Johnston Historical Society Historical Notes
Vol. XI, #2, July 2002
Louis McGowan, Editor; Steve Merolla, Asst. Editor
Shed Construction
On August 2, 3, & 4, 2002, a number of Society members took on the task of building a shed on the museum grounds. The project was funded by the Champlin Foundations, and we originally were going to purchase a shed from a local company. We were not happy with what we saw out there though, so we kicked around the idea of building one ourselves. We were unsure if we could pull it off. Fred Mikkelsen convinced the Executive Board that we could build it. He had constructed one before and told us that he would plan it out and direct the project. The Executive Board members said that they would contribute time. We set a day to start construction and Fred had the lumber ready for us.
The three days we worked on the shed were hot and sunny, but we had a nice time working as a team. We were tired out at the end of each day, but it felt good working on the project together. The people who worked on the project were: Fred Mikkelsen, Louis McGowan, Everett Cogswell, John Barattini, Pat Macari, Dan Brown, Steve Merolla, and Steve Barattini (who very nicely laid all the roof shingles). I am very proud of all these people and commend them for giving up time to work on the shed. A special thanks, of course, goes out to Fred, without whom this project would not have gotten off the ground. He also carried the project through to completion. We have a very sturdy, good-looking shed, and we are now able to safely store our gas-powered garden tools. We have also cleaned up the yard by having this storage area available. The building blends in nicely with the museum building. It has about the same roof pitch and will have the same roof shingles and siding.
Granite Posts
Our good friend, Tom Greene, has donated two mid-19th century granite posts to our Society. One is a full-length gatepost. We installed it just to the right of the museum steps. The other post is a hitching post with a nice wrought iron hitching ring. It was installed near the driveway on the fire station side. Thanks to Dan Brown and Everett Cogswell for their efforts in placing these two posts.
We feel that these wonderful artifacts, which were originally in front of Tom's house in North Providence, add greatly to the looks of the grounds and will be an important part of the historic interpretation of our property. There is, of course, a strong possibility that the posts were quarried and cut to shape in the quarries right here in Graniteville.
Society Acquisitions
Recent Society Acquisitions:
Belknap School Update
Members of the Executive Board got together in early summer to strip the interior of late 20th century additions. We ripped paneling off the walls, tore down the drop ceiling, and took out the wet bar and the kitchen fixtures. We filled a large dumpster in a few hours. The dumpster was graciously donated by Mayor William Macera. Our thanks go out to him. And thanks, of course, go out to our Executive Board for all their hard work.
Society member Dan Meunier has begun a cleanup of the grounds at the Belknap School. He will be thinning out the trees and other vegetation in the back and on the sides of the building. This is a very tough job, and it is very nice of Dan to volunteer to do this task. Dan was also responsible for cutting down many trees on our museum property and for securing funding to plant a number of new ones.
Speakers
Richard Lynch presented a slide show at our May meeting. He told us the story of the old stone-ender that was once located in the Pachaug State Forest in nearby Connecticut. It was a fascinating talk. Richard did a great job, as he always does.
Louis McGowan and Dan Brown put on a slideshow for our June 2002 meeting. They had made up a number of slides using their own postcards and family photographs. All the views were of scenes in Johnston, Smithfield, Scituate, Lincoln, and Providence. The program was well-received, and we had a good time talking about the different images.
For our September meeting Ron Sullman visited us in full Revolutionary War uniform and talked about General Varnum and Revolutionary War period dress and weapons. He is an excellent speaker and is very entertaining. We are going to join him in the near future on a tour of the Varnum Armory.
Our October speaker was Dan Brown. His slide presentation, a look at Rhode Island headstones, was very appropriate for Halloween week and was quite entertaining. Dan had traveled to cemeteries in Newport, Coventry, Scituate, and Providence to take pictures for this show. A special guest, the ghost of Christmas past, stayed with us for the evening.
Our November program (actually held during the first week of December) featured a slide presentation by Dan Zilka of the National Diner Museum. Dan put on a great show, showing us slides of diners from all over the country. Most of the views were of diners in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, so it was fun to see diners pictured that many of us remembered. Dan also gave a history of diners, which started in our own little state.
