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This is a guest blog post by Trinity Kendrick, MSc in Preservation Practices, Roger Williams University. Trinity is a 2024 Buchanan Burnham Fellow. When writer Edith Wharton and architect Ogden Codman Jr. first submitted their manuscript of The Decoration of Houses to the publisher MacMillan’s in 1897, it was swiftly rejected. The unknown architect who […]
July 16, 2024 By: Veronica Bruno, What’s Up Newport Despite the dismal weather, plenty turned out for a real treat with French and colonial re-enactors taking over Washington Square Park and Colony House to bring history to life Costumed re-enactors took over Washington Square Park and the Colony House in downtown Newport over the weekend. […]
July 10, 2024 By: Ryan Belmore, What’s Up Newport The Newport Historical Society’s French in Newport–a living history weekend featuring reenactments, exhibits, and free family fun–will return to Washington Square on Saturday, July 13, and Sunday, July 14. Visitors can explore the role of French soldiers and sailors who fought for America’s independence and enjoy […]
This is a guest blog post by Jenny Sullivan, MA in History, University of Rhode Island. Jenny is a 2024 Buchanan Burnham Fellow. While Newport is widely known today for its connections to and promotion of the performing arts, the mere existence of such performances was at one time actively resisted by citizens and legislators […]
July 18, 2024 By: Newport This Week Staff/Marion Laffey Fox When the Newport Antiques Show debuted in 2007, it was considered a noble experiment by naysayers and benevolent cognoscenti. Now, it is acknowledged as one of America’s most consistently successful and summer shows. Reverberating with the can-do gusto of its founder, Anne Hamilton, the event […]
This is a guest blog post by Sarah Kraus, BA in History, Salve Regina University. Sarah is a 2024 John E. McGinty Fellow (Salve Regina University) in partnership with the NHS Buchanan Burnham Summer Scholar program. BA in History, Salve Regina University. The annual Newport Folk Festival is kicking off shortly on Friday, July 26, […]
This is a guest blog post by Emily DeFazio, BA in History, minor in Italian and Digital Marketing, Notre Dame. Emily is a 2024 Buchanan Burnham Fellow. Visitors to Newport’s idyllic harbor front may be surprised to learn that the largest mass execution in the colonies occurred at a site just off the end of […]
This is a guest blog post by Bianca Scialabba, MA in History and Museum Studies at Tufts University. Bianca is a 2024 Buchanan Burnham Fellow. A Note on Terminology: This blog post describes the life of someone who, had she lived today, might have considered herself a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Because Charlotte Cushman lived […]
This is a guest blog post by Trinity Kendrick, MSc in Preservation Practices, Roger Williams University. Trinity is a 2024 Buchanan Burnham Fellow. Newport is no stranger to the silver screen. Since the advent of film in the late 19th century, the city has been home to many movie palaces, including the Paramount, the Opera […]
By: Luis Hernandez, The Public’s Radio Through art and historical records, the exhibit showcases the stories of people of African descent who lived in Newport from the 17th-19th centuries. The Newport Historical Society’s latest exhibit is called “A Name, A Voice, A Life: The Black Newporters of the 17th-19th Centuries.” Morning Edition host Luis Hernandez talked […]
By: Audrey McClelland, WPRI 12 We’re thrilled to have the Executive Director of the Newport Historical Society, Becca Bertrand here to share about upcoming events that will be going on. The Newport Historical Society is a historical society in Newport, Rhode Island that was chartered in 1854 to collect and preserve books, manuscripts, and objects […]
By: Leah Crowley, WPRI 12 NEWPORT, R.I. (WPRI) — During the four-year process of digitizing its records, the Newport Historical Society was able to identify 1,700 people of African descent who lived in the city between 1600 and 1865. According to the society, many of these Black Newporters had been forcibly taken from their homes and […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 30, 2024 CONTACT Lauren Craig Membership@NewportHistory.org Powerful New Exhibit on Display at Newport Historical Society “A Name, A Voice, A Life” Explores Stories of Black Newporters NEWPORT, R.I. – The Newport Historical Society (NHS) unveiled a powerful new exhibit: “A Name, A Voice, A Life: The Black Newporters of […]
