Dr. Sterling: "If you name your town after me, I'll build you a library"…read more Town: "Sounds like a great deal, we accept" (Fast Forward) He never built the library, but amazingly the settlement still named it's town "Sterling". That's one pretty interesting nugget I took away from this marker. Another was the word "pyroligneous" which I had to look up to see it means - it's some sort of a liquid released when wood is heated and its used as an anti-microbial or sterilizing agent. This two-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission has the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It's located on the front lawn of the Sterling Municipal building and was dedicated in 1980. The marker is in pretty good condition with the start of minor chipping on the reverse side. The full inscription reads: Originally part of the long narrow area called Voluntown, this northern section separated and obtained town privileges form the Connecticut General Assembly on the second Thursday of May 1794. The name given was that of a temporary resident, Dr John Sterling, who had promised the Town a library in return for the honor. Dr Sterling failed to make good his promise, but a library was obtained by soliciting private donations. The first town meeting was held on June 9, 1794 at the home of Robert Dixon on Sterling Hill. The first post office was established as Sterling on October 1, 1809, the name later being changed to Sterling Hill. The American Manufacturing Company, also known as Potter's Factory, was the first cotton mill in Sterling. It was situated on Quandock River about the year 1800, followed by the sterling Manufacturing Company on the Moosup River in 1808. Side Two Local industrialist William Pike pioneered in using chlorine as a bleaching agent for cloth and also established for the use of the dyer distilleries or sapworks that would extract the first pyroligneous acid made in this country. His son James discovered a process of coloring with a fast black that was superior to any then in use. With the advent of the first railroad in 1854, which connected Providence with Hartford, this made the distribution of materials much easier than before and contributed to the economic base of Sterling. Oneco, as it is known today, was named after Owaneco, son of the Mohegan Indian sachem Uncas, who had claimed ownership of large tracts of eastern Connecticut land in early colonial days. About the year 1820 Henry Sabin build a cotton factory here and named the village Sabinville. Smith and Williams began quarrying granite in this vicinity in the 1850's, an industry that is still active Erected by the Town of Sterling, the Sterling Historical Society and the Connecticut Historical Commission 1980

Mayor Vincent Cianci chose Veterans Day, November 11, 1981, to dedicate the City's memorial to the…read morefallen servicemen and women of Wrold War II, Korea and Vietnam. This memorial is situated just steps from 15 LaSalle Square along Hasbro place at the convergence of Empire, Fountain and Sabin Streets is a large monument that consists of 12 granite stones, 8 granite benches, 3 poles displaying the flags of the United States, Rhode Island, and Providence, and a large circular granite planter all surrounded by a concrete and brick plaza outside of the Hasbro Inc. administration building. It is a nice peaceful place where many locals, visitors and downtown workers take time for lunch, brunch, a break or just a stroll. Located just across from AMP (Amica Mutual Pavilion, former Dunkin Donuts center), it is seen and visited by thousands of people every week.

In the early 20th century, the Providence river was largely covered by the Crawford Street Bridge…read more It earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's widest bridge, extending upstream for about 1,150 feet, or nearly a quarter mile. This bridge largely hid the river from view in downtown Providence, which was probably all well and good considering that the smell of sewage in the river back in those days.... The massive original Crawford Street Bridge, was demolished in the late 1980s, reintroducing the city to the long-hidden river as part of an urban revitalization project. Today, the river is spanned by a series of smaller, more ornate bridges and this new and improved Crawford Street Bridge is a beautiful example of the beauty of the downtown area.

An Indian Chief with the outstanding name of "Allumps" sold the site of present day Plainfield to…read moretwo brothers in 1653. The marker describes Allumps as a "renegade chief". I wonder if his possibly less than eloquent name made him somewhat antisocial and perhaps paved the way for his renagedeness? Anyway, the text of this marker isn't exactly riveting. It touches on local geography, schools, churches, industry, and economy. I've seen a lot of similar markers that deliver a lot more oomph or interesting nuggets. This two-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission has the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It's located on the front lawn of the First Congregational Church on Norwich Road. The marker is in pretty good condition -the front side is in very good shape with some fading and streaking on the reverse side..

Yep, it's a big-arse dam. No where to park. I think this is one of those parks you're just supposed…read moreto drive by.

A whole lot of…read morewater Gainer Memorial Dam is a big dam. That's pretty obvious to even the most casual observer. It's 3,000 feet long, 110 feet high, and holds back almost 40 billion gallons of water. The reservoir behind the damn contains over 60% of the state's water supply. It the dam decided to break, the ground would be flooded for over twenty miles in all directions. Yep, it's a big dam that has impressive views of the reservoir and woods around it. There's some hiking trails around the reservoir but many are unmarked and go off into all directions. Still a fun place to get lost, although in the snowy weather finding a place to park is really hard because most of the parking areas aren't plowed. When the dam was completed in 1925 it was considered an engineering marvel. It has been inspected many times over the years and although modern construction methods weren't used when it was built, it is said to be able to withstand a direct hit by an earthquake up to magnitude 5.0. I guess the towns around the massive old dam just have to hope a magnitude 5.1 doesn't hit the area.

Thompson was the home of the Vernon Stiles Inn, a popular stopover for travelers moving between…read moreBoston, Hartford, Providence and Springfield. Other than that, there isn't a lot of scintillating info here. This is a 2-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It's located on a very nice Town Green at the corner of Thompson Road and Thompson Hill Road. The marker was dedicated in 1975. The front side is in pretty good condition, while the reverse is showing quite a bit of fading in the blue background.

The worker is there some of them are very ignorant and rude and snappers and then when they send…read moreyou letters instead of just saying exactly what they need they have to add more to it to make you feel some type of way very unprofessional

I was born and raised in the Ocean State. I lived there for 29 years. This state will always be…read morehome. Most of my family and friends still live there. I thought it was a great place to live; it's definitely not perfect and has its issues. RI is the smallest state in the US. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the North & East and Connecticut to the West. There are about 1.1 million people living there. The capital city is Providence. There are five counties, 31 towns, and 8 cities. Rhode Island is definitely rich with history. Providence has tons of restaurants and nightlife. It is home to some notable colleges and universities such as Rhode Island College, Brown University, RISD, and JWU. It's very historic and I love the East side; Thayer St., and Wickenden St. Newport is home to the gilded mansions, a historic downtown, and was a playground to the wealthy. Narragansett and most towns in South County has beautiful beaches and fresh seafood everywhere. Make a stop at the Towers, go to Galilee for fish and chips from Champlins; or buy lobster, fish, and crabs from the fish market or straight off the fishing boats. Block Island is a vacation destination; beaches and small island vibes. The western part of the state is more rural and full of forests. There are plenty of parks and trails. The Narragansett bay and Atlantic Ocean are great spots to go boating and sailing in the summer. The popular food items are wieners, clam cakes, chowder, pizza strips, Del's lemonade, coffee milk, and Italian food, to name a few. I deducted a star because I don't think it's well run; there is no fiscal solvency there. I remember seeing so many potholes that lasts years and years in my neighborhood; I'm definitely blaming the city governments for that too; our tax dollars were not being used to it's fullest. Other than that, I do enjoy visiting, not sure about living in it again though.

I went to school for Criminal Justice, and have always tended to be pro-police even though I'm also…read morean ACLU member. I recently completed a Citizens Police Academy here and even with the strong background I have it still was a refreshing experience. The few bad apples really tarnish what is a 99% good people. I would encourage anyone even those that are anti-police to attend their next academy, and see what steps and practices they employ to help eliminate bias and discrimination before and during their time within the job. The academy as a whole is a truly enlightening experience.

I had called the Rhode Island state police Hope valley barracks spoke to Trooper Lepre for a civil…read morematter and this trooper was a very friendly and willing person to help me with my situation ! In my opinion he went far and beyond what he needed to do to help us with our situation with the utmost respect for our situation and that is hard to find nowadays with anybody not just the police ! Respect goes a long way and this gentleman showed the utmost respect for us and I believe five stars is a shame because he deserves much more than that ! I am grateful to say that he works for our state police in Rhode Island and grateful to know that he'll be there if we need him thank you again Trooper Lepre