Self-Guided Walking Tour of Newport

Newport Historical Society © page 1 of 15

This tour touches on Newport’s 18

century economy, practice of religious toleration, politics and

the city’s diverse population – enslaved and free, during Newport’s colonial period.

**************************************************************************************************

Newport was founded in 1639 by religious dissidents who fled the Massachusetts Bay Colony to

create a society where religion did not define government. Newport’s first settlers agreed to

support religious tolerance, or what they called liberty of conscience. This revolutionary idea was

codified in the Colony of Rhode Island’s charter of 1663, granted by King Charles II. Written by

one of Newport’s founders, John Clarke, it stated that the colony was established: “To hold forth a

Lively Experiment that a most flourishing civil state may stand, yea and best be maintained… with

a full liberty in religious concernments… No person within the said colony… shall be in any wise

molested, punished, disquieted, or called in question, for any differences in opinion in matters of

religion.” With the Charter of 1663, Rhode Island’s experiment in religious freedom was not only

legal, but its colonial government was more democratic than that of any other American colony.

Newport’s active seaport and promise of religious freedom drew a diverse population to the

colonial city. By the mid-18

century there were at least 10 different faiths coexisting with each

other in Newport. By the time of the American Revolution, Newport was one of the five most

prosperous ports in the colonies boasting great wealth and culture in large part due to its diverse

community but also due to its strong participation in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Slavery and the slave trade under-girded the entire colonial and early federal economy in this

State, even after gradual emancipation laws made enslaved individuals rare here. Enslaved people

in the Rhode Island included Native peoples and people of African descent. At the same time that

there was a large population of enslaved people in Newport, there was also a growing number of

free people of color. People of African descent were as much as 25% of the population at times.

Enslaved people in the city of Newport generally lived in the same houses as the people who held

them captive, and also often worked at their businesses and worshipped at their churches (albeit

from the balcony). A large number of people of African descent in Newport were skilled laborers,

and many could read and write. Enslaved people in Newport engaged in creative survival

techniques that allowed them to find ways to exercise some control and agency in their lives.

More than a few found ways to obtain their freedom, often by buying themselves from their

owners.

Slavery ended in Newport based on a gradual emancipation process that protected the property

rights of owners as much as it sought to end an unjust institution. While several religious groups

– most notably the Quakers – fought for the end of slavery, the growing abolition movement was

also aided by a decline in the economic value of owning slaves after the American Revolution.

1) Bus Station/ Parking, 23 America’s Cup Avenue.

Newport Historical Society © page 2 of 15

2) Museum of Newport History & Shop at the Brick Market (1762), 127 Thames Street.

The Brick Market Building was designed by

Peter Harrison at the head of Long Wharf and

directly across the Parade from the Colony

House. It originally functioned as an open-air

market with merchants and offices on the

upper floors. It has had a varied history of use

over the past 245 years, including a printing

office, a theater, and Town Hall, and has also

been altered and renovated frequently over

the years. In the 18

century the Brick Market

and surrounding area was the center for

commercial activity, including import and

export related to the transatlantic trade.

Contrary to local lore, there is no documentary evidence suggesting that auctions of enslaved

people were held here (see site of the Great School House).

3) Site of the great School House on the Parade or Mall (now Washington Square)

The town school house or “great School House” was built

approximately in 1705 and burned in 1774. Records indicate that

a school was built on the Mall on a lot of approximately 50 by 60

feet long on the north side of Anne Street (now Touro Street),

and as far west as Prison Street (roughly where the statue of

Commodore Perry stands today). Newport’s economy was

strongly dependent on the trans-Atlantic slave trade whether

through shipping, goods bought and sold in support of the

trade, or directly through the buying, selling and ownership of

captive people. There are records of auctions taking place in

Newport, however the selling and purchasing of enslaved people

did not appear to have happened in one consistent location.

A 1715 advertisement in The Boston News-Letter announced the

public sale of several “Indians” and one “Negro Man.” The Great

School House predated the Colony House (1739) and the Brick

Market (1762), and with the exception of the Friends Meeting

House (1699) would have been the largest meeting or public

space in town at that time.

