A new guide in the works on Cross Mills' history

Rep. Donna Walsh secures grant for new historical guide to Cross Mills

CHS President Pam Lyons, author Jean Pellam and Donna

News release from Rep. Donna Walsh

(Charlestown) Rep. Donna Walsh (District 36) presented the Charlestown Historical Society with a $3000 check to support their outstanding work to preserve Charlestown’s history and promote cultural tourism.

The donation is a legislative grant secured by Rep. Walsh, one among many that she has gotten for local schools and nonprofit organizations.

The grant will fund a new CHS publication called “Historic Locations of Cross Mills” by Jean Pellam.

The book, with old photographs and a location map, is a tour of the Cross Mills Village District. It features evolutionary descriptions of thirty-seven still-standing buildings and public sites. The book uses the structures and sites as a framework to treat the reader to an entertaining history lesson about how the small, rural community of Cross Mills has sustained itself through the generations.

“The Charlestown Historical Society is one of my favorite local institutions,” said Rep. Walsh. “I am pleased to secure funding for projects like this that will help make Charlestown a year-round attraction for tourism that can boost our local economy and create jobs.”

Accepting the donation on behalf of the Society, CHS President Pam Lyons said, “When it comes to meeting the needs of Charlestown, nobody does it better than Donna Walsh.”

Ms. Pellam’s Cross Mills guidebook will be sold by the Society and all of the proceeds will be used to carry out its mission to preserve Charlestown’s heritage.

Representative Walsh represents House District 36, which covers all of Charlestown and Block Island as well as parts of Westerly and South Kingstown.

For more information, please contact Rep. Walsh at 523-2199 or visit her website at www.Rep-Donna-Walsh.com.