Native American Artifacts
Society member Arthur Iannelli has put together a wonderful exhibit that is now on display in our museum. It is made up of Native American artifacts that Arthur collected from Johnston. There are a few other artifacts exhibited that were collected from other areas. They are included for comparison purposes. This is a great exhibit and you should make a stop at the museum to see it.
Museum Update
Rolf Johnson has made a wonderful new portable, two-sided sign for us. There is a drawing of a cherub on each side, the words "Johnston Historical Museum," and an arrow pointing the way to the buildings. I put it out on the sidewalk every time we are open. It has brought in a number of visitors.
Our museum has been open throughout the late spring and summer. I would say that attendance has been slow but steady. Most days there were 1 or 2 visitors. We made some interesting contacts.
Initial discussion has started concerning plans to set up a program for visits by Johnston school children. This is new territory for us, and it is both scary and exciting. Nancy Brown has graciously volunteered to provide some guidance for us. Dan Brown and Louis McGowan will work together in getting this program going. Naturally, if anyone out there would like to help, we could definitely use your assistance. Let us know if you would consider lending a hand in this project.
The Old Viall District
(Editor's Note: This short piece was written by Clarence Irving Brown, a noted genealogist, who lived in Thornton around the turn of the 20th century. He did a lot of work on the Brown and Thornton families, as well as recording much useful historical information on our town. These notes by Brown are part of his lifelong study. This work is saved on microfilm at the R.I. Historical Library. Interesting facts about the Viall District, which centers on the intersection of School Street and Morgan Avenue, and the Viall family are detailed here.)
Viall Cemetery, Morgan Ave. Johnston, R.I.
Israel K. Wilcox tells C.I. Brown, Oct. 14, 1907, that the cemetery of which are now visible six or more graves on Morgan Ave. in the woodlot formerly owned by Mr. Wilcox on the southwestern part of Neutaconkanut Hill, was many years ago a part of the Dwyer? Estate, which afterwards became the property of the Viall family. There was a prospect that money in England was coming to the Vialls and to prove relationship to the members of the Johnston branch, one of the would-be inheritors had the Vials reburied at some other cemetery, possibly North End. There were several slate stones which Mr. Wilcox as well as his daughter Miss Dora Wilcox, both remember of seeing. Mr. Wilcox says afterwards the fortune failed to materialize, but the stones had been moved, and of course remained in the new location. In the cemetery on Morgan Ave. were also buried colored people and a few poor residents of the district. Perhaps as many as thirty originally. There are now no readable stones. The burial ground is on the east side of Morgan Ave. and is bounded on the north by a ledge of rocks jutting towards the road. It may be of interest to add that a stone in the King burying ground on Hartford Ave., Johnston, R.I. says John Viall died Dec. 18, 1831, aged 75y 7m 6d. Mr. Wilcox's house, where he lived many years (it being purchased by his father as may appear of record) was almost next to the Viall school house which has been demolished or removed these last few years. The latter was used for school purposes for the last time when the writer attended there in 1893, previous to the occupation of the new Thornton schoolhouse, about "Columbus Day." To the south of the cemetery on the hill is a stone wall which is one of the limits of the graveyard and runs from Morgan Ave. over the hill towards Providence. Perhaps the wall which is now simply a bound between the meadow and woodland of Wm. Whitaker, who purchased it of Mr. Israel Wilcox, may have been originally a division line or something similar."
Groups Meet At J.H.S. Museum
Two local groups have recently met at the museum. The first was the Roger Williams Family Association, which met here in September. About 25 members toured the Elijah Angell House and the museum. Louis McGowan then presented a slide show featuring area views.
The second group to visit us was a local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. They came during October, and, again, Louis presented a slide show to them.