Newport Historical Society © page 3 of 15

In 1752 local merchant John Bannister advertised that he was selling recently arrived enslaved

Africans from the Gold Coast (most likely sold from his ship or on his wharf) and there are only

three Newport Mercury advertisements from 1758 until 1776 which indicate a public sale. One

such advertisement ran in the Mercury as: “To be sold, at public vendue, on the 9

day of August

next, at the house of John Gould, late of Middle-Town, deceased, seven Negroes, and some

household goods.” The more common method for acquiring slaves appears to have been to

“reserve” an enslaved person or persons, usually those who had already spent time in the West

Indies and knew some English.

4) Perry House, 29 Touro Street

This house was built for

Peter Buliod about 1750

but by 1760 had been

sold to Moses Levy a

prominent Jewish

merchant. Levy joined

other Jewish merchants

such as Aaron Lopez and

Abraham Rodriques

Rivera, also living in

houses around the

Parade. For a brief

period after the

American Revolution, the first Rhode Island Bank was located here. In 1818, the house was

purchased by Oliver Hazard Perry, a naval hero known for his victory over the British Navy at the

Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. From 1901 to 1908 the building housed the Touro

Dining Rooms, owned by brothers James T. and Henry L. Allen; it was one of many successful

early 20

-century businesses owned by African-American s in Newport at that time.

5) Newport Colony House (1739), top of the Parade or Mall (now Washington Square)

Built in 1739 to house meetings by Rhode

Island’s colonial government, the Newport

Colony House quickly became the cultural and

political center of the colony. This National

Historic Landmark has been the scene of key

legislation, important trials, dramatic political

demonstrations, and celebrations. Although

no longer used as a state house, the building

remains the property of the State of Rhode

Island & Providence Plantations and is now

open to the public under the custodianship of

the Newport Historical Society. Master builder

Richard Munday’s design for the Colony House

brought monumental elegance to colonial

Newport and demonstrated its status as a key commercial and cultural center. Benjamin Wyatt

Newport Historical Society © page 4 of 15

was the builder; and archival evidence indicates that he employed highly skilled masons both of

European and African-descent in its construction.

The Colony House was a center of patriot activity in

eighteenth-century Newport. In 1765, Newporters

staged a protest against the Stamp Act in front of the

building, and the next year, they celebrated the act’s

repeal inside. On July 20, 1776, Major John Handy

read the Declaration of Independence from the front

steps. During the British occupation of Newport

from 1776 to 1779, the Colony House was used as a

barracks for British soldiers. The French forces, who,

came to Newport under the leadership of General

Rochambeau after the British departed, used the

building as a hospital. In 1790, the city hosted the

new President Washington for a lavish banquet at

the Colony House. The Colony House continued to serve as one of Rhode Island’s state houses

until 1901, when the new state house opened in Providence. From 1901 to 1926, the building was

used as the Newport County Courthouse.

6) The Great Friends Meeting House (1699), corner of Farewell and Marlborough

The Great Friends Meeting House is

the oldest surviving house of

worship in Newport. It was built to

accommodate not just Newport’s

Quakers, but also the New England

Yearly Meeting, serving as an

annual gathering place for the

region until 1919.

The Society of Friends – Quakers,

were a persecuted Christian

minority who believed that each

individual had the capacity to

connect with God without an elder,

pastor or leader. This resulted in a

sense of equality between the sexes,

and a form of worship that mostly involved silent meditation. The Quakers also abjured all

obvious ostentation, though they were not averse to making money.

New England's early Quakers were often persecuted. Perceived as a radical threat to the stability

of Massachusetts Bay Colony’s Theocratic government they were often exiled, but found refuse in

Newport where its commitment to liberty of conscience and religion provided a safe haven for

early Quakers, and the Society of Friends flourished. Their meeting house was expanded in 1705

and 1729 "for the conveniency of the women's meeting.” The Quakers became a large an

influential group in Newport; both their style and their ideas influenced the course of this City’s

history.

