Jamestown Historical Society

01/28/2023

07/11/2022

Revised times. 11:00am to 2:00pm

03/28/2022

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09/02/2020

On October 18, 1930, almost a year after the Great Depression started with the stock market crash on Black Friday, many Jamestowners received a bounty from the sea. Two barges filled with coal, the Henry Howard and the Howard Sisters drifted onto the rocks at Beavertail during a heavy storm. This bonanza, with winter approaching, did not go unnoticed.

“Coal from these barges has already washed ashore in great piles, to give employment to Jamestown residents, fishermen and not a few from Newport, who have taken advantage of the fortunes of the seas to fill their bins for the winter months.”

Families worked in teams. Adults and older children would gather the coal off the rocks and collect it in piles higher up the shore where it was guarded by the younger children.

One person who did not benefit was Isaac Clarke, the Jamestown coal dealer, whose local business fell off dramatically. He estimated that most Jamestowners had stored at least seven months’ supply in their basements or outhouses, and coal was selling at $16.75 a ton.

Some families profited less than expected. Some of the final pickings retrieved at low tide had become contaminated with seaweed and small colonies of marine life. A few canny scavengers washed their coal and were ridiculed for doing so. But when the scoffers burned their unwashed coal, the odor was terrible. The fuel had to be thrown away.

Perhaps Isaac Clarke got some business back from these people.


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08/07/2020

Political Card encouraging people to vote on May 1 to Re-elect Val Southern to the Jamestown Town Council. Card has a photo of Val on the left and on the right four statements describing her opinions. 1. Our Roads: Stop the deterioration; rebuild and maintain. 2. Town Budget: Keep it lean; responsive to your needs. 3. Comprehensive Community Plan: Protect our rural environment. 4. Town Government: Keep it open. Keep it honest. On the bottom of the car is a list of her background. It includes Master's Degree- URI- Planning. Master's Degree - Harvard - Public Administration, Resident of Jamestown for over 25 years. It ends with the quote: "I will continue to represent you with honesty and integrity."

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07/06/2020

The Historical Society also has a number of swimsuits in our collection that recall a bygone era of summer.

This bathing suit is a black wool one-piece suit, circa 1920, with the label “Annette Kellermann Bathing Suit”. It was discovered in the attic at of Park Dock, a home in the north end of Jamestown and donated to the Historical Society. Annette Kellermann, an Australian, was one of the first women to wear a one-piece bathing costume, as opposed to pantaloons with a dress. Her swimming costumes became so popular that she started her own fashion line of one-piece bathing suits. Kellermann helped popularize the sport of synchronized swimming and authored a swimming manual. In 1907, at the height of her popularity, Kellermann was arrested on Revere Beach, Massachusetts for indecency – she was wearing one of her fitted one-piece costumes.

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