Officers Switch Positions
At our September 2002 general meeting a switch in positions for two of our officers was approved by a vote of the members present. Pat Macari, after serving since the 1980s as our Vice-President, has agreed to take over the duties of Treasurer. Our thanks go out to Pat for always being there for our society. He also served as Acting-President from 1990, when our last President resigned, to 1996 when our next President was elected.
Dan Brown, our out-going Treasurer, will take over as Vice-President. Dan has very ably handled the books since 1996, when we pretty much re-formed our group. The society thanks him for his care and attention to our books.
Due to all the activity that we have been involved in the last few years, we have not had an election in quite some time. We did vote at a past general meeting to postpone elections. Well, it is time to get back on track and hold elections. We will hold an election of officers and trustees in the spring. We will be sending you a notice before the election. A search committee will be chosen and nominations will also be accepted from the floor on election night.
JHS Participates in State-Wide Open House of Historic Properties
On October 27, 2002, our society participated in a State-wide open house of historic properties to support the 2nd Bond Issue in the November election. That bond issue will provide money for restoration of historic properties from around Rhode Island. Over 80 historic sites were open that day. Pat Macari, Dan Brown, Louis McGowan, and Steve Merolla were present from 1 to 4 p.m. to show people around our museum buildings. We had 20 visitors, which was typical of the smaller properties like ours. Visitors were quite excited about our museum.
The Pen-Knife Murder
By Steve Merolla
The cemetery committee has visited over 100 burial grounds throughout the town of Johnston over the past several years. While we have cleaned and recorded data in these cemeteries, we seldom have knowledge of the personal stories of these early residents of our town. One exception is Cemetery #68, the Rhodes cemetery. It is located in the woods about 1,000 feet in back of the house at 704 Greenville Avenue. This cemetery is a bit unusual. Encompassing an area of about 15 feet by 15 feet, it is surrounded by a chest high stonewall without an entranceway. The grave markers themselves are only crude fieldstones with no inscriptions. The owner of the property, Dr. Anthony Barone, provided the Society with an interesting letter several years ago that indicated that there might be a murder victim buried within Cemetery #68. The letter was written by Charles W. Farnham of 140 Brown Street in Providence to a Mrs. Owen. The letter reads in part:
Dear Mrs. Owen,
Here are a few items about Reuben Rhodes and the homestead that might interest you. Reuben was the son of William Rhodes of Johnston. He died November 10, 1840, after an altercation with his cousin, Richard Mathewson, on October 31, in which James inflicted a wound with a .25-cent penknife. It penetrated Reuben's groin and proved fatal. James was indicted for the murder of Reuben in Supreme Court and the case was tried before a grand jury, which found him not guilty and discharged him.
The story I had was that James was living upstairs in your house and at the height of a quarrel with Reuben, threw his pocket knife, which unfortunately struck Reuben in a vital spot...
Mr. Farnham did not believe that the cemetery contained the remains of the Rhodes family, but rather earlier owners of the property. The letter is not dated, and we do not know how or why Mr. Farnham became acquainted with the Reuben Rhodes story. While conducting research on a house for the Society's plaque program, I had reason to study the Rhodes family. On April 1, 1807, William Rhodes purchased a 75-acre farm situated along present-day Greenville Avenue from Squire Paine for $2,000 [Johnston Deeds 3/256]. Between 1811 and 1828, his son Reuben purchased a further 23 acres that adjoined his father's property. An outstanding research source on the Rhodes family was located in the Rhode Island Historical Society library. It is titled Rhodes Genealogy (1959), written by George McKenzie Roberts [CS 71 R475 1959], pages 69-72. This work contains details of the Reuben Rhodes story that clarify aspects of the Charles Farnham letter. Roberts wrote that William Rhodes and his wife had two children, one of whom died young. Being the only living heir, Reuben inherited the nearly 100-acre farm that his father owned. Roberts researched the case of the State of R.I. vs. Richard Mathewson for the murder of Rueben Rhodes. The case was heard at the March 1841 term of the Supreme Judicial Court:
Be it remembered... that Richard Mathewson, Labourer, on October 31, 1840, with force and arms at Johnston aforesaid, in and upon one Reuben Rhodes... feloniously, willfully, and of his malice aforethought did make an assault and that the said Richard with a certain knife of the value of .25 cents which he the said Richard Mathewson in his right hand then and there held, him the said Reuben Rhodes in and upon the right side of the belly of him the said Reuben Rhodes between the naval and the right groin... did strike, thrust, stab, and penetrate... giving the said Reuben Rhodes one mortal wound of the breadth of one inch and of the depth of two inches, and penetrating one of the intestines... of which said mortal wound he the said Reuben Rhodes... did languish... until November 14, 1840,... of the aforesaid mortal wound he died.
