Weird Island

On December 31, 1843, Amasa Sprague was found murdered near his home in Cranston, RI. An Irish immigrant named John Gordon was tried and convicted of the crime, but even at the time, many believed he may have been innocent. 

Episode Source Material:

• Opinion/Harrington: Mystery still shrouds murder of Amasa Sprague
• John Gordon - Online Review of Rhode Island History
• The Murder of Amasa Sprague, and the Irishman Persecuted for the Crime - New England Historical Society
• Weird Hauntings: True Tales of Ghostly Places
• Trial of John Gordon and William Gordon, Charged With the Murder of Amasa Sprague
• State v. John Gordon, 1 R.I. 179 | Casetext Search + Citator
• http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText11/SenateText11/S0371A.htm
• https://read.amazon.com/?asin=B00XRFTWVI&ref_=dbs_t_r_kcr
• Irish-Italian ratio in R.I.is close, Census Bureau says
• When America Despised the Irish: The 19th Century’s Refugee Crisis - HISTORY
• Dorr Rebellion - Wikipedia
• amasa sprague | The Cotton Boll Conspiracy
• The Execution of John Gordon, a Victim of Anti-Irish Catholic Prejudice - Online Review of Rhode Island History
• Editors at Providence Journal Discriminated Against Irish-Americans - Online Review of Rhode Island History
• The Irish of Rhode Island (Part I, 1638-1921)
• New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial
• Dorr Rebellion | Rhode Island's Very Own, Very Small Civil War - New England Today

Have you seen The Conjuring, the 2013 Hollywood film so successful it spawned a franchise of supernatural horror films? Did you know it’s loosely based on the haunting of a Rhode Island family? The old colonial farmhouse in Burrillville, where they lived and experienced paranormal phenomena in the 1970s, has been described by some as one of the most active paranormal locations in the world. 

Episode Source Material

• About | The Conjuring House
• Andrea Perron on the true story behind The Conjuring | Freesat
• Andrea Perron Conjures The Facts of Her Family's Haunted Past In "Bathsheba: Search for Evil" - Rue Morgue
• Rhode Island’s ‘Conjuring’ house sold, with one stipulation: No one can live there year-round - The Boston Globe
• 'Death is not the end': Member of 'The Conjuring' family returns to Burrillville house
• ‘Bathsheba: Search for Evil’ tells true story of the Perron family, ‘The Conjuring’ inspiration - National | Globalnews.ca
• Correcting the Conjuring House History | Skeptical Inquirer
• Dispelling Demons: Detective Work at The Conjuring House | Skeptical Inquirer
• https://preservation.ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur406/files/pdfs_zips_downloads/national_pdfs/burrillville/burr_harrisville-mill-village-hd.pdf
• Ed and Lorraine Warren - Wikipedia
• Ed and Lorraine Warren
• Lorraine Warren, Paranormal Investigator Portrayed in ‘The Conjuring,’ Dies at 92 - The New York Times
• About - NESPR
• Perron Family Haunting - NESPR
• From the archives: Ed and Lorraine Warren of 'The Conjuring' Have a Long History of Paranormal Investigation in Connecticut (April 1972)
• https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/19251916:60525
• The Terrifying Rise of Haunted Tourism
• Andrea Perron returns to RI to tell the true story behind 'The Conjuring' | Arts And Living | independentri.com

Ann & Hope… were two women. Then the words became the name of a ship, followed by a mill, and later a store. This week, I’ll bring you along as I learn the story of the Ann & Hope Mill and the discount department store that shared its name. And along the way, we’ll even uncover a bit of a mystery. 

Episode Source Material

• Ann and Hope Store Complex (Ann and Hope Mill, Lonsdale Mill) | SAH ARCHIPEDIA
• Ann & Hope mill sells for $3.5 million | News | valleybreeze.com
• Developers unveil proposal for old Ann & Hope building | WPRI.com
• HistoricandArchitectural Resources of Cumberland, Rhode Island
• The Hermit of Study Hill: Where are Blackstone’s bones? – Rhode's Gallery
• Brown and Ives
• Lonsdale Company Records (MSS 9 SG 2)
• Ann & Hope - Wikipedia
• Passages: Irwin Chase, co-founder of Ann & Hope department store, paved way for Walmart, Kmart
• The Wal-Mart Revolution
• How to be a Billionaire: Proven Strategies from the Titans of Wealth
• Captain Wilbur Kelly - Blackstone River Valley
• The Landmark | BVHS 
• HistoricandArchitectural Resources of Cumberland, Rhode Island
• The mysterious case of William Blackstone’s remains | News | valleybreeze.com
• William Blackstone Memorial Park | quahog.org
• National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form 1. Name 2 Location 3. Classification 4. Owner of Property 5. Loca
• Blackstone River State Park, Bikeway, and Visitor's Center History
• Mill Preservation in the Blackstone River Valley
• Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes | 1972
• Ann & Hope: America's First Superstore | Down the Rhode #1
• 1993 Annual Report
• Discount store - Wikipedia

Have you ever been to Scarborough Beach in Narragansett and noticed that beautiful stone ruin just beyond the sand? Well, it turns out it’s the remnants of an old carriage house that once stood beside this mansion overlooking the water. The mansion was called Windswept, but locally it was known as the house built with Painkiller money, and it was built by a family who made their fortune selling this over-the-counter medicine called “Perry Davis’s Vegetable Pain-Killer,” remembered today as the first-ever nationally advertised remedy for chronic pain.

