Picturesque Beach Pond

A simple post for August - this tranquil scene of Beach Pond is from an 1881 book with the evocative title  "Picturesque Rhode Island - Pen and pencil sketches of the scenery and history its cities, towns and hamlets, and of men who have made them famous."

"Picturesque Rhode Island" - by W. H. Munro.
J.A. & R.A. Reid, Publishers. Providence. 1881.

In addition to etchings and stories, this book contains advertisements from manufacturers and hotels of yesteryear. You can view a copy of this book for yourself at many of the Rhode Island's public libraries: (unfortunately the Exeter Public Library is not lucky enough to have its own copy):    Ocean State Library locations for "Picturesque Rhode Island"

...thanks to EHA Vice President Gary Boden for finding and sharing!

The Mysterious Stone Piles of Exeter

"In the quiet forest of the Beach Pond State Park in western Exeter, situated between Old Voluntown Road and Ten Rod Road, on several acres of sloping ground, lie dozens of peculiar stone constructions" begins the story by  Exeter Historical Association Vice-President Gary Boden. 

If you've ever taken a walk in the woods in Exeter or West Greenwich,  you may have come across these mysterious piles of stones. The piles appear to be far more deliberately placed than a random collection of stones or boulders. 

But what are they, and why are they there? Click on the link below and find out Gary's theory!

The Mysterious Exeter Stone Piles - by Gary Boden

It's time once again for the Exeter One Room Schoolhouse Reunion!

We're on Facebook!

Do you have a Facebook account? So do we! We've gone social! Please "like" us - you'll get to see lots of great photos and comments. 

We want to see your Exeter photos too! 

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1855 Map of Exeter

EHA President Sheila Reynolds-Boothroyd came across a delightful discovery about Exeter last month, while visiting the Langworthy Public Library in Hope Valley. 

1855 Walling map - Exeter portion

A resident of that town was trying to find her own house on some old maps. One of the librarians brought out an original 1855 map of the State of Rhode Island, published by Henry F. Walling.  Just by coincidence, Sheila happened to notice that the map clearly showed the Town of Exeter. It's one of the earliest maps we have which identifies Exeter as a separate entity, despite the fact that Exeter had split from North Kingstown over a hundred years earlier!

The map is  identified by the title, "Map of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations from Surveys Under the Direction of Henry F. Walling, Civil Engineer." 

Walling was a civil engineer from Providence who developed a penchant for mapmaking. As a rising star in the field, on his way to being appointed "Superintendant of the State Map" for the state of Massachusetts, Walling surveyed much of Rhode Island, and began producing state maps in 1846.

But it turns out, you don't have to visit the Langworthy Library to see this map! Harvard University also owns a copy, and what's more, it's been digitized and made available for viewing! The link is below, and it's best viewed on a computer with a keyboard and mouse, not an iPad or smartphone. (Thanks to Ken Hornik for this info!)

http://ids.lib.harvard.edu/ids/view/5271618?buttons=y