Episode Source Material:

  • Respect (and Customers) Comes Back to Drive-Ins (Published 1997)
  • Rustic Tri-View Drive-in Theatre in North Smithfield, RI
  • Drive In Movie Theaters History Northeast Connecticut Rhode Island Massachusetts
  • Lonsdale Drive-In: Rhode Island Blueways
  • Drive-in Theaters: A History from Their Inception in 1933
  • The History of the Drive-In Movie Theater
  • A History of the Drive-in Theater
  • Drive-in theater - Wikipedia
  • Why old drive-in movie theaters were popular, and what they were like
  • History of the American Drive-in Theatre
  • Richard Hollingshead
  • Park-In Theatres v. Loew's Drive-In Theatres, 70 F. Supp. 880
  • Invention of the Drive-in Theater
  • Did the Pandemic Save the Drive-In Movie Theater?
  • Daylight saving time
  • Energy Does Daylight Saving Time Conserve Energy?
  • Watching porn in public: The rise and fall of the adult movie house
  • City Journal: The Last Porn Palace
  • 82 years ago today, first US drive-in theater opened in NJ - nj.com
  • Rustic Tri View Drive-In

View Details

Episode Source Material:

  • VIDEO: Ride along with the Providence Police, 1993. Documentary featuring the old downtown Police HQ, the RISD May Day riot, and of course Buddy Cianci. : providence
  • PROVIDENCE TUNNEL OPENED | New York Times
  • Description of East Side Tunnel project
  • East Side Train Tunnel
  • providence.html
  • What's underneath — Erik Gould Projects
  • Transit advocates say reusing Providence train tunnel a waste of money/ Poll
  • The Indy
  • With Demolition Looming, A Look Back At The Counterculture Of An Iconic Rhode Island Bridge
  • Crook Point Project
  • City announces Crook Point Bridge design winner
  • An ‘attractive nuisance,’ Crook Point Bridge to be torn down
  • Environment Art Connectivity
  • May 3, 1993: Tunnel party ends in melee; students and police clash
  • May 5, 1993 editorial: Eyewitness to the tunnel riot - News - providencejournal.com - Providence, RI
  • The Waco tragedy, explained
  • Satanic Panic's long history — and why it never really ended — explained
  • The Untold Inside Story of 'Law Enforcement Guide to Satanic Cults,' the Ultimate Satanic Panic Educational Video
  • It's Time to Revisit the Satanic Panic

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Controversy and Opinions on the Gaspee Affair:

  • Was the Gaspee Affair About Slavery?
  • The Gaspee Affair was about the business of slavery – Uprise RI
  • The Conspiracy to Destroy the Gaspee

Additional Episode Source Material:

  • About: Gaspee Days
  • Conflicts That Led Up To the Burning of the Gaspee
  • Copy of the testimony of Aaron Briggs | EnCompass
  • This Licentious Republic: Maritime Skirmishes in Narragansett Bay 1763-1769
  • The Story of the 1772 Gaspee Affair – in Virtual Reality – Virtual Reality for Education
  • The 1772 Gaspee Affair, Rhode Island's Own Tea Party (But the Ship Burned) Part 2
  • Burning The Gaspee - 2020
  • The Documentary History of the Destruction of the Gaspee
  • British vessel burned off Rhode Island - HISTORY
  • Gaspee Affair - Wikipedia
  • Rhode Islanders complain historians overlook ship they burned in 1772
  • Molasses Act - Wikipedia
  • Sugar Act - Wikipedia
  • Colonial molasses trade - Wikipedia
  • The Untold Truth Of Molasses
  • Newport Rum, Slavery and The Burden of History
  • JCBL_Exhibitions

View Details

Episode Source Material:

  • Best Places - Donut Data Set
  • Home / Rankings / Top Donut Cities
  • A Dozen Things You Didn't Know About Dunkin' | Dunkin'
  • The Salvation Army USA Blog - The Salvation Army Celebrates National Donut Day!
  • National Donut Day
  • Doughnut Girls: The Women Who Fried Donuts and Dodged Bombs on the Front Lines of World War I - World War I Centennial.
  • Donut Day History - The Salvation Army Metropolitan Division
  • The Women Who Fried Donuts and Dodged Bombs on the Front Lines of WWI

