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Newport
Historical Society
Headquaters
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82
Touro Street, Newport, RI 02840
Tel (401) 846-0813
Fax (401) 846-1853
Open to the Public
Tuesday-Friday: 9:30 am- 4:30 pm
Saturday: 9:30 am - noon
For research, appointments are
strongly recommended.
We cannot guarantee service
for walk-ins in the collections
or the library.
Library closed on Monday. |
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The
Newport Historical Society
The Newport Historical
Society was chartered in 1854 to collect and preserve books,
manuscripts, and objects pertaining to Newport's history.
The Society's collections originated thirty years earlier
as the "Southern Cabinet" of the Rhode Island Historical
Society. By 1853, several prominent Newporters recognized
the need for a separate organization specifically devoted
to preserving the history of Newport County, and the collections
of the Southern Cabinet were reorganized under the auspices
of the Newport Historical Society. |
The first quarters of
the Newport Historical Society were temporary. Meetings
moved from member's home to member's home, and lectures
were held in rented halls. By 1884, however, the Society
was suffering from growing pains. It needed a permanent
space to house its collections. After some deliberation,
the Society purchased the old Seventh
Day Baptist Meeting House (1730).
This was arguably their
first real artifact, and certainly one of the first examples
of adaptive reuse of an historic structure with deliberate
homage to the structure's own integrity. It is a responsibility
the Newport Historical Society has taken seriously and
managed well since 1884. |
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It did not take long for the Society to fill
its new quarters. In 1884, they advertised that "The Newport
Historical Society have taken possession of their new quarters
on Barney Street and are soliciting donations of historical material
relating to Newport."
The influx of gifts was gratifying, but the membership soon realized
there were untapped resources that the current building, surrounded as it was by stables,
paint shops, and other fire hazards, could not safely accommodate. In 1887, the Society
purchased a site on Touro Street and in the fall of that year moved its building there.
As the holdings of the Society continued to increase, the need for more
space and security became evident. Ground was broken in 1902 for a brick library building
on the Touro Street side of the lot. The new building provided office space for the
Society, a fireproof vault for historic documents, and a library. In 1915, the meeting
house was detached from the library and moved to the rear of the lot. A three story brick
building was constructed between the library and the meeting house. Brick veneer, a slate
roof, and steel shutters were added to the exterior of the meeting house to make its
exterior covering consistent with the adjoining structures, and to provide added
protection from the weather and the threat of fire.
The collections of the Newport Historical
Society have continued to grow, and have, in fact, outgrown every structure provided for
them within a decade or less of the ground-breaking. The result is one of the finest local
historical society collections in New England. Its manuscripts, portraits, silver,
furniture, decorative arts, and genealogical collection are nationally recognized.
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The Headquaters of
the Newport Historical Society
82 Touro Street,
Newport, RI 02840
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DIRECTIONS TO THE NEWPORT
HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
THE MUSEUM OF NEWPORT HISTORY AND HISTORIC PROPERTIES
The Newport Historical
Society is located at 82 Touro Street in the
heart of downtown Newport.
The Museum of Newport History at
the Brick Market is at the foot of Washington Square where
it intersects with Touro Street.
The Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, 17
Broadway.
The Great Friends Meeting House, corner
Broadway and Marlborough.
From Points South: Take
Interstate 95 North to Route 138 East (exit 3). Follow
signs for the Jamestown and Newport Bridges. Take the first
exit off the Newport Bridge, and turn right at the bottom
of the ramp onto Farewell Street. Go straight through a
set of traffic lights (you will then pass between two cemeteries).
At the next set of lights (a fork in the road) bear right.
At the second set of lights, turn left onto Marlborough
Street. At the first stop sign, turn right onto Thames
Street. At the first set of lights, the Museum
of Newport History at the Brick Market will be
immediately on the right. For the Newport Historical
Society, take an immediate left onto Touro Street
after the lights. Go through one set of lights and you
will see our red brick building next door to Touro Synagogue.
For the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, take
an immediate left onto Touro Street after the lights. At
the next set of lights turn left, then turn right at the
stop sign. The house is at the end of the block on the
right at 17 Broadway. For the Great Friends Meeting
House, continue on Marlborough Street to the second
stop sign. The Great Friends Meeting House will
be ahead on the left. The Newport Colony House is
located at the top of Washington Square. Take an immediate
left onto Touro Street after the lights. At the next set
of lights turn left. Take your first left and the Colony
House is the brick building on your right.
From Points North: Take
Route 195 to Route 24 South. The exit appears about a 2
mile beyond a short highway tunnel. Continue on Route 24
South to Route 114 South. This is called West Main Road
in the towns of Portsmouth and Middletown and becomes Broadway
in Newport. You will be on Route 114 for 15-20 minutes.
As you approach the end of Broadway, there will be a small
city park on the left. Continue straight and you will see
the Museum of Newport History at the Brick
Market directly ahead. For the Newport Historical
Society, take the left turn that circles around
the park onto Touro Street. Go through one set of lights
and you will see our red brick building next door to Touro
Synagogue. The Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House is
located at 17 Broadway. For the Great Friends Meeting
House, bear right at the fork in the road after
Newport City Hall on Broadway. The Great Friends
Meeting House will be on the right. The
Newport Colony House is located at the top of Washington
Square. Broadway becomes Washington Square. |
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