Newport Historical Society © page 5 of 15

In the mid-18

century the Quakers were

evolving towards a commitment to the idea

that slavery was immoral, in spite of

Newport’s and many Quaker’s strong financial

connection to the trade in enslaved Africans.

The debate had always existed in many

centers of discussion in Newport but by the

1760s the Quaker congregation began taking a

stronger stand against the practice by

disowning members for owning slaves. By

1776 manumission of slaves owned within the

Quaker congregation was required.

During the Revolutionary War era many

Quakers abandoned Newport and usage of

the meeting house dwindled finally stopping

altogether by the early 20

century. The meeting house was sold in 1922 to the Community Center

Association for use as a recreation center. For the next forty-five years, The Great Friends Meeting

House was familiarly called “The Rec.” That was short for recreational center—but locals mused

that the building was so named because it was in need of repair. Early in those years the building

was modified to accommodate athletic activities, stage performances, classes and public meetings.

Although Newporters from many backgrounds used the facilities at “The Rec,” it came to be used

primarily by Newport’s African-American community as a major activities center for youth.

7) Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House (1697), 17 Broadway

One of a handful of 17

century structures still

standing, the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard house

has been home to a Stephen Mumford a

founding member of Newport’s Seventh Day

Baptist congregation; Richard Ward a colonial

governor; Martin Howard a Loyalist lawyer;

and John G. Wanton a Patriot Quaker

merchant. It was also the home to Jenny,

Briston, Casan, and Cardardo who labored for

the families who owned them. Much is known

about Newport’s economic connection to the

trans-Atlantic slave trade and census records

reveal the numbers of slaves living in Newport

and even where. However, little is known

about the personal lives of the enslaved and what we do know has to be gleaned from the physical

and archival record

A 1746 probate inventory of Captain Jonathan Conklin’s estate reveals that his widow Ann Conklin

inherited “A Negro Man called Casan” valued at 160 pounds; “A Negro Boy called Briston” valued

at 140 pounds; and “A Negro Girl Called Jenny” valued at 90 pounds. After the death of her

Newport Historical Society © page 6 of 15

husband, Ann Conklin married Martin

Howard and under the laws of the period,

her property became the property of her

new husband, so it stands to reason that

Jenny, Casan and Briston would have joined

the Howard household as valuable property.

Ann Conklin Howard died in 1764 and

Martin Howard was run out of town in 1765

for his political views. Nothing is known of

the fate of Jenny, Casan and Briston.

Cardardo was the property of Quaker

merchant John G. Wanton. We know his

name because in 1775 rather than be

expelled from Quaker meeting, Wanton

manumits “one negro man called Cardardo, who according to Law and Custom of said Colony is

accounted a slave and as my property. Little is known of Cardardo after he is given his freedom,

although it seems likely that he joined a militia regiment out of Taunton, Massachusetts. In

September 1777 a Cardardo Wanton enlisted in a mission under Major Spence to attack British

forces on Aquidneck Island; he was discharged a month later.

Further evidence of people of African descent living in this house was found under an attic

floorboard in the form of what is believed to be the remnants of a sprit bundle known as nkisi, a

West African religious custom of the Bakongo people which was sometimes practiced by enslaved

African people in the Americas. The minkisi is now on loan to the National Museum of African-

American History and Culture in Washington DC.

8) Touro Synagogue (1763), 84 Touro Street

Touro Synagogue, America’s oldest synagogue,

is a powerful statement of its time, proclaiming

the confidence felt by the Jewish community in

Newport's continued commitment to religious

toleration.

The first Jewish settlers to arrive in Newport

came as early as the 1650s. Fleeing from the

terrors of the Inquisition in their ancestral

homelands of Spain and Portugal, many of

these families came to Newport in time by way

of Barbados, Jamaica, Surinam, Curaçao, and

the Netherlands.

Through the early and middle 1700s as Newport grew in prominence and prosperity, so did its

Jewish population. By 1758 the Jewish community in Newport was strong enough to fund and

support a synagogue.