The research project draws on archival manuscripts and contemporary art made by Black Rhode Islanders to refocus the narrative of enslaved people in Newport. By: Ruthie Wood, What’s Up Newport. To view this story online, click here. After four long years of research and review, the Newport Historical Society (NHS) presents the exhibit “A Name, A Voice, […]
By: G. Wayne Miller, Ocean State Stories A belated congratulations, Rebecca, on becoming executive director of the Newport Historical Society [in 2022]! Can you give us a summary of the society’s mission and holdings? Thank you! It has been over a year since I stepped into the role, and it’s been an incredible experience so […]
By: Newport Daily News Staff The lives of Black people in Newport’s history are becoming easier to see through a pair of recent initiatives. The Newport Historical Society recently launched “Voices from the NHS Archives,” an expansive research project that centers the Black and Indigenous experiences embedded in Newport’s historical record. This digital tool is […]
By: Ryan Belmore, What’s Up Newport The Newport Historical Society (NHS) is launching a new digital database that will make it easier for people to find and learn about the history of Black and Indigenous people in Newport. The project, called Voices from the NHS Archives, has been in the works for years and includes reviewing […]
By: Christian Winthrop, Newport Buzz The Newport Historical Society (NHS) unveiled its latest initiative Thursday, “Voices from the NHS Archives,” marking a significant milestone in the organization’s commitment to inclusivity and historical accuracy. This extensive research project, developed over four years, delves into Newport’s historical records to spotlight the often overlooked experiences of Black and […]
By: Leah Crowley, WPRI 12 NEWPORT, R.I. (WPRI) — The Newport Historical Society launched a new online resource on Thursday called “Voices of the NHS Archives.” The project is bringing the society’s archives into the digital age. The papers being preserved at the Touro Street facility date back hundreds of years. Staff had the idea […]
By: Dan McGowan, Boston Globe & The Globe Rhode Island It’s Black History Month, and the Newport Historical Society just launched a fascinating research project that centers the Black and Indigenous experiences embedded in the City by the Sea’s historical record. You can check out “Voices from the NHS Archives” for yourself by clicking […]
The photos are part of the Historical Society’s 500,000-photo collection, which dates back to the 1950s and includes photos donated by the Newport Daily News January 11, 2024 The Boston Globe By: Brittany Bowker, Globe Staff A collection of more than 8,000 treasured historic photographs and negatives from the Newport Historical Society were damaged Wednesday when […]
For Immediate Release: February 8, 2024 Contact: Press@NewportHistory.org Newport Historical Society Resource Makes Newport’s Black and Indigenous History More Accessible Database Includes 4,000+ Records and Will Continue to Grow NEWPORT, R.I.—The Newport Historical Society (NHS) today launches Voices from the NHS Archives, an expansive research project that centers the Black and Indigenous experiences embedded in Newport’s […]
January 16, 2024 By: Savana Dunning, Newport Daily News Hanging from a clothing line stretched across two sets of ladders, dozens, if not hundreds, of film negatives from The Newport Daily News archives dry out in the lobby of the Newport Historical Society’s headquarters on Touro Street, just a portion of the photo archive that was impacted […]
NBC 10 NEWS | Wed. January 10th 2024 Flood waters reaching the Newport Historical Society caused severe damage on Wednesday. Staff said about 8,000 photographs were covered in water. The team was working to move and dry the materials to save what they can. Staff also said treasured photographs and negatives were damaged. They are […]
January 10, 2024 WPRI 12 By: Kate Wilkinson NEWPORT, R.I. (WPRI) — Historians discovered three inches of flooding in the basement of the Newport Historical Society on Wednesday, after a powerful rain storm came through. Executive Director Rebecca Bertrand said she received the call from her coworker before she came in and knew they would have to act […]
The Newport Historical Society (NHS) is proud to announce the launch of Voices from the NHS Archives, an expansive research project that centers the Black and Indigenous experiences embedded in Newport’s historical record. This digital tool is the culmination of four years of work, feedback from dozens of experts and advisors, and the review of […]
This is a guest blog post by Sam Dinnie (they/them), a PhD student in early American history at The George Washington University. Sam is a 2023 Buchanan Burnham Fellow. Ezra Stiles was born in North Haven, Connecticut, in 1727 to Reverend Isaac Stiles and Kezia Taylor Stiles. Stiles graduated from Yale in 1746 and was […]