View Details

Check this out! 130 years of facial hair trends, in one chart

Episode Source Material:

  • Ambrose Burnside, The Sideburned Civil War Commander Who Didn't Want The Job
  • Ambrose Burnside - HISTORY
  • 'Sideburns' The Hairy History of 'Sideburns'.
  • Why is this Style of Facial Hair Called Sideburns?
  • How Sideburns Got Their Name | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
  • the history of ‘burnsides’, ‘sideburns’ and ‘sideboards’
  • Women in the Civil War
  • The History of Shaving and Beards | Timeline of Cultures & Facial Hair | The Old Farmer's Almanac
  • President's Day: When was the last time a US president had facial hair? Not in 100 years
  • Evolution of Facial Hair Over the Past 200 Years
  • Survival of the Scruffiest
  • The Racially Fraught History of the American Beard
  • The Rise and Fall—and Rise—of Facial Hair
  • How Do You Grow & Trim Sideburns Styles For Your Face Shape?
  • What Are Imperial Beards & Friendly Mutton Chops?
  • Men's Sideburn Styles, Trimming & Maintenance

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Episode Source Material:

  • VIDEO: It Rained Fish In Mexico, Officials Say. No, It's Not The End Times (We Think)
  • Rain of Fish
  • MAY 1900 WEATHER DATA - NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND MAY 1900 WEATHER DATA - NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND
  • Weatherwatch: Raining fish | US weather
  • Can it rain frogs, fish, and other objects?
  • Fish fall from sky with rain in northern Mexico
  • Every Year, the Sky ‘Rains Fish.’ Explanations Vary. (Published 2017)
  • Lluvia de Peces (Rain of Fish) – Yoro, Honduras.
  • Strange Rains
  • Honduras: Reportan lluvia de peces en las redes sociales - Diario El Heraldo
  • Fish Rain Over Streets in Thailand
  • Lluvia de Peces: Visiting the town that rains fish
  • RAINS OF FISHES
  • When Animals Fall from the Sky
  • What is a waterspout?
  • Pliny the Elder | Natural History

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Episode Source Material:

  • Third Floor - Rhode Island - Nellie M. Gorbea
  • The Man Atop the Statehouse
  • The Independent Man, "Hope," Rhode Island State House
  • Rhode Island State House
  • My Turn: Patrick T. Conley: Taking down the Independent Man
  • Head of the Independent Man – URI's Cabinet of Curiosities
  • Rhode Island State House
  • State Capitol Buildings, Statues of Men at the Top
  • RI's Independent Woman
  • In search of the Rhode Island independent woman
  • New York Tribune | April 17, 1921 | Notables to Aid in Unveiling Bolivar Statue
  • Newport Mercury | The Grist Mill
  • BOLIVAR'S STATUE UNVEILED.; CEREMONIES AND ADDRESSES AROUND THE SITE IN CENTRAL PARK. (Published 1884)
  • DISLIKE BOLIVAR’S STATUE: National Sculpture Society Officials Write to the Park Board Condemning the Model
  • That Statue of Bolivar
  • Statues of New York
  • New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, April 12, 1921, Page 8, Image 8
  • The Simon Bolivar Statue - Central Park at 6th Avenue

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Episode Source Material:

(Research for this episode turned up a lot of inconsistent dates and references to elephants by different names, ages, heights, weights, etc.--there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on where the Crowninshield elephant ended up or if Old Bet was the first or second elephant in America. I did my best to reference only the most apparently legitimate sources in my storytelling, but recognize that opinions differ on some details.)

  • The First Living Elephant in America
  • Memorial to Betty the Learned Elephant – Glocester, Rhode Island
  • Off The Path Revisited: The Elephant Man
  • An Elephant is Murdered in Chepachet in 1826 - Online Review of Rhode Island History
  • Betty The Learned Elephant
  • Elephant Shot In Chepachet – 1826
  • Walking Tour Chepachet, RI
  • American Heritage | Setting the Record Straight on Old Bet
  • The Crowninshield Elephant
  • The First Living Elephant in America
  • A PACHYDERM'S TALE
  • Old Bet
  • American Circus Anthology, Traveling Menagerie
  • The Elephant Comes to America
  • Killing the Elephant: Murderous Beasts and the Thrill of Retribution
  • Town of Somers History Beasts and Ballyhoo Menagerie Men of Somers
  • America’s Big Circus Spectacular Has a Long and Cherished History
  • Old Bet: The first circus elephant brought to the US was killed by a religious fanatic
  • RANDOM NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF THE EARLY AMERICAN CIRCUS
  • Never Forget - Down East
  • Year Without a Summer
  • Was America’s First Circus Elephant in Haverhill?
  • Elephants in the (Reading) Room

