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Dear Members & Friends,
We hope your summer has been enjoyable and that
staying 'local' has provided you an opportunity to enjoy your
community. Although we have been open this season only for
Saturday morning hours, the Archive & Schoolhouse have enjoyed a
diverse group of visitors and new members. We are climate controlled
and maintaining adherence to safety protocol, so please come by and
enjoy some conversation and interesting displays!
We'd also like to thank all of our members and
supporters for your annual dues and donations. As we enter our 51st
year as an organization, we are most appreciative of our community
who have enabled the CHS to 'Learn, Teach and Preserve the History of
Charlestown, Rhode Island.'
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CHS Records & Photo Preservation of
Charlestown's WWII Naval Air
Facility (CNAF)
(Present-Day Ninigret Park)
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14 of 32 members of US Naval Air
Squadron 108, Charlestown, RI (CNAF)
The CHS recently began an effort to digitize and
preserve a wide array of physical records relating to Charlestown's
WWII Naval Airfield Facility (CNAF). These include base records, unit
and aircraft histories, personnel documents, historical maps and photographs.
CHS members Larry Webster and Chris McCabe have been
collaborating in this effort. Larry has devoted decades to
research, care and public education of this history. Chris brings his
GIS and archaeological expertise to the table, along with his own
naval experience. Their efforts to preserve these historical records
for future generations is much appreciated! A future link displaying
this information on the CHS website will be available. In the
meantime, you can find a condensed history of the CNAF on the CHS
website or come by and enjoy our museum display.
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Experience
the Story of the Hoxsie/Browning Families
from
Plymouth to Charlestown in 200 Years
Follow Their
Journey and Lay Hands on Their History
Auction with
Proceeds to Benefit Charlestown Historical Society
Visit
Books on the Pond
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SOME NEW ADDITIONS for CHS .....
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This summer some much-needed attention was given to the
CHS compound with two outdoor projects. But first and foremost,
we'd like to thank the Cross' Mills Public Library for their patience
and permission in granting these beneficial changes, as the 1838
Schoolhouse stands on library grounds and daily hours and public
attendance were of foremost concern.
In compliance with construction codes when the Archive
was raised in 2012, a handicapped-accessible brick walkway was
landscaped around the new building. At that time, however, there
were property constraints that led to a halt on the continuation of
the project. This past month, the extension of the walkway
leading from the Archive to the Schoolhouse was completed by
landscaper Rob Quinn and his company, Rare Earth Landscaping. It
so happens that Rob is the great nephew of Thomas Arnold, one of
CHS's early board members who was instrumental in the relocation and
preservation of this 1838 District No. 2 Schoolhouse in 1972!
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Along with the new walkway, CHS was recently gifted some
beautiful granite stone from the Old Burdick Farm (c1760) by the
Jones and Fitzgerald families. The farmhouse and farmlands,
which encompassed all of the land along present-day Charlestown Beach
Road, extended all the way down to the ocean. The Burdick
Farmhouse was recently torn down and a gifting of this granite from
the house foundation was given to CHS as a commemorative. A plaque
will be produced for the bench in honor of this farm and family.
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The Charlestown Historical Society
will be open through the end of September on Saturday
mornings. We are open year-round by appointment at: info@charlestownhistorical.org.
Thank You for your patronage!
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