“On the former Bowen-Haile-Nunes Farmstead, a rare surviving representative of a 17th century Narragansett Bay saltwater livestock farm now given over largely to development, stands the oldest extant house in Warren. . .The original house was erected by Obadiah Bowen about 1682 as a story-and-a-half house with a steeply pitched gable roof. . .In 1708, Richard Haile Jr. acquired the farm; thereafter it remained in the Haile family for over two centuries, until 1911.” [ from Lombard Pozzi, Warren 250th Anniversary Commemorative Book, p. 166]
A beehive oven sits next to one of three fireplaces in the massive chimney, and a staircase leads to two rooms in the second story.
An opening in the floor leads to a cistern where rainwater was stored. The rear of the house shows additions below the original sloped roofline.
(Left) The gambrel-roofed colonial “Windmill House” was moved c. 1763 to its current location at 26 Bridge Street in Warren, RI. Originally part of a parcel (Boundfield Farm, page 9) owned first by William Bradford in 1680, an original proprietor of Bristol, that was later purchased by John Saffin in 1681, Robert Jolls in 1710, and passed to his son, Thomas Jolls, in 1739. The house first appears in the record in 1806
Click here for the RWU Historic Preservation Plan that mentions the Haile-Nunes Farm on page 35 & 36.
Click here for a Short History of the Haile Farm by Barbara Andrews Hail
Click on the maps below for Google maps of the two locations.
The Farmhouse sits along Market Street, Route 136 in North Warren, RI, directly across from D & D Mulch and Landscape.