This is a guest blog post by Sam Dinnie (they/them), a PhD student in early American history at The George Washington University. Sam is a 2023 Buchanan Burnham Fellow. Political and military leaders of the opposing British and American forces understood that winning the Revolutionary War required more than military successes. General Henry Clinton, Commander […]
This is a guest blog post by Sam Dinnie (they/them), a PhD student in early American history at The George Washington University. Sam is a 2023 Buchanan Burnham Fellow. The typical understanding of political allegiance during the American Revolution as binary—Patriot or Loyalist, American or British—obscures the very real tribulations people experienced and dismisses fluctuations […]
This is a guest blog post by Amelia Yeager (she/her), a first year Master’s student in public history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she studies free and unfree labor in early America and the legacies of rural labor and craft in cultural history. Amelia is a 2023 Buchanan Burnham Fellow. In this post, […]
This is a guest blog post by Lindsey Smith (she/her), a recent graduate of Salve Regina University with a BA in history (concentration in American history). Lindsey is a 2023 John E. McGinty Fellow. The civil rights struggle involved an interconnectedness between northern and southern Black activists, radical groups, and religious organizations, particularly during lunch […]
This is a guest blog post by Sam Dinnie (they/them), a PhD student in early American history at The George Washington University. Sam is a 2023 Buchanan Burnham Fellow. The intricacies of loyalty and allegiance during the American Revolution are difficult to discern. From private correspondence to newspaper reports, written glimpses into the Revolutionary Era […]
This is a guest blog post by Amelia Yeager (she/her), a first year Master’s student in public history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she studies free and unfree labor in early America and the legacies of rural labor and craft in cultural history. Amelia is a 2023 Buchanan Burnham Fellow. Among notices for […]
Katherine Prescott Wormeley (1830-1908) was a reformer, author and philanthropist who served as superintendent of the Lovell Civil War Hospital at Portsmouth Grove, RI, and a founder of the United States Sanitary Commission. She lived in a cottage at the corner of Old Beach Road and Red Cross Avenue (2 Red Cross Avenue, pictured above). […]
This is a guest blog post by Maureen Iplenski, MA/PhD in History, American Studies, Certificate in Museum Studies (expected 2026) University of Delaware. Maureen was a 2022 NHS Buchanan Burnham Fellow, contributing towards the “BIPOC Biographies from the Archives of the Newport Historical Society” initiative. On March 5, 1810, David Smith, an African American sailor, […]
NHS recently received a painting by local artist Eveline Roberge (b. 1920) depicting Newport Harbor from Goat Island. Roberge is a 20th century artist noted for her primitive style and depictions of Newport landscapes and scenes. According to the artist, the painting was started during the U.S. bicentennial in 1976 but was not completed until […]
Does the cold weather have you thinking of Fall foliage, raking leaves, and Christmas trees? In 1812, trees were very much on the mind of the United States Navy. In aid of ship-building efforts during the War of 1812 (a three-year conflict fought between the United States and Great Britain), Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry commissioned …
Here at the NHS, there are few things we like more than a good historical mystery- and we are ale the more intrigued if that mystery involves beer. In 2019, a ledger was donated to NHS: other than writing at the top of each page pointing to a 1770 date, little was known about the …
This is a guest blog post by Rebecca Farias, MA in History, Providence College. Rebecca is a 2022 Buchanan Burnham Fellow, contributing towards the “BIPOC Biographies from the Archives of the Newport Historical Society” initiative. Newport’s turbulent history with privateering began in 1652. The eastern Long Island government (then under the purview of Massachusetts) chartered …
This is a guest blog post by Maureen Iplenski, MA/PhD in History, American Studies, Certificate in Museum Studies (expected 2026) University of Delaware. Maureen is a 2022 Buchanan Burnham Fellow, contributing towards the “BIPOC Biographies from the Archives of the Newport Historical Society” initiative. In the 18th-century, Newport was recognized as the fifth largest city …