What Is Roger Wiliams National Memorial?
This park marks the spot where Roger Williams founded Rhode Island in 1636!
What Makes It Historical?
Roger Williams was a radical preacher, especially by Puritan standards! Arriving in Massachusetts in 1631, he began spouting off wild ideas about religious freedom and spiritual equality, which got him banished in 1636! He fled south, where he was taken in by a group of Narragansett folks led by Canonicus! His experience with the Narragansett cemented his lifelong belief that Native Americans were equal under English law and rightful owners of their land! They let him settle near a spring in a place called Moshassuck, which became Providence, home to the world’s first explicitly secular government!
And folks flocked here to escape religious persecution! There was Gabriel Bernon, a Huguenot who fled France for Providence, taking up ownership of the land with the spring and founding King’s Chapel in the background! Another was Isaac Hahn, who arrived here much later, in 1870. He was a merchant, who helped other Jewish folks arriving from Europe in the late 1800s, and ended up Rhode Island’s first Jewish person elected to public office!
But while religious liberty was one of Rhode Island’s core principles, racial equality took longer. After all, some of Providence’s biggest names, from John Brown to H.P. Lovecraft to Charlotte Perkins Gilman, were avowed racists! In 1831, this park was part of a low-income, racially mixed part of Providence called Snow Town. After a sailor was shot to death here, riots broke out, leaving five folks dead and destroying dozens of homes! Today, it’s a much more peaceful scene. A riot plaque blends with many other pieces of Providence’s history assembled in a small suburban park, on the Moshassuck River, which you can visit on any ordinary Sunday!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Volunteer at Roger Wiliams National Memorial!
- Donate to the National Park Foundation!
- Be a responsible visitor! Remember the old adages: Pack out what you pack in! Take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints!
How Do I Get There?
282 N Main St
Providence, RI 02903
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit the Park?
The park is open 24/7, but the visitor center is open 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM, Thursday to Sunday in summer and fall, and Wednesday to Saturday in winter and spring!
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