Newport Historical Society © page 7 of 15

use by its founding members was short lived. During the years of the American Revolution, most

of the congregation fled and the synagogue remained mostly closed for much of the 19th century.

In 1883 the synagogue was reopened, and it has been open for services ever since.

9) Loeb Visitor Center, 52 Spring Street

The Loeb Visitors Center is home to a broad array of

interactive exhibits that tell the story of how the principle of

religious freedom was established in America. It is also the

starting point for tours of Touro Synagogue.

10) Newport Historical Society Resource Center,

82 Touro Street

The Resource Center is home to the Newport Historical

Society’s main offices, library, special collections reading room,

and collections storage. Collections encompass the five

centuries of social and cultural diversity that make Newport

County unique.

11) Seventh Day Baptist Meeting House (1730),

82 Touro Street - exterior visible from Barney Street, behind the NHS Resource Center.

In the 1660s, a group within John Clarke’s

First Baptist Church became convinced that

the Ten Commandments should be obeyed

literally, and that the Sabbath should be

observed on Saturday, the seventh day of the

week. In 1671 this group formed the Seventh

Day Baptist Church. It is not known where

early services were held, but by 1728, the

congregation had hired Richard Munday, to

design a new building for them. The Seventh

Day Baptist Meeting House was completed in

1730 and can now be seen as part of the Newport Historical Society’s Resource Center.

The Seventh Day Baptist Congregation flourished in Newport until the American Revolution, AT

this time many members relocated to Westerly, Rhode Island, a stronghold of the Seventh Day

Baptists since 1676. Between 1840 and 1869, the Seventh Day Baptists rented the Meeting House

to the Fourth Baptist Church and then to Shiloh Baptist Church, an African-American

congregation. Another well-known contemporary church, The Seventh Day Adventists, split from

the Seventh Day Baptists in Michigan in the 1840s.

Since 1884 the meeting house has been owned by the Newport Historical Society, which moved it

from its original site in 1887.

Newport Historical Society © page 8 of 15

12) Lucas Johnston House (1720),

40 Division Street

In the years leading up to the American Revolution

this was the home of Newport’s Stamp Master,

Augustus Johnston. The Stamp Act tax was not well

received by Newporters, and in 1765 a mob

threatened to attack Johnston’s home. In

conciliation, Johnston resigned from his position

and left town. Johnston had inherited the house

from his grandfather Augustus Lucas, one of several

Newport merchants who profited directly from the

slave trade in in the 18

century (see #3).

In the late 19

century the house belonged to

Armstead Hurley a prominent African-American

business man. Hurley was born into slavery in

Culpepper County, Virginia in 1854. He came to

Newport in 1886 a freeman and started a prosperous

painting and wallpapering business as well as

becoming a partner in the RI Loan and Investment

Co, a bank that invested in businesses owned by

African-Americans (see #22).

13) Peter Bours House (1760), 47 Division Street (historically known as High Street)

Local lore suggests that Newport Gardner (Occramar

Marycoo), an influential member of the African-American

Community and later member of the Free African Union

Society, rented rooms in this house in the 18

century for

the purposes of teaching music lessons.

The Free African Union Society began in the Newport

home of Abraham Casey on Levin Street (nonextant) ca.

November 10, 1780 as an all-male benevolent organization

for free persons of color. Each member of the group was

required to pay dues at specified times. This money went directly into the treasury to be used for

Society expenses and in assisting members in times of need or illness. Organizations similar to the

African Union Society later formed in Philadelphia (1787) and Boston (1796), making the one in

Newport one of, if not the earliest organization of this type in the United States.

There is no known documentation listing Gardner as a resident at this address, but the records of

the Free African Union Society (see #14) indicate that in 1781 the members held worship services

here.

