Perfect day for a cemetary stroll. Very peaceful with some graves dating to the 1800s. The tower is…read morerather impressive. Would love to see it's twin in Ireland some day.

AN ABSOLUTELY MUST DO! A FREE EVENT & FREE PARKING! This is one of the Secret Hidden Gems of…read moreAmerica that most people have never heard of or been to before, If you love Castles, Towers & the Fairytale Rapunzel or the Disney movie Tangled then you'll be excited about our journey today. It's Time to jump into The TimeMobile & scour the Earth & take you to places from a different time that you won't believe still exist. We have set the dial to the 1890's in the town of Milford MA about an hour outside of Boston. We've landed at this Beautiful Irish Round Tower that conjures up images from a bygone era. The Tower looks like it has been plucked from medieval times from thousands of miles across the Pond in Ireland. IT IS BEAUTIFUL! Father Patrick Cuddihy envisioned an Irish Round Tower as the centerpiece of a new cemetery when the land was purchased in 1890 for the Catholics of Saint Mary's Parish in Milford. Travelers from all over the globe spend thousands of dollars & travel to Ireland to see The Irish Round Towers. There is one Irish Tower in particular called The Devenish round tower & is located in County Fermanagh on an island located on Lower Lough Erne Lake. The Round Irish Tower in Milford is almost an exact replica with the same look, design & height as the The Devenish Tower in Ireland. It is made out of Granite from the Milford quarry. It stands tall over the graves of thousands of Irish immigrants who were buried in the cemetery. They are laid to rest in an Irish setting that mimics the architecture & land of Ireland. You might wonder why did Fr. Cuddihy build this tower? The answer can be found in his obituary "It may be folly - yet when you and I have passed away, the Irish in America will make a pilgrimage to the Irish Round Tower at Milford." Now although it was very popular in its day this has now fallen completely under the radar. Now just about everyone has heard of the German Fairy Tale Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm, but have no idea that a Rapunzel like Tower even exists here in America. The Milford Round Tower was the only one of its kind in the whole USA for decades & only a few Irish Towers in the whole world even exist outside of Ireland. In 2003 The Tower at Castleton Lyons Farm was built in Kentucky to be an exact replica of the round tower at the Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary Ireland. So now there are 2 Irish Round Towers in the US. The Milford one is well over a hundred years older than the one in Kentucky. It represents a unique granite architectural wonder that pays tribute to Father Cuddihy vision of an Irish Tower in America without going overseas. The 1978 East German stamps of Rapunzel look just like the Devenish Tower in Ireland & the one in Milford MA. I have posted the stamp pictures for you to see too. Just so you know the door to the Tower is locked so you can't venture to the top! In addition, behind the Irish round tower there is a small pond & benches with pine trees in the background that makes a peaceful place to pray, meditate & explore the grounds. On the other side there is a mysterious cave like structure that resembles a catacomb. Across the street there is a public park and free parking. You really wouldn't expect to see an Irish Round Tower or a Rapunzel Tower at a cemetery, but that's where it is - a True Hidden Gem. To make it really worth your trip in the area check out The Moon Tree a tree that went to the Moon & The Largest Rosary Beads in the World both in Holliston. All of these are Freebies as well. It used to be, you had to have Mega Bucks & be really Rich to have the Good Life, not anymore. The Game has changed. You've been Upgraded. Now You Can Live Like a King on a Limited Budget!

People are friendly here. It's easy to pay your taxes or get papers notarized. The parking is ok…read more It could be bigger but space is limited.

A unique piece of local history! This tower structure dates to the early 19th century and is…read morebelieved to have been used as a well that collected rainwater to use in the mansion that it was attached too. The tower was moved and restored at its current location after the original building it was part of burnt down in the 1980s. The small central district of Millville is listed on the historical register with the tower as the artifact.

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.

Are elephants native to North America? Of course not, someone had to bring them here…read more In 1822, a show biz promoter named Hachaliah Bailry brought an elephant named Betty (or by her stage name "Little Bett") to America. Some accounts say she was the second elephant brought to the US. Little Bett was a sensation and played at carnivals and circuses up and down the East coast. Unfortunately, on May 25, 1826, as Betty was walking across a bridge in Rhode Island, she was gunned down in cold blood by a gang of hooligans. To remember the 150th anniversary of Betty's arrival in Elephant Heaven the Rhode Island General Assembly proclaimed May 25, 1976 "Elephant Day". This bronze commemorative plaque was dedicated on the bridge to note the very spot where Little Bett was blown away. The plaque is inscribed: MAY 25, 1826 - MAY 25, 1976 DIVERSE HANDS FIRED UPON BETTY ONE OF AMERICA'S FIRST ELEPHANTS AT THE NORTH END OF THE RUSTIC SPAN THAT ARCHED CHEPACHET RIVER GIVEN IN OBSERVATION OF THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EVENT BY RICHMOND AND EDNA KENT

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.

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.

According to Wikipedia, The Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park is a 1,000 acre state…read morepark managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The Blackstone River and Valley is where the industrial revolution was born in America. Toward the middle of the park you will find The River Bend Farm Visitor Center with access to canoeing, fishing, trails, and snowmobiling or cross-country skiing. If you walk southerly on the beautiful canal walkway, you arrive at the historic Stanley Woolen Mill, currently being redeveloped into offices and shops. The Stanley Woolen Mill is the common name applied to a defunct company based in southeastern Massachusetts and to the company's buildings. The Stanley Woolen Mill is the centerpiece of the Central Woolen Mills District which is part of the National Historic Register. There is a plaque at the end of the canal walkway which provides historical information about the mill. The mill is made of wood and brick, and is an interesting, though hardly spectacular structure. That said, there are some very cool views from the canal bridge, and great walking, canoeing and biking trails in the park. There is a public parking lot if you want to begin your hike here, a nice antique shop in the mill, and you can catch bass and carp in the canal here or near the visitor center.

OK, so I'm a cottonheadedninnymuggins. We love covered bridges. We've visited them in NH, VT, IA…read moreand more, and it actually never occurred to us to look in RI for any! Luckily, taking an 'avoid highways' trip we passed the sign in Foster pointing the way to this bridge and since then we have found out there are several, easily accessible, covered bridges in state. Although none of them are the original structures, they are still works of craftmanship and remind of times past. This bridge is just out of sight of the main road. At the time of our visit the roads had been stripped down to dirt and there seemed to be some excavating work going on. Not sure how long it's been like that or how long it will last, but it did not look like a 'new' occurrance. It spans a small creek, at when we visited in the summer it was surrounded by lush greenery making any path to the water impassable. There is a home right next to the bridge and aside from lurkers like us, looks like an idyllic spot for a home. Just before the bridge there is a spot to pull off the road while you take your photos and get a closer look. The road is in use as we had a couple of vehicles pass us while we were exploring the bridge. We did not have enough to turn around an followed the GPS back to the main road we had just come off, further up the route. If you enjoy exploring covered bridges, this is a quick stop along your route and a lovely photo op.

Covered bridge in Foster, RI. Perfect to view during Fall if you want to see beautiful fall…read morefoliage. I came here today and missed peak foliage by about a week! Most of the trees surrounding the bridge no longer had any leaves. However, the drive to the covered bridge was perfect! There were a ton of beautiful trees near the water, Barden Reservoir. I suggest stopping by the water because the views are beautiful! (About ten minutes before the bridge.) Although I was a bit disappointed when I got to the bridge due to lack of fall foliage, the drive more than made up for it--very peaceful with great views.