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Episode Source Material:

  • The Ugliest Buildings in Every US State
  • Images: Apex
  • About Apex
  • Apex Department Store
  • My Turn: Catherine W. Zipf: Mass. gets Pawsox; R.I. keeps Apex
  • The Apex Companies
  • The Apex of Potential
  • He Saw Start, Now End for Apex
  • At Apex, history of inaction leads to next step
  • ‘A false narrative’: Apex owners file new lawsuit in eminent domain fight
  • $400M Pawtucket soccer project unveils new look without plans for Apex
  • Pawtucket Moves to Enable Use of Eminent Domain for Apex Site
  • Pawtucket moves toward seizing Apex property
  • Reddit Comments: Here, Here, and Here

Andrew Geller / Raymond Loewy 

  • Andrew Geller
  • ANDREW GELLER: Architect of Happiness, 1924-2011
  • Raymond Loewy
  • Meet the Product Designer Who Made Mid-Century America Look Clean and Stylish

Downtown Pawtucket

  • Downtown​ ​Pawtucket​ ​Tour
  • Slater Mill Book
  • PDDP Volume 1 : Existing Conditions Report by Thurlow Small Architecture - issuu
  • Maps Show How Tearing Down City Slums Displaced Thousands
  • History of the Interstate Highway System - 50th Anniversary - Interstate System - Highway History.

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Episode Source Material:

Rumors:

  • The Biltmore Hotel
  • Real Stories of the Paranormal | Biltmore Hotel Providence Haunted
  • Historic Taverns of Rhode Island:
  • From the Archive: Haunts around Rhode Island - providencejournal.com - Providence, RI
  • A Haunted Murder Scene in Each New England State

History:

  • 1920's – The Providence-Biltmore Hotel had a Poultry Farm and Garden on the Roof — City Farmer News
  • National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form - Biltmore
  • Historic American Buildings - Biltmore
  • 8 Surprising Facts About Historic Graduate Providence
  • Time Lapse: President John F. Kennedy found happy days in Rhode Island
  • The Providence Biltmore – RI Venue Spotlight | Bliss Celebrations Guide
  • History of the Biltmore Hotel—1922 to 2019
  • the Bacchante in the Providence Biltmore
  • Biltmore begins search for 200 former Bacchante Girls - News - southcoasttoday.com - New Bedford, MA
  • Great American Hoteliers: Pioneers of the Hotel Industry
  • Magical Destinations of the Northeast: Sacred Sites, Occult Oddities and Magical Monuments:
  • Black Duck bootlegging boat tied to 'Crime Castle' in Warwick
  • Prohibition & Bootlegging Archives - Online Review of Rhode Island History
  • Prohibition and a Murky Beginning
  • Prohibition: Speakeasies, Loopholes And Politics
  • Little Rhody's Big Thirst: Alcohol Prohibition in Rhode Island (1919-1934)
  • Patriarca crime family
  • State of the Mob in Rhode Island
  • Cianci Portraits Removed At Providence's Graduate Hotel, Once Known As Biltmore
  • Missing Persons by State 2021
  • NamUs.gov
  • Did Investors Really Jump Out of Windows After the 1929 Stock Market Crash?

