Great place for your kids to play - and in my opinion ... kept very clean to boot…read more It's got the basics your kids can have fun on, my friend and I bring her kids here often.

We had planned a visit today with a small group of friends and family members and to be honest, we…read moredidn't really know what to expect. We were immediately impressed with how beautiful the grounds were, there were lots of beautiful flowers, magnificent water views, and abundant charm. We had an amazing time touring the house and grounds. Our guide, Maggie, was excellent, she shared interesting details and told the story of the Smith-Appleby family with humor and pride. We were most impressed at the sustainability of the homestead and how it has served this family for nearly 300 years. It was an absolute privilege to spend time here and we felt very fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend the morning touring the buildings and grounds, including a visit to the family cemetery at the front on the property. Tours cost $5 per person and a yearly membership is only $20.

I've always seen the sign on the highway, so last weekend I just happened to look up what their…read morehours were... sure enough, the next tour being held was the next day... Sunday. They give tours the third Sunday of the month from 1 - 4 , so plan accordingly! It was a beautiful day... I have to say the grounds are lovely. What a great place to just enjoy a short stroll. My son enjoyed picking up sticks and poking around the small stream that runs down from the road. We also took a look at the graveyard with all the old stones. The house itself is very interesting with a few things I'd never seen before. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. Everyone there was very welcoming and we just had a really nice afternoon... my son ,who is 7, really enjoyed it as well. A great local place to visit, especially on a nice day. I'll be back to check out some of the events that they hold periodically.

This is a large Visitor Center located on Main St in Pawtucket. It's mainly focused for those…read morewanting to learn more or wanting to visit Slater Mill. The amount of information on the textile revolution is large and they have a 15 min video on the subject. Wendy was very nice and helpful showing me the various brochures and books highlighting the tourist attractions in the area....There are about 10,000 historical sites between Providence and Worcester related to textile mill history....just amazing.... Slater Mill (1793) was the first successful water-powered cotton spinning mill in the United States and the first property to be added to the National Register of Historic Places (November 1966). For more than two centuries, people have transformed Slater Mill. These workers have changed the meaning of the mill, from a place for making thread to a place for learning about the consequences of industry....so learning about all that history which was key for our country, was really interesting.... This site is part of the National Park service, so if you want a stamp for your collection, you can ask for it and they will gladly stamp your book for you.

A cultural treasurer that I never knew existed. I always knew the building was there, but the…read morestories of the history of RI written on the walls was very surprising to me. The space can be used for events and open to the public for learning and community engagement.

Benefit Street is a nice little walk and The Shunned House is a sweet little surprise. What I like…read moreabout The Shunned House is that you would have NO CLUE that this house was significant amongst the others in the surrounding areas. The armory down the street stands out a lot more than the lil house that HPLovecraft wrote about. Still it's a great side trip that will only take seconds out of your day if you are in or around the colleges in the area. This is obviously a residence and they have since named the house after someone but you can see the wall that used to be used as the front of the house and the descriptions stand strong in Lovecraft's writing. No big deal but I liked being there and seeing it.

I was going to write about this curiousity, but I realized I couldn't do any better than what…read morebrought me in the first place: "The house was--and for that matter still is--of a kind to attract the attention of the curious. Originally a farm or semi-farm building, it followed the average New England colonial lines of the middle eighteenth century--the prosperous peaked-roof sort, with two stories and dormerless attic, and with the Georgian doorway and interior panelling dictated by the progress of taste at that time. It faced south, with one gable end buried to the lower windows in the eastward rising hill, and the other exposed to the foundations toward the street. Its construction, over a century and a half ago, had followed the grading and straightening of the road in that especial vicinity; for Benefit Street--at first called Back Street--was laid out as a lane winding amongst the graveyards of the first settlers, and straightened only when the removal of the bodies to the North Burial Ground made it decently possible to cut through the old family plots. "At the start, the western wall had lain some twenty feet up a precipitous lawn from the roadway; but a widening of the street at about the time of the Revolution sheared off most of the intervening space, exposing the foundations so that a brick basement wall had to be made, giving the deep cellar a street frontage with door and two windows above ground, close to the new line of public travel. When the sidewalk was laid out a century ago the last of the intervening space was removed; and Poe in his walks must have seen only a sheer ascent of dull grey brick flush with the sidewalk and surmounted at a height of ten feet by the antique shingled bulk of the house proper. "The farm-like grounds extended back very deeply up the hill, almost to Wheaton Street. The space south of the house, abutting on Benefit Street, was of course greatly above the existing sidewalk level, forming a terrace bounded by a high bank wall of damp, mossy stone pierced by a steep flight of narrow steps which led inward between canyon-like surfaces to the upper region of mangy lawn, rheumy brick walls, and neglected gardens whose dismantled cement urns, rusted kettles fallen from tripods of knotty sticks, and similar paraphernalia set off the weather-beaten front door with its broken fanlight, rotting Ionic pilasters, and wormy triangular pediment. "What I heard in my youth about the shunned house was merely that people died there in alarmingly great numbers. That, I was told, was why the original owners had moved out some twenty years after building the place. It was plainly unhealthy, perhaps because of the dampness and fungous growth in the cellar, the general sickish smell, the draughts of the hallways, or the quality of the well and pump water. These things were bad enough, and these were all that gained belief among the persons whom I knew. Only the notebooks of my antiquarian uncle, Dr. Elihu Whipple, revealed to me at length the darker, vaguer surmises which formed an undercurrent of folklore among old-time servants and humble folk; surmises which never travelled far, and which were largely forgotten when Providence grew to be a metropolis with a shifting modern population." H.P. Lovecraft, The Shunned House Be mindful that this is a private residence. Please be respectful.