On the 13th and 17th days of the March term, Richard Mathewson was brought before the Court and pled not guilty. He was brought to trial in front of a jury of 12, and after hearing the evidence, they brought the following verdict: "We find that the said Richard Mathewson is not guilty in manner and form as charged in his Indictment." The verdict was accepted by the Court and he was discharged. Many of the neighbors were called as witnesses, including James Olney, Paris Mathewson, Nathaniel Sweet, James Mathewson, Stephen Belknap, Ester Thurber, Silas Thurber, and William Mathewson. It would have been interesting to study the testimony that cleared Mr. Mathewson, but this was not provided in the report. Mr. Roberts felt that Richard Mathewson and Reuben Rhodes lived together in the same house and that the two were related because Reuben's mother may have been a Mathewson.
The 1840 Census lists 1 female (age 30-40) and 1 male (age 50-60) living in the house. It is not known who the female was, for Reuben was not known to have married or to have had any direct descendants in town. On his deathbed, November 5, 1840, Reuben made out his will. In it, he left nearly the entire estate to the oldest male heir, his uncle John Rhodes of Corinth, New York. On page 69 of the Rhodes Genealogy, Mr. Roberts writes further: "These tracts of land... seem to have constituted what has been known for well over 100 years as the Reuben Rhodes farm. His dwelling house still stands, is in good condition, and is now (1958) owned by Mrs. Albert Owen, 704 Greenville Avenue... Somewhat to the rear (west) of this property, in a rather wild tract of land, there is an old cemetery wherein it is believed that Reuben Rhodes and members of his family are buried."
Two unanswered questions remain from the Ruben Rhodes story. Who is buried in the cemetery, and what happened to the Rhodes house? I believe it is quite probable that Reuben and possibly his mother and father are buried in the cemetery under the three unmarked stones. A research of the statewide cemetery database revealed that neither William nor Reuben is buried under a marked stone anywhere else in the state. The physical aspect of the cemetery may also hold a clue. Many cemeteries that have either stone wall or granite post enclosures have room to spare for many more burials. However, the Rhodes cemetery is quite small, with just enough room to accommodate the burials that are present, with no room for any other interments. Even more odd, the stone wall surrounding the cemetery has no opening to allow entrance, seeming to suggest that this cemetery would never again be used. I think this suggests a sense of finality, that this branch of the Rhodes family was now extinct. Reuben's parents were dead, he was the only surviving child, and he left no heirs. There would no longer be need to bury any more of the Rhodes family in that burial ground. In fact, the heirs sold off the farm in pieces, ending possession of the property by the Rhodes family. It is possible that neighbors or relatives built the unbroken wall around the cemetery or filled in the entranceway after Reuben's burial. When James Arnold visited this cemetery in June, 1891, he reported that the three graves were those of Rueben, his sister, and another, who was unknown. In his report, Arnold stated that Reuben was a bachelor and that he had been killed in his house. Undoubtedly, some of the neighbors informed Mr. Arnold of the story, and since his visit was only 50 years after the murder, the report that Reuben was buried in the cemetery is probably true. The only discrepancy is the account of the sister being buried in the cemetery. The Rhodes Geneology stated that Reuben's only other sibling had died young, but if that were so, she would have been buried in another part of town.
The second question concerns the Reuben Rhodes house. The Rhodes Genealogy states that in 1958, the house was standing and in good condition. It is possible that the structure survived into the 1960s, well within the memory of many people reading this article. If anyone knows the fate of the old house that stood in the vicinity of 702-704 Greenville Avenue, please pass along the information to the Society.
