Local History Articles

Read about the history and people of Smithfield, Rhode Island, in our collection of articles written by local historians.  New articles are frequently added.

One can also read about Smithfield history in the following books:  “Remembering Smithfield, Sketches of Apple Valley” and “Images of America – Smithfield.”  

 

 

Aviation

• A View Heretofore Reserved For Birds And Gods
• Arthur Gould’s Vision of the Future
• Forgotten Tales of North Central Airport
• The Wreck of the Dawn Patrol 

 

Churches/Religion

• Two Trips to Heaven
• A Spiritual Journey Along The Camino De Santiago
• A Pilgrim’s Quest For Mary

Crimes and Dastardly Deeds

• A Sad Case Of Mistaken Identity: How a chance meeting and a runaway imagination led to tragedy
• Blood, Bullets, and Bad Men
• Murdered For Thirteen Dollars
• Police Tales of Yesteryear
• The Great Georgiaville Liquor Raid of 1898
• The Brazen Bank Bandits Of Slatersville

 

Disasters

• The Great Greenville Conflagration of 1924
• The Industrial National Bank Disaster
• Long Lost Local Lore about Lightning
• Prelude
• Smithfield Fire Log – 1800’s
• The Stillwater Train Wreck
• The Wreck of the Dawn Patrol

Fire Department

• The Mystery of the Water Witch
• Origin Of The Greenville Fire Co.
• Three New Recruits Join Fire Dept.
• Smithfield’s First Paid Firemen
• The Wionkhiege Valley Fire Co.

 

 

 

Labor Unrest

• A House Divided
• Battle Lines

 

 

Military Veterans

• A Supreme Act of Kindness – Sgt. Lawrence J. La Croix of Georgiaville
• “Black Thursday” – The Day Nobody Anticipated
• By Dawn’s Early Light – Howard Thornton of Greenville
• Chance Relics Reveal a Forgotten Tale – Robert M. Martin of Spragueville
• The Escolar Mystery
• Freedom Isn’t Free
• A Footnote to History
• One Veteran’s Story – Leo Swider of Georgiaville
• Snatched From Friendly Skies – Lt. Frances Payette
• Lest We Forget The Price For Peace – Pvt. Alexander M. Balfour
• The Forgotten War
• Unsung Heroes – Capt. Peder Johnson

 

Police

• Protecting Smithfield in a Simpler Time
• Police Tales Of Yesteryear
• Rhode Island’s First State Police
• To Serve And Protect – Rhode Island’s Roll of Honor

 

Schools

• A Place to Call Home
• Hidden History in Plain Sight
• If Walls Could Talk
• The “Hot Potato” School
• Protecting Bryant University
• Smithfield’s Early Schools

 

Smithfield 

• Forgotten Tales of the Esmond Mill
• From Humble Beginnings
• Nothing Gold Can Stay
• The Battle to Bring Water to Smithfield
• The “Death Moon” of March and Other Historical Curiosities
• The Rift that Nearly Divided The Town – Again
• The Smithfield Meeting House Lottery of 1807 
  • See photos
• Tobey’s Store was the “Capitol” of Smithfield 
• Where was “Skeeterville”?
• News Items From 1867 & 1868
• The Stillwater Country Club

 

Strange Happenings

• Jumping To a Conclusion
• The Ghoulish Resurrection of Stella Newman
• The Jinxed Airplane 
• The Jinxed Airplane – Revisited
• The Mysterious Skeleton of Putnam Pike
• The Yellow Day of 1881
• Tall Tales of Treacherous Trees
• If Smithfield Had A “Black Book”
• The Mysterious Snake Man

 

  Transportation

• Harold Parkinson’s Great Smithfield Railroad, and Other Lost Tales of Yesteryear
• Smithfield’s “Powder Mill” Turnpike
• When the Future Was New
• The Capron Rd. Bridge 
• Smithfield’s Air-Line Railroad
• Smithfield’s Woonasquatucket Railroad

  50 Years Ago Articles    

• 50 Years Ago — August 1965
• 50 Years Ago — September 1965
  • 50 Years Ago — October 1965
  • 50 Years Ago — November 1965
  • 50 Years Ago — December 1965
  • 50 Years Ago — January 1966
  • 50 Years Ago — February, 1966
  • 50 Years Ago — March, 1966
  • 50 Years Ago — April, 1966
  • 50 Years Ago — May, 1966
  • 50 Years Ago — June 1966
  • 50 Years Ago — July 1966
  • 50 Years Ago — August 1966
  • 50 Years Ago — September 1966
  • 50 Years Ago — October 1966
  • 50 Years Ago — November 1966
  • 50 Years Ago — December 1966
  • 50 years Ago — January 1967
  • 50 Years Ago — April 1967
  • 50 Years Ago — July 1967
  • 50 Years Ago — August 1967
  • 50 Years Ago – September, 1967
  • 50 Years Ago – October, 1967
  • 50 Years Ago – November, 1967
  • 50 Years Ago – December, 1967 
  • 50 years Ago – January, 1968 
  • 50 Years Ago – February, 1968
  • 50 Years Ago – April, 1968
  • 50 Years Ago — Ads from the 1960’s