Bonnie Warren, who initiated the Historic Preservation Program at Roger Williams University and who worked for many years for the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission, agreed to review and edits portions of the draft Sowams Heritage Area Interpretive Plan that Project Coordinator David Weed is preparing. “As always, Bonnie provided some critical corrections […]
Over thirty people at Hamilton House Adult Learning Exchange on the East Side of Providence attended a one-hour presentation on “Rediscovering 17th Century Rhode Island in the Sowams Heritage Area” to learn how that history shaped life in Rhode Island. “If you don’t know what happened here 400 years ago, you’ll never understand what’s going […]
Newly elected and re-elected members of the Warren Town Council heard a brief presentation on the creation of a Sowams Heritage Area that would include the Town of Warren and seven other communities in East Bay Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts once fully developed. Coordinator David Weed and Team Member Rock Singewald described the project, […]
Professional archivist and librarian Janaya Kizzie created an interactive map of the Sowams Heritage Area for the website. She made a connection for each of the 51 locations so anyone can click on the location on the map and bring up the web page that describes it. Besides being very talented, Janaya also happens to […]
Mashapaug Nahaganset Sachem Raymond Two Hawks Watson, who is working on a regional Cultural Equity Meshanticut Initiative, met with Sowams Heritage Area Project Coordinator Dave Weed to talk about potential linkages between the two projects. They discussed how a larger project would bring in more potential participants who could then attract a larger audience, including […]
Members of the Pokanoket Tribal Council met with Sowams Heritage Area Team Members Nancy Fallon, Carl Ferreira and Dave Weed to talk about ways that the Sowams Heritage Project can relate a more accurate and complete history of the Tribe than has been historically portrayed in the existing literature. Sagamore Po Wauipi Neimpaug, Tribal Council […]
Sowams Heritage Area Coordinator Dave Weed met with members of the Warren Heritage Foundation to discuss the production and placement of an interpretive sign at Burr’s Hill Park in Warren, RI. “The Park has tremendous historical value,” stated Weed, “but few people know anything about it.” The area was used as a gravel pit for […]
In the 19th century, Warren, RI, was purported to be the home of Massasoit based on Edward Winslow’s description of his journey from the Plymouth Colony to meet Massasoit in both in 1621 and in 1623. The 17th Century Rhode Island MeetUp group met to visit Burr’s Hill Park and the monument to Massasoit that sits above his […]
Long-time Attleboro resident Don Doucette has had a lifelong interest in exploring and understanding the land and water in the area around Sowams. Don spoke with Somams Heritage Coordinator Dave Weed on November 5, 2018 to share what he knows about the natural and native history of the area in a half-hour interview. The Blackstone, Coles, […]
The Newman Congregational Church was founded in 1643 when a group followed Rev. John Newman from Weymouth, MA to settle on the east bank of the Seekonk River. A 375th Anniversary celebration held on November 4, 2018 included a lecture event prior to a musical presentation. Click here for the video of the lecture. This […]