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Episode Source Material:

Anthropodermic Books:

  • The Anthropodermic Book Project – A research project to identify the world's books bound in human skin
  • Dark Archives: A Librarian’s Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin
  • The macabre world of books bound in human skin
  • Anthropodermic Bibliopegy – A Flay on Words – Odd Things Considered
  • Tanneries of human skin? Meudon
  • Anthropodermic Bibliopegy: Books Bound in Human Skin
  • 'Dark Archives' Explores The Use Of Human Skin In Bookbinding
  • Seeking the Truth Behind Books Bound in Human Skin
  • The Hide That Binds | by Mike Jay
  • Books Bound in Human Skin Aren't Fiction and a UCLA Librarian Has the Story
  • Books Bound in Human Skin – The Practice Isn’t As Rare As You Might Think!
  • A Book by Its Cover | Lapham's Quarterly
  • Science Confirms: Yup, This Book Really Is Bound in Human Skin
  • The Skin She Lived In: Anthropodermic Books in the Historical Medical Library
  • In a literal bind
  • Hay Library's Special Collections offer more than a human skin-bound book
  • Anthropodermic bibliopegy

Hans Holbein:

  • Hans Holbein's Dance of Death (1523–5) – The Public Domain Review
  • Hans Holbein: Dance of Death
  • Danse Macabre

Andreas Vesalius:

  • From the library's historical treasures < Yale School of Medicine
  • L'Histoire de la reliure de Josse Schavye
  • The self-publicist whose medical text books caused a stir
  • Public Dissection Was a Gruesome Spectacle
  • (PDF) Stolen and lost copies of Vesalius's Fabrica

M. Adolphe Belot:

  • Mademoiselle Giraud, my wife
  • Mademoiselle Giraud, Ma femme, and: Mademoiselle Giraud, My Wife (review)
  • In the Flesh? Anthropodermic Bibliopegy Verification and Its Implications

Burke and Hare:

  • The Worlds of Burke and Hare

James Allen

  • Narrative of the life of James Allen : alias George Walton, alias Jonas Pierce, alias James H. York, alias Burley Grove, the highwayman : being his death-bed confession, to the warden of the Massachusetts State Prison. - Rare Books -

History of Anatomy

  • The study of anatomy in England from 1700 to the early 20th century
  • History of anatomy
  • History of medicine in France
  • Human cadaveric dissection: a historical account from ancient Greece to the modern era
  • Murder Act 1751
Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin

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Episode Source Material:

History of the Providence Place Mall:

  • Providence Architecture | Locations | Providence Place Mall
  • What's in store for Providence Place's next 20 years?
  • Assessing the Providence Place Mall
  • The Death of the Providence Renaissance
  • Nordstrom to close at Providence Place
  • Providence Place - Wikipedia.
  • Arcade Providence Micro Lofts - Living in America's Oldest Mall

History of American Malls:

  • The Death And Rebirth of the American Mall
  • The Origins and Influence of the American Shopping Mall
  • A Brief History of the Mall | ACR
  • When Malls Saved the Suburbs From Despair
  • The Terrazzo Jungle
  • The strange, surprisingly radical roots of the shopping mall |

The People Living in Providence Place:

  • Artist sentenced for secret apartment in mall
  • Where Are They Now: Artist wishes he could go 'home' again to Providence Place mall
  • Where Are They Now? Providence Place apartment artist
  • Trummerkind
  • Gimme Shelter
  • Columbia Chronicles
  • The couple who lived in a mall
  • Artists' hideaway in Providence mall exposed

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Episode Source Material:

  • The Root of the Matter – The Rhode Island Historical Society
  • Roger Williams Park cemetery tour untangles route to founder's final resting place
  • 1868 Book, “A Fourteen Weeks Course in Chemistry,” by J. Dorman Steele
  • Read the eBook Memorial of Roger Williams by Zachariah] [Allen online for free (page 1 of 2)
  • Apple Tree Root | EnCompass
  • Williams Root - A Brief History of Roger Williams
  • Roger Williams and the Founding of Rhode Island | EnCompass
  • “A Key into the Language of America: A help to the Language of the Natives in that part of America called New England.”
  • Roger Williams - Founder of Rhode Island & Salem Minister - HISTORY
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Williams
  • God, Government and Roger Williams' Big Idea | History
  • roger-house-lot - Roger Williams National Memorial (US National Park Service)
  • How long does it take for a human body to decompose in a grave?
  • Life after death: the science of human decomposition
  • Recycling the dead
  • "Preserving their form and features": The role of coffins in the American understanding of death, 1607-1870
  • Later Years - Roger Williams National Memorial (US National Park Service)
  • Roger Williams Biography
  • BBC | How can I become a fossil?