Occramar Maryco was enslaved and brought to Newport as teenager around 1760. He was given

the name Newport Gardner by the man who purchased him, Caleb Gardner. Although Newport

Gardner would take his African name back, he continued to officially use the name Newport

Newport Historical Society © page 9 of 15

Gardner throughout his life. Manuscript evidence reveals that on August 9, 1792 Newport Gardner

was admitted to the Free African Union Society indicating that he was enslaved prior to this

point. On August 1, 1793, Gardner was appointed the society’s clerk and would retain this position

for many years. Gardner was also a teacher, a church deacon in the African-American

community, and involved with a movement to return to Africa. In 1825 he sailed for Boston, then

in 1826 for Africa with 29 others. Gardner died shortly after arriving at the age of approximately

80.

This house also housed a school for black students run by white school mistress Mary Brett. Brett

ran this school from 1772 until her death in 1799.

14) Union Congregational Church (1871), 49 Division Street

The greatest inconsistency in this otherwise tolerant

society, was the institution of slavery. With respect

to religion, enslaved people often practiced the faith

of their owners. By the 1760s a number of enslaved

and free people of color in Newport were gathering

for their own community and spiritual meetings.

This led to the formation of organizations like the

Free African Union Society (see #13) and churches

for African-Americans.

The original building on this site was built in the

1780s by the Fourth Baptist Church. When the

Fourth Baptist Church moved, the Union

Congregational Church purchased the building. In

1871 they replaced the original building with the one

located here now.

The Union Congregational Church grew out of an

earlier group, the Colored Union Church

(established in 1824) some of whose members had

roots in the Free African Union Society. Several other African-American churches formed out of

the Union Congregational Church, including the Shiloh Baptist Church (see #11) and the African

Methodist Episcopal (both in 1864), and Mount Olivet Baptist (1897).

Newport Historical Society © page 10 of 15

15) The Rev. Dr. Samuel Hopkins House (1758), 46 Division Street

This was the 18

century home of Rev. Dr. Samuel

Hopkins, a minister of the First Congregational

Church on Mill Street from 1770 to 1803. Hopkins

was one of the first Congregational ministers to

denounce slavery from the pulpit, preaching

ardently of the horror and injustice of buying and

selling human beings. As a result, many who

owned slaves left his church. Hopkins and

another Newport Congregationalist minster Ezra

Stiles (see #20) aided Newport Gardner (see #13)

with the movement to take blacks back to Africa.

16) 42 Division Street

In 1939 a resident of this house, Mrs. W Berry was

listed in the Green book as having rooms for rent.

The Negro Motorist Green Book (at times styled The

Negro Motorist Green-Book or titled The Negro

Travelers' Green Book) was an

annual guidebook for African-American road trippers,

commonly referred to simply as the Green Book. It

was originated and published by New York City

mailman Victor Hugo Green in the United States

from 1936 to 1966, during the era of Jim Crow laws,

when open and often legally prescribed

discrimination against non-whites was widespread.

17) William Ellery Channing House (c. 1750), 24 School Street

One of the founders of the Unitarian Church

and noted abolitionist, William Ellery

Channing, was born in this house on April 7,

1780. His grandfather, William Ellery, was

one of the Rhode Island signers of the

Declaration of Independence. Channing was

the minister of the Arlington Street Church

in Boston from 1803 until his death in 1842.

His defense of human dignity inspired many,

including Henry David Thoreau, Margaret

Fuller, Horace Mann, Dorothea Dix and

Ralph Waldo Emerson. Channing’s religious

views are likely an outgrowth of his experience in Newport, where he received his training from

the two very liberal ministers of the First and Second Congregational Churches - Samuel Hopkins

(see #15) and Ezra Stiles (see #20) respectively.

This house was also where Charity "Duchess"

Quamino lived as a slave of the Channing family for

at least twenty years. Duchess is thought to have

been born in Africa in 1739. Her husband, John

Quamino, was also born in Africa. Both were sold

into slavery and ended up in Newport. Their

marriage was recorded by Ezra Stiles “1756 Nov 5

Quaumino Negro Servant of Capt Benj Church &

Dutchess Negro Servant of Mr. Channing were

married with consent of their Masters.”

By the 1770s John Quamino had purchased his

freedom and with the sponsorship of the Rev. Ezra Stiles he was sent to study at the College of

New Jersey to study to become missionary to Africa. The outbreak of the Revolutionary War

disrupted Quamino’s study, he joined a privateer's crew and was killed in action. Duchess

Quamino later obtained her own freedom and earned her living as a pastry cook. On her

gravestone Channing described her as "A free black of distinguished excellence, intelligent,

industrious, affectionate, honest, and of exemplary piety."

18) Trinity Church (1726), Spring Street – Queen Anne Square

Trinity Church was designed and

built by master builder Richard

Munday in 1724-1726, Its parish was

founded in 1698 after the excesses of

Puritanism had driven many

colonists to Newport. Anglicans

followed the other religious groups

who sought sanctuary in Rhode

Island’s commitment to liberty of

conscience and religion. As the

English crown attempted to

consolidate its power at home and

in the colonies, it made membership

in the Church of England a

requirement for all royal office

holders, giving an institutional basis for the growing strength of Trinity. By the 1750s, Trinity

Church had grown from a small marginal group to the third largest congregation in Newport.

Families of wealth and social status began deserting the more rigorous disciplines of the Society of

Friends and the Baptist churches to join Trinity. To accommodate them, the building was

enlarged by one-third in 1764, by cutting it in half and inserting the center section. During the

19th century, Trinity became the church of many of the new Summer Colonists and many plaques

in their memory adorn the interior of the building. By the 1830s, Trinity had grown so large and

diverse that a number of other Episcopal parishes were organized, including Zion, St. George's,

Emmanuel, and St. Johns churches.

19) Vernon House (1708 & 1750), 46 Clarke Street

Beginning with the emigration of Daniel Vernon from

London to Rhode Island around 1666, the Vernon family

grew to become influential merchants in colonial

America and then in the United States. Three of

Daniel’s grandsons, Thomas (1718-1784), William (1719-

1806), and Samuel (1711-1792) became merchants in

Newport before the Revolutionary War. Thomas

partnered with Patrick Grant in the firm Grant &

Vernon, which was not successful, and it dissolved in

1744. Thomas subsequently became the postmaster of

Newport. Around this time his brothers had formed

their own partnership as S. & W. Vernon. The firm was

active in the trans-Atlantic slave trade transporting rum, slaves, and molasses.

In 1774 William Vernon purchased a two-and-a-half story house at the corner of Clarke and Mary

streets that he had leased for the past couple of years from Metcalf Bowler. Located at 46 Clarke

Street, it would thereafter be known as the Vernon House. When the Revolutionary War began,

the family divided, with Thomas becoming a Loyalist while his brothers supported the revolution.

Samuel and William left Newport when the British occupied the city in 1776, with William

eventually relocating to Boston where he served as president of the Eastern Naval Board

beginning in 1777. When the British evacuated Newport in 1779 ahead of the arrival of French

forces, William remained in Boston. From 1780 to 1781 French General Rochambeau used the

Vernon House as his headquarters, where he met with George Washington and the Marquis de

Lafayette.

20) Second Congregational Church (1735) / Ezra Stiles, 15 & 14 Clarke Street

The Second Congregational Church was formed in 1728, after

members became dissatisfied with the First Congregational

Church and its minister at the time, Nathaniel Clapp.

Ezra Stiles was offered a ministry at the Second Congregational

Church in 1755. The house across the street, number 14 Clarke

Street, was built for Stiles as a parsonage on land give by

William Ellery and Peter Coggeshall.

Stiles was a theologian, philosopher, scientist, and astronomer

and was recognized as "the most learned man in New England."

In his diaries and other papers, he reported in great detail on

Newport's daily life. Stiles was also an accomplished linguist

and was particularly interested in the Jewish religion. Stiles

worked with Samuel Hopkins, the minister at the First

Congregational Church, to campaign against slavery and to

help with the education of African-Americans (see #15).

21) The Walker Building, 13 Bridge Street

By 1900, half of all African-Americans living in Newport (then

about 1,600) had been born in the South, many into slavery. A

great number of these newcomers originated in Culpeper

County, Virginia. Many African-American families in Newport

today can trace their roots back to this area of Virginia in the

nineteenth century.