Want to know more? Check out these other podcasts:

• Painkiller: America's Fentanyl Crisis | Podcast on Spotify
• How The Opioid Industry Operated Like A Cartel - Fresh Air | Podcast on Spotify
• Hooked | Podcast on Spotify

About Perry Davis’ Pain-Killer:

• These Plantations | By J. Earl Clauson
• History of Providence, Rhode Island - 3 - Published 1878 
• The Story of Perry Davis and His Painkiller
• The History of Drug Advertising | Weill Cornell Medicine Samuel J. Wood Library
• Mark Twain quotations - Perry Davis Pain-Killer
• Chapter 12 | The Adventures of Tom Sawyer | Mark Twain | Lit2Go ETC
• Perry Davis’ Vegetable Pain Killer | windowthroughtime
• Great Island Historian's Log
• Providence Landmark Sold: Built By Painkiller Family
• Windswept

Perry Davis’ Vegetable Pain-Killer - Ads and Marketing Materials

• Perry Davis' Vegetable Pain Killer - ECU Digital Collections
• [Perry Davis, bust, facing right, on advertisement for Perry Davis' vegetable pain killer] | Library of Congress - Images
• Lewiston Evening Journal - August 4, 1891 | Advertisement
• US Navy Patent Medicine Perry Davis Vegetable Pain Killer c. 1900 color promo – Advertisement
• Around the World in 40 Years Booklet Patent Medicine Used by Australian Gold Miners Pain Killer by Perry Davis → a Patent medicine booklet about Perry Davis’ Pain Killer
• [Patent medicine labels for Perry Davis & Son, showing view of Providence, R.I., and four patent medicine bottles] / Kilburn & Mallory sc., Boston.
• CIRCA 1900 BOOKLET - DAVIS PAIN-KILLER - PERRY DAVIS & SON PROVIDENCE RI - Advertisement
• 1868 PAIN KILLER ALMANAC. PERRY DAVIS AND SON, PROVIDENCE RI

Patent Medicines / Medicine History:

• History of Patent Medicine
• "A most detestable medicine." America's Real Drug Problem
• Pain-Killer: A 19th Century Global Patent Medicine and the Beginnings of Modern Brand Marketing - Ross D. Petty, 2019
• How Advertising Shaped the First Opioid Epidemic | Science| Smithsonian Magazine
• The History of Opiates | Michael's House Treatment Center
• A History Of Opioids In America : NPR
• Purdue Pharma taps a Gilded Age history of pharmaceutical fraud
• History of aspirin - Wikipedia
• The strange history of opiates in America: from morphine for kids to heroin for soldiers | James Nevius | The Guardian
• Administered for pain, drugs like OxyContin have taken a massive toll | Hub
• Prescription Painkillers | Northern Nevada Medical Center Reno–Sparks.
• Medicated nation: 1 in 3 people take over-the-counter painkillers daily - Study Finds

Edmund Davis’s Death - If you want to learn more about that!

• The Mysterious Death of a Fisherman on the Grand Cascapedia River | Gaspesian Heritage WebMagazine
• The American Fly Fisher

Long before the quahog became Rhode Island’s iconic shellfish, oysters dominated local waters. In this episode, I’ll be diving into the stories of black innovators and entrepreneurs who shaped the oyster industry–including Manna Bernoon, who established Providence’s first Oyster and Ale House in 1736, the year of his emancipation from slavery. 

Episode Source Material: 

• Early Rhode Island: A Social History of the People | 1910
• Johnson & Wales Culinary Arts Museum Celebrates African-American Food | Cranston, RI Patch
• Providence Waterways: StoryMap
• A noble tradition - The Bay State Banner
• The Truth about Baked Beans: An Edible History of New England
• ON THE RHODE TO FREEDOM | stagesoffreedom
• Gabriel Bernon | Goodwin-Genealogy Wikia
• Rhode Island's Shellfish Heritage: An Ecological History
• Going Deep Into Oyster Country - The New York Times
• History on the Half-Shell: The Story of New York City and Its Oysters
• The History of Oysters: Its Rise as a Delicacy and a Staple Food Beloved by Many
• A 19th Century Black Success Story: The Downing Family | HistoryNet
• Ancient Australians and Americans Ate Billions of Oysters Over Millennia
• Oyster Archaeology: Ancient Trash Holds Clues To Sustainable Harvesting : The Salt : NPR
• How Oysters Became a Source of Economic Freedom for Emancipated Black Folks - Earth in Color
• oyster cellars | Restaurant-ing through history.
• Oyster bar - Wikipedia
• CITY LORE; When the Oyster Was Their World - The New York Times
• Thomas Downing (restaurateur) - Wikipedia
• How a child of Virginia slaves became the oyster king of New York — and a favorite of the Queen of England – The Virginian-Pilot
• George Thomas Downing (1819 - 1903) — BLACK and Education
• George T. Downing - The Fight for Black Mobility: Traveling to Mid-Century Conventions
• On Staten Island, one of NYC's oldest African American enclaves is preserved - Curbed NY
• Rossville, Staten Island - Wikipedia
• Finding Freedom Through Oysters in 19th Century New York (Part Two) | Department of History | NC State University
• Ep 18 – Sandy Ground – The African American Oyster Community – City Between
• Native American Secrets Lie Buried in Huge Shell Mounds - The New York Times
• The Voluminous Shell Heaps Hidden in Plain Sight All Over NYC - Gastro Obscura

In 1925, a massive bicycle racing track was built on North Main Street in Providence. Later that year, it would become home to the Providence Steam Roller, remembered today as New England’s first NFL Champions.

Episode Source Material

• Rhode Island History | November 1977
• Providