The Elijah Angell House, 101 Putnam Pike
Photo by Fred Mikklesen.
Elijah Angell, a local stonecutter, built this two-story farmhouse around 1825. Elijah was the son of Olney and Sarah Angell, whose fifty-acre farm was located just to the northwest. Elijah’s house was later lived in by the Collins and Farnum families and eventually was sold to the town in 1972. The Johnston Historical Society acquired the property in 1984. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In recent years the house has been restored, and the first floor has been set up as a house museum with period New England furnishings. This building and the reproduction barn on the back of the property together constitute the Johnston History Museum. Open hours for visiting are maintained in the warmer months, and the museum is open by appointment all year. Call (401) 231-3380.

The Museum Barn, 101 Putnam Pike
Photo by Fred Mikklesen.
The Museum Barn is a modern, post and beam, reproduction of the type of barn that might have once been part of the Elijah Angell property. The first floor houses a collection of artifacts relating to the town’s history. Most of the artifacts are displayed in cases, while larger pieces are mounted on the walls. A broad sampling of objects is on display, ranging from eighteenth century documents to nineteenth century maps to twentieth century advertising pieces. The building is also used for our general meetings, held on the last Wednesday of each month, except for July, August, and December.

The Belknap School, Greenville Avenue
Photo by Christopher Martin.
The current Belknap School building, located on Greenville Avenue in the village of Belknap, stands on the site of an earlier structure that was probably the oldest school building in Johnston. It was a subscriber’s school, which meant that only the people who paid for the school and its upkeep could send their children there. Gradually things changed and free education for all became the norm in Rhode Island; in the 1790s Belknap School became the local public school. By 1892, though, the school was sadly in need of replacement. The present building was constructed in that year, and it served the little village (Johnston School District #8) until the late 1930s as a one-room school. After the school closed, the building served as a village center and then was deeded to the local American Legion post to be used as their meeting hall. By the time the twenty-first century rolled around, the building had seen better days. The town deeded the old school to the Johnston Historical Society and we sought funding to restore the building. A generous grant from the Champlin Foundations allowed us to complete a restoration of the exterior in 2004. From the outside, the building looks just as it did when it opened in 1892.

The interior, however, is still in need of restoration. We would like to be able to take school groups through the building, showing them how their ancestors were educated 100 years ago. To that end we have started a drive to garner funds for the work. We need $100,000 to bring the interior back to its original look and to fix up the grounds. If you would like to help us in any way with this campaign, please let us know. Your assistance is very much needed.