Lindsay R. Walker moved to Newport from Culpeper County in

1860. Walker found employment as a gardener and a butler.

He also worked for a Washington, D.C. employment firm that

helped find jobs in Rhode Island for blacks from northern

Virginia. Walker was a partner in the RI Loan and Investment

Co, a bank that invested in businesses owned by African

Americans.

Walker’s son Louis became the proprietor of several

transportation services in Newport. In 1947, Louis Walker himself constructed this building out of

concrete block to house one of his companies, City Taxi Garage. Walker and his son, Louis

Walker, Jr. also ran a bus company, limousine service, and another garage on Broadway.

22) Armstead Hurley, 6 Cross Street

Armstead Hurley was born into slavery in Culpepper County Virginia in 1854. In 1865, at the end

of the Civil War, he gained his freedom. Hurley came to Newport in 1886 as a painter and glazier.

He started a wallpapering business at 3 Bridge Street. Like many businessmen, Hurley was

involved in several different ventures, including owning rental property at 6 Cross Street. He

resided in a home he owned on Division Street (see #12). He was a partner in the RI Loan and

Investment Co. This bank was located at 4 Washington Sq, now

gone, but next to the 18

century building that houses Citizen’s

Bank. He was a treasurer of the Shiloh Baptist Church, orignially

located on School Street. The Mt. Olivet Baptist Church on

Thames Street grew out of that church.

23) Liberty Tree Park,

intersection of Thames and Farewell Streets

This intersection, now known as Liberty Tree Park, has a history

that symbolizes the contradictions of “freedom” and citizenship

in early New England. The tree that stands here now is thought

to be the fourth Liberty Tree planted here.

Sometime in 1765, the Sons of Liberty began rallying at a tree on

this location that they named the Liberty Tree to protest the

Stamp Act. William Read officially gave the land and tree to the

city in 1766. In December 1776, a large British force landed in Newport to occupy the town. Gen.

Thomas Gage promptly ordered the Liberty Tree cut down.

Before this space became a symbol of liberty for

white colonists, starting around 1750 thru the early

1800s, this site was a gathering place for “black

elections” or “’Lection Day” for the people of color

living in Newport. Enslaved and free people of

African or Native American descent, would gather

here on the third Saturday of every June for a

celebration and to elect an honorary “black

governor.” This position was more than just

ceremonial—the black governor would often be called upon to settle disputes or act as an

authority among the people of color in town. The festivities included food and drink, dancing,

and games, in addition to voting (traditionally only by males).

In Rhode Island government, free African-Americans who owned property could vote as early as

1784 with the start of gradual emancipation, but most were disenfranchised by an 1822 law. In

1842, when the new state constitution officially abolished slavery in the state, people of color were

again eligible to vote in Rhode Island.

24) William Ellery (house no longer standing), 9 Thames Street

Just across from the Liberty Tree stood the home of one of the Sons of Liberty and Newport’s

signer of the Declaration of Independence, William Ellery (1727-1820). Ellery was a merchant,

attorney, politician, political appointee, and intellectual. During the War of Independence, Ellery

became an antislavery advocate. Although slavery and the trade in human cargo had been

common in Newport in his youth, and his family owned enslaved persons, by 1785, Ellery had

become an outspoken proponent for the abolition of slavery in the new nation. In 1790, Ellery was

appointed as Collector of Customs for the district of Newport. One of his duties was to enforce

evolving antislavery laws in a region where such laws were often ignored.

Ellery’s home was one of many buildings that were destroyed by the British during their military

occupation of Newport. He is buried in Newport’s Common Burying Ground

25) Common Burying Ground (God’s Little Acre),

enter from Farewell Street

Newport’s Common Burying Ground was laid in 1665 on

just over 10 acres of land granted to Dr. John Clarke, as

space in church and family burial grounds became

insufficient. More than half the people buried here were

born before 1800. The God’s Little Acre section located at

the far northern portion of the burying ground is the

largest intact colonial burial ground for people of African

descent in America, holding over 300 markers for enslaved

and free blacks.