We took a girls trip to RI over a long weekend and stayed at this quaint house. Local artists…read moredesign the wallpaper which is changed periodically. We found the house on Airbnb. Each room is unique and very adorable. We couldn't stop gushing about it. They offer snacks downstairs throughout the day and provide a delicious breakfast in the morning. There is free parking but also within walking distance to several delicious bakeries and coffee shops. I hope to stay here again if I'm in the area.

Great place to stay in Providence! Anna and the staff were excellent. They served us the best…read moreFrench press coffee we've ever had. Breakfast got us to a great start everyday. We highly recommend this b&b.

This is another piece of contemporary art made by Boris Bally, a local legend in our state. This is…read morea significant statement, one of many made by this creative, thoughtful person. Many of Boris' pieces are made from discards, including his repurposed street signs.

Standing 12 feet tall in front of Providence's Federal Courthouse is this unusual monument…read moreconstructed out of steel, concrete, and used handguns. The "Gun Totem" was constructed in 2001 with guns from a firearm buy-back program in Pittsburgh. Altogether, more than 1,000 guns went into the construction of the pillar, which was commissioned by the Providence Parks Department. All of the guns included in the project were disabled and fossilized beneath concrete, and bits of the pillar were chipped away so people could see the deadly layer beneath the its exterior. This is a monument for all who want peace and want to trade in their guns to make a permanent symbol of harmony and amity.

The proper name of this terrific eleven foot tall statue is "Liberty Arming the Patriot" and it's…read morewhat is known as a "dynamic" statue- meaning it conveys action or thought. The statue shows Lady Liberty convincing a farmer to step away from his plow, accept the sword she offers him, and go off to join the war effort. It freezes the pivotal turning point in this young man's life as he transitions from a citizen into a soldier, willing to serve his country in a time of need. The memorial was added to the Registery of Historic Places in 2001. The base has three engraved plates showing an artillery battery, and two female figures representing History and Eternity. A plaque on the base is in very poor condition, but I researched the inscription and learned that it reads: In Grateful Recognition Of The Valiant And Self-Sacrificing Service To Their Country Of All Persons Who Went From Pawtucket And It Vicinity To Join The Forces Of The United States During The Civil War. And Especially To The Memory Of Those Who Suffered And Died In That Service. This Monument Is Erected By The Ladies Soldiers Memorial Association Of Pawtucket, Rhode Island And By Then Is Consecrated As An Everlasting Memorial Anno Domini 1897 You'll find the memorial in a small grassy triangle where Main Street, Park Place, and East Avenue all intersect.

This place is amazing. All the events that are done here are amazing well planned. Definitely going…read moreback for another event . Staff is super friendly and communication is great before days of the event . A must visit

It's Halloween eve and a rainy night. My 10 year old and I embarked on a Victorian mourning tour…read moreat Hearthside. When I booked the tickets I thought it was a good idea, turned out to be a GREAT idea! I grew up just a few miles away and have driven by Hearthside thousands of times (no lie I now drive by twice a day to get to work) and have never been inside. Tonight my intrigue has been fed. Beautiful house, restored and maintained nicely. The volunteers are knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions. They were well equipped with information not only about the house but also about a former resident who passed away inside and even more about Victorian mourning traditions. Our tour was 6:30pm so it added to the slightly eerie feel the night before Halloween, entering in dark. The tour group was kept small (about 9 of us) which I think was the perfect size to move about through the house but also to fit in the size of the rooms. The volunteers were all dressed in proper Victorian attire and the house was prepared for mourning and a wake. A few tips when visiting the house: 1. Contrary to my thought of it being an old house and probably a little cold, the heat was roaring inside. 2. There are stairs and touring this house requires a lot of standing 3. This specific tour does go into deep detail about embalming, not for the faint of heart 4. My daughter enjoyed the tour and understood almost everything with little explanation. I would say not suitable for kids under 10 years old. A beautiful house filled with people who very much care about the stories that lie within its deep history. Well worth visiting. RIP Simon Eddy Thornton.

most certainly -the- most unsettling cemetery i've ever been to. every so often footsteps would…read moreinterrupt the dead silence, only for no one to be around. unfortunately (or fortunately), the ghost of freddy fingernail failed to show.

A very very creepy…read moreplace There are lots of haunted and creepy places in Rhode Island. It's well known to paranormal investigators because of all the weird, old and bizarre houses, woods and of course graveyards. Of all the spooky places in the state perhaps the old Elder Ballou Cemetery has the reputation as being the creepiest of the creepy. All kinds of strange things have occurred and still occur here. Or so people say. The most consistent story is seeing some old fellow dressed in a grey suit walking around. He never says anything, just sort of appears and disappears and it seems like he is looking for something. Other people hear moans and cries of pains or see vague apparitions and faces appearing out of nowhere. Even people driving by of the road have stopped because they hear strange noises coming from the graveyard. What makes this place rather unique is that people see and hear things in the daylight and not just the dark of night. I have to admit I am quite skeptical of such things but this is definitely a really, really creepy place. It's sort of on a small rolling hill so it is hard to see and it has a nice variety of the morose and lugubrious gravestones, some worn virtually away while other old ones look almost brand new. Perhaps the creepiest thing are the "holding tombs". You just don't see them around anymore. These were crypts where the dead bodies were kept until the families could find the money, space or time to give the deceased a proper burial. Many now had bars in front of them. Not sure if there are to keep people out of keep something else in. No, I didn't see any ghosts or really see anything out of the ordinary except for a really creepy, old cemetery. The mosquitoes were really bad but I suspect they were real ones and not zombie mosquitoes. I remain extremely skeptical of ghosts and their kin but this is a very cool and historic place. One that is exceptional creepy and weird at the best of times and a place I would rather not be in the dark of night.