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Episode Source Material:

Jonnycakes:

  • Narragansett - HISTORY
  • All About Johnnycakes - Herald Tribune
  • Famous Rhode Island Foods - Your AAA Network
  • The Big Flavors Of Little Rhode Island
  • Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity - White Cap Flint Corn
  • About our Corn, Narragansett Indian Flint Corn
  • JOHNNYCAKE IS TRADITIONAL, AND CONTROVERSAL, IN RHODE ISLAND (Published 1981)
  • What is a Johnnycake?
  • What Are Johnny Cakes and Are They Different Than Hoe Cakes?
  • The Food of a Younger Land: A Portrait of American Food by Mark Kurlansky
  • Jonnycake Corn: Disappearing Link to Past?
  • KEEPING THE JOHNNYCAKE TRADITION
  • What are jonnycakes (not johnnycakes), and where should you try them?
  • Rhode Island: The jonnycake tradition - ExploreNewEngland.com
  • Foods of England - Jannock
  • The Amazing Journey of Maize

Quahogs:

  • How the Quahog Became a Rhode Island Icon
  • Sacred Symbol: Beauty of Wampum
  • Rhode Island Clam Cakes
  • Meet the Clam Cake
  • Rhode Island has its own clam chowder – and it was the first
  • A Brief History of Clam Chowder - EATER
  • A Brief History of Oyster Aquaculture in Rhode Island

Pizza Strips:

  • Rhodeside Diaries: Pizza Strips | Edible Rhody
  • New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, December 06, 1903, Page 5, Image 35
  • Italian tomato pie
  • “The Providence and Rhode Island Cookbook” by Linda Beaulieu
  • Let's talk about Sfincione, a Sicilian pizza. — Palermo Street Food
  • What Is Sicilian Pizza?
  • 15 Iconic Regional Pizza Styles, Explained | Eat This Not That
  • Best RI Pizza strips are featured in Only In Your State today : RhodeIsland
  • Rhode Island, Explained!
  • An Illustrated History of Pizza in America
  • The History of Pizza - ManyEats

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Episode Source Material:

Hot Wieners:

  • Food & Drink A Brief History Of The Hot Dog
  • The Hot Wiener: A Rhode Island Icon
  • Olneyville New York System Restaurant - Rhode Island's Best Hot Wieners!
  • Awards Watch: Meet the 2014 America's Classics
  • Break Out the Buns: The History of the Hot Dog
  • How Hot Dogs are Made | NHDSC
  • Rhode Island's hot wiener: Don't call it a hot dog
  • Historical Society - Rhode Island Food Tradition

Coffee Milk:

  • Rhode Island Coffee Milk - New England Today
  • The History of Coffee
  • Autocrat: A Swallow Will Tell You
  • List of US state beverages
  • Coffee Milk: A Living Piece of Rhode Island Drink Culture
  • Coffee Milk
  • The Big Flavors Of Little Rhode Island
  • Coffee Milk | Wikipedia
  • Dairy In RI by Taylor Lanzet
  • What's In That Coffee Cabinet? A Delicious Taste Of Rhode Island History

Del’s Lemonade:

  • The Del's Story - Del's
  • Lemonade on a hot day: Why are acidic drinks refreshing?
  • The Fascinating History of Lemonade | HowStuffWorks
  • Mark Patinkin: The flavor and faces behind R.I. icon Del's
  • DEL’s WIKI
  • NPR | How Lemonade Helped Paris Fend Off the Plague
  • The Fascinating History of Lemonade in America
  • A Brief History of Lemonade - WSJ

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To Visit:

  • Whydah Pirate Museum: 674 MA-28, West Yarmouth, Massachusetts
  • Palatine Graves: 18 Old Town Road, Block Island, RI

Episode Source Material:

