East Providence
250th Celebration
Self Guided History Tour
On your own travel through East Providence viewing some of the oldest houses in the city. To learn more about the soldiers and patriots that called these places home, click on their name below the house.
1. Hunt’s Mills
65 Hunt’s Mills Rd.
Stephen Payne, one of the original proprietors of the town, built a sawmill, gristmill, and tannery in this area in 1643. By 1713, John Hunt Sr. owned the land which by then included a dwelling house, grist mill, corn mill, and fulling mill. The property remained in the Hunt family until the late 1800s. The John Hunt House Museum is housed in the circa 1751 home of John Hunt Jr .who served as a soldier and patriot of the Revolutionary War.
2. Thomas Bowen House
324 Pleasant St.
Thomas Bowen, a prominent physician, owned this property from 1729 until his death in 1774. His son, Thomas Jr., and grandson Ephraim served in the Revolutionary War with Ephraim participating in the Gaspee Affair. This center chimney colonial was built circa 1790 and still has its six original fireplaces and two beehive ovens.
3.James Madison Bishop House
232 Pleasant St.
This circa 1790 home was owned in the mid 1800s by James Madison Bishop, grandson of Revolutionary War soldier, the Hon. Phanuel Bishop. He was also the father of Joseph Bucklin Bishop, an American newspaper editor, Secretary of the Isthmian Canal Commission in Washington, D.C. and Panama, and an authorized biographer and close friend of President Theodore Roosevelt.
4. Bridgham Farm and Hyde/ Bridgham House
20 Morra Way
This center chimney colonial was built in 1767 for Rev. Ephraim Hyde, pastor of Newman Congregational Church, who served in the Revolutionary War. In 1792, Hyde sold it to Rev. John Ellis, also a pastor at Newman and a Revolutionary War participant. When he left Rehoboth, John sold the property to his son, James, who married Martha Bridgham, daughter of Doctor Joseph Bridgham, a patriot of the Revolutionary War. Eventually, the house and surrounding property, known as Bridgham Farm, was owned by Joseph’s son, Samuel W Bridgham, the first mayor of Providence, RI.
5.John Frederick Radloff House
42 Pleasant St.
John Frederick Radloff, a surgeon in the Revolutionary War, purchased this property between 1775 and 1790. The building is believed to have been built in the late 1700’s or early 1800’s. The property remained in the hands of his descendants until at least 1859.
6. Newman Church and Cemetery
100 Newman Ave.
Newman Congregational Church sits on the site of the original church founded by Samuel Newman in 1643. This current building was built around 1810 and underwent significant changes in the 1890s. Newman Cemetery was the original burial ground for the early settlers of Rehoboth. The oldest burials are twin boys, Ezekiel and Zachariah Read, who died in 1649. Both names are on a single stone which appears to be a replacement of the original. The oldest original stone belongs to William Carpenter who died in 1658.
7. Phanuel Bishop House
150 Greenwood Ave.
The Phanuel Bishop House, built in the mid to late 1700s, is named for the man who lived there from 1850 to 1889. He was the grandson of the Hon. Phanuel Bishop, who served in the Revolutionary War and in the U.S. House of Representatives.
8. Abell House
66 Greenwood Ave.
Built sometime around 1750, this property was originally owned by the Abell family from as early as 1675 until the 1860s. Between 1770 and 1788, Robert Abell Sr. owned the property. He and two of his sons, Preserved and Robert Jr, served in the Revolutionary War and a third son, Caleb, served in the War of 1812. Caleb would go on to inherit the house from his father.
9. Barzillai Bowen House
8 Greenwood Ave.
This house, built in the mid to late 1700s has been mistakenly referred to as a second Abell house. Current research shows that it was more likely the home of Barzillai Bowen, an innkeeper who owned a tavern that was at the corner of Greenwood and Pawtucket Avenues, later known as the Bishop’s Tavern. Barzillai Bowen served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
10. Circa 1700 House
1527 Pawtucket Ave.
This house is the oldest one remaining that would have been situated on the Ring of the Green. The research is ongoing but it most likely dates to the very early 1700s. The property itself originally belonged to Obediah Holmes in 1643.
12. Daggett House
74 Roger Williams Ave.
Built sometime before 1708, this house is known as the Nathaniel Daggett House. He was the son of John Daggett Jr., reputedly the builder of the Daggett House in Slater Park, Pawtucket, RI. When Nathaniel died, he left his home lot to his son John. John had three sons who served in the Revolutionary War: John Jr., Nathan, and Capt. James.
13. Roger Williams Spring
88-90 Roger Williams Ave.
This is believed to be the site where Roger Williams first temporarily settled and planted corn in the spring of 1636 after fleeing banishment from Massachusetts. When informed that he was still in Massachusetts, he crossed the river and settled in Providence, RI.
14. Walker Family Homestead
432 Massasoit Ave.
This house, built in 1724, is on the site of the homestead of Deacon Philip Walker, an early settler of Rehoboth. It contains remnants of an earlier house that was built and left unfinished around 1679, at the time of Walker’s death. The property was handed down to Philip’s son Samuel, and then to Samuel’s son Timothy, who built the current house. Timothy’s son and grandson, who also inherited the property, served in the Revolutionary War. The house stayed in the possession of Walker descendants until 1983.
15. John Jacobs House
1419 South Broadway
Deed research on this circa 1760 house suggests it was owned by the Jacobs family from the late 1700s until the late 1860s. It is believed John Jacobs Jr and his wife Zelinda Bishop, daughter of the Hon. Phanuel Bishop lived here after their marriage. In 1815, John was killed in a blast at Kettle Point.
16. Ancient Little Neck Cemetery
Penrod Ave.
Established in 1655, the oldest recorded burial is that of John Brown Jr. in 1662, son
of the man who purchased Wannamoisett from the Pokanoket Tribe in 1643. The grave of Elizabeth Tilley Howland, who died in 1687, is also here. Howland was a 13 year old passenger on the Mayflower and was one of the original settlers of the Plymouth Colony. The most famous person buried here is Captain Thomas Willett who died in 1674. Willett was the first mayor of New York City.
17. Viall House
787 Willett Ave.
The original owner of the property was Thomas Willett who purchased it from John Brown. It was then in the possession of the Viall family from 1679 until 1874. This house was probably built between 1720 and 1730. Capt John Viall, a soldier in the Revolutionary War, inherited the house in 1801.