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.”  

 

Apple Growing

• A Forgotten Artifact of Smithfield’s Past Come Home
• Apple Lore And Fruits Of The Harvest

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 
• Smithfield Airplane Crashes

 

Churches/Religion

• Two Trips to Heaven
• A Spiritual Journey Along The Camino De Santiago
• A Pilgrim’s Quest For Mary
• An Angel For St. Philip Church

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
• Smithfield Union Bank Robbery – 1838
• Robbery & Arrest – 1854
• Highway Robbery – 1901

 

Disasters

• The Great Greenville Conflagration of 1924
• The Industrial National Bank Disaster
• Long Lost Local Lore about Lightning
• Prelude
• Smithfield Fire Log – 1800’s
• Stillwater Mill Fire – 1872
• Capron Mill Fire – 1876
• The Stillwater Train Wreck
• The Wreck of the Dawn Patrol
• Lightning Strikes – 1870s

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.

 

Holidays

• Forgotten Romance Superstitions Of Halloween
• Vintage Christmas Cards Reveal Santa Didn’t Always Wear Red 
• Little Known Victorian Legends of Christmas Past
• Forgotten Folktales of Easter
• Forgotten Miracles of Saint Patrick

 

 

 

Labor Unrest

• A House Divided
• Battle Lines

Mills

• Early Mill Articles – 1800s
• Stillwater Mill Fire – 1872
• Forgotten Tales Of The Esmond Mill

 

 

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
• Sgt. Robert Martin Memorial
• 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
• Jencks Smith Obituary – 1910
• Smithfield Police – A Concise History
• Early Rhode Island Municipal Police Insignia
• Early Rhode Island State Police Insignia
• Vintage Rhode Island Sheriff Insignia
• Smithfield Police Ordinance – 1937
• Smithfield Bridewells – 1913

 

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
• New School House – 1871

 

Smithfield 

• 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
• Tales Of Georgiaville Pond
• Elephants And Other Curiosities
• Apple Lore And Fruits Of The Harvest
• The Phillips Parker Black House – Georgiaville 
• The Days of Milk Wagons and Glass Bottles
• Newspaper Articles Relating to the Division Of Smithfield – 1871  
• Early Banks Of Smithfield
• The Woodstock Generation Reaches A Milestone

 

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
• Are There Ghosts In Smithfield’s “Haunted City”?
• The “Grant Radish” – 1868

 

  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 Air-Line Railroad Newspaper Articles – 1843-1893
• Smithfield’s Woonasquatucket Railroad
• Woonasquatucket Railroad Newspaper Articles – 1870s
• Railroad Accident – 1835
• Railroad Accident – 1855
• Lonsdale Railroad Accident – 1855
• Stagecoach Accident – 1873
• Railroad Accident – 1878
• Lonsdale Railroad Accident – 1893

  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 – May, 1968
  • 50 Years Ago – June, 1968
  • 50 Years Ago – August, 1968
  • 50 Years Ago – September, 1968
  • 50 Years Ago – October, 1968
  • 50 Years Ago – November, 1968
  • 50 Years Ago – December, 1968
  • 50 years Ago – February, 1969
  • 50 Years Ago – March, 1969
  • 50 Years Ago – April, 1969
  • 50 Years Ago – May, 1969
  • 50 Years Ago – June, 1969
  • 50 Years Ago – June, 1969 
  • 50 Years Ago – July, 1969
  • 50 Years Ago – August, 1969
  • 50 Years Ago – September, 1969
  • 50 Years Ago – October, 1969
  • 50 Years Ago, December, 1969
  • 50 Years Ago – January, 1970 
  • 50 years Ago – February, 1970 
  • 50 Years Ago – March, 1970
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    1967

  • 50 Years Ago — Ads from the 1960’s
  • Smithfield Ads from the 1970s