  • A glimpse of RI's past: Captain Thomas Paine of Jamestown
  • Black Sam Bellamy, the Pirate Who Fought Smart, Harmed Few, Scored Big
  • Top Earning Pirates
  • Robin Hood of the Sea
  • Pirates of Rhode Island
  • Newport and its Pirates: A Love/Hate Relationship
  • The Dutch Founding of NY, Thomas A Janvier
  • Rhode Island - Discovered by a pirate, named by a pirate and nurtured by pirates
  • The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations - Page 1046
  • The Day Rhode Island Hanged 26 Pirates
  • Thomas Tew
  • Pirates and Buccaneers of the Atlantic Coast by Edward Rowe Snow in 1944
  • The legend of Captain Kidd
  • “not even a pirate by pretension” — New York State Quarter Coin
  • This week in history, 313 years ago
  • Why Do Squirrels Bury Nuts?
  • The Surprising Story Of Pirate Captain Kidd's Buried Booty On Liberty Island
  • Captain Kidd's hidden loot
  • Hunting for the Buried Treasure of Captain Kidd
  • The Legend of the Palatine
  • The Legend of the Ghost Ship Palatine
  • Block Island, RI - Mass Grave of Pirate Massacre
  • Pirates: A Reality Check - 9 Pirate Myths Examined
  • Why Do We Love Pirates? | A Kennedy in College
  • Culture - The timeless allure of pirates
  • Shedding light on the Palatine legend
  • The Palatine Wreck: The Legend of the New England Ghost Ship
  • Thomas Tew - History of Piracy
  • The Surprising Truth About Pirates and Parrots

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To Visit a Similar Spot: Medfield State Hospital, 45 Hospital Road, Medfield, MA 02052

Episode Source Material:

  • History of Psychiatric Hospitals • Nursing, History, and Health Care • Penn Nursing
  • Dr. Joseph H. Ladd School
  • Days of Darkness
  • From the archives: FINAL DAY: Ladd Center shuts down quietly
  • The Fall of an Icon, the End of an Era
  • The Asylum Antiquarian – Medium
  • https://www.rihs.org/mssinv/Mss231sg1.htm
  • Something About Snow. “Well, I had thought of giving you… | by Jason Carpenter | The Asylum Antiquarian
  • https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2012-01-06/the-psychology-of-ruin-porn
  • One of the Forgotten Two Percent
  • Ladd School 25 Years After, Series November 16
  • The Abandoned Ladd School (Exeter, RI)
  • To Manage the Darkness: Why We Are Drawn to What We Fear
  • A God Damed Shame: The Demolition of the Ladd School : RhodeIsland
  • Former Ladd School property was becoming problematic
  • True Hauntings of America: The Haunting of the Ladd School
  • The World’s Most Haunted Places: The Joseph Ladd School
  • Detroitism – Guernica
  • Providence ranked as one of worst cities in US for people with disabilities
  • Feeble-minded
  • Eugenics
  • Eugenics in the United States
  • Rhode Island Eugenics/Eugenic Sterilizations

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Small state, big on the weird! Weird Island brings you some of the strangest stories you probably haven’t heard before, all originating in little Rhode Island.

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Episode Source Material:

  • Have Mercy
  • The Great New England Vampire Panic | History
  • Food for the Dead: On the Trail of New England’s Vampires by Michael Bell
  • Vampires, Bural, and Death: Folklore and Reality by Paul Barber
  • Food For the Dead Website
  • New England's Vampire History | Legends and Hysteria
  • UNCOVERING A THERAPY FROM THE GRAVE

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To Visit:

  1. Newport Tower: 5 Touro Park St W. Newport, Rhode Island, 02840
    Hours: Always available for viewing
  2. Newport Tower Museum: 152 Mill St, Newport, RI 02840
  3. Dighton Rock: 3rd Avenue, Berkley, MA. 02779
    Museum Hours: By appointment only; open daily at 9:00

SOURCES:

  1. The Controversy Touching the Old Stone Mill in the Town of Newport: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015089568243&view=1up&seq=53
  2. The Archaeology of the Old Stone Mill in Newport, Rhode Island, by William S. Godfrey Jr.: https://www.jstor.org/stable/277246?seq=1
  3. The Enigma Of Dighton Rock: https://www.americanheritage.com/enigma-dighton-rock#5
  4. Dighton Rock, a Study of the Written Rocks of New England, by Edmund Delabarre: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b542245&view=1up&seq=32
  5. Britannica, Vinland: https://www.britannica.com/place/Vinland
  6. The Newport Tower, by Jason Colativo: http://www.jasoncolavito.com/the-newport-tower.html
  7. The Newport Tower Museum: http://www.newporttowermuseum.com/styled-4/index.html

Music:

  • Swimmey Texture Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
  • Thunderbird Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/