2002 Champlin Grant Granted for Restoration of Belknap School
We have just received word (November 2002) that the Champlin Foundations has funded the restoration of the exterior of the Belknap School. Naturally, we were very excited to hear this great news. The total amount of the grant is $79,000. The work required for this project is considerable. There will be a new roof installed as well as some repair to the rafters. Some extensive repair is required in the north-west corner of the building. Many of the clapboards will need to be replaced as well as the front doors. The small ell will be covered with new siding so it will blend in with the rest of the building. The belfry will be opened up and the front stairs will be repaired. The whole structure will be scraped and painted.
A lot of work is needed, but it is important that we save this treasure. It is the last remaining one room schoolhouse in the town that is not in private hands and being lived in. There are a number of people in the town who went to school here in the 1930s, and we will be collecting their memories about life at the Belknap School.
We will be applying for funding for the restoration of the interior at a future date. In the meantime we will be collecting artifacts for the museum that will be housed in the school. If you have anything for the school that you would like to donate, sell, or let us borrow, please let us know. We would especially like to have items that are from the school.
Lastly, of course, we would like to thank the Champlin Foundations for their trust in presenting us with this grant. They have been vital to our preservation efforts over the past few years.
By-Laws Changes
At our December 4, 2002, General Meeting, the membership unanimously approved two changes to our by-laws. The first change involved term limits for our officers. In 1986 we had added a clause to our existing by-laws. This added clause stated that officers could serve no more than two consecutive, one-year terms. In our original by-laws, as drawn up in the 1970, there was no term limit. The approved change merely deleted the 1986 clause.
The second change approved that night was to add two more trustees to our executive board. We will now have a total of four trustees on our board. I will appoint temporarily two people to these positions. We will vote in permanent trustees, as well as the whole slate of officers, when we hold our annual election in the spring of 2003.
Annual Holiday Party
On Sunday, Dec. 16, 2002, about 20 members and guests attended our annual holiday party. The barn looked very festive and we had a fine time socializing. Thanks go out to Bel Peters for all her help in decorating the building and also to Dan & Nancy Brown and Pat Macari for picking up supplies for the party. Thanks also to all who attended and brought items to consume and to Rolf Johnson for treating us to his holiday mead.
2002 Senate Grant
On December 16, 2002, Senator Joseph Polisena presented us with a $1000 Senate Grant check to reproduce old photographs for our collection. We would like to copy a number of early 20th century photographs from the Providence Journal Archives. Our sincerest thanks go our to Senator Polisena for his efforts in securing this grant for us.
Our Executive Board:
President: Louis McGowan
Vice-President: Dan Brown
Treasurer: Pat Macari
Recording Sec.: Evelyn Beaumier
Corresponding Sec.: Mike Carroll
Trustee: Steve Merolla
Trustee: Everett Cogswell
Our Executive Board meets at 7:00 p.m. in the Museum building, 101 Putnam Pike, on the second to the last Wednesday of each month, September through June (Except December). All are welcome to attend.
General Meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. the last Wednesday of each month, September through June (no December meeting. We have our Holiday Party that month). The meetings are held in the Museum Building. Our phone # is: (401) 231-3380.
Annual Dues
Have you paid your 2003 dues yet? Help us to defray the costs of producing this newsletter. The price is still the same: $10.00 for a single membership and $12.00 for a family membership.
Name: ______________________________________
Address:____________________________________
____________________________________________.
Single ($10) _____ New ____
Family ($12) _____ Renewal ____
Come Visit the Museum!
Don't forget—your donations to the Johnston Historical Society can be deducted from your taxes. We are registered with the Federal Government as a non-profit organization.
Johnston Historical Society, 101 Putnam Pike, Johnston, RI 02919, (401) 231-3380, info@johnstonhistorical.org
Unless otherwise noted, all content is © 2006 Johnston Historical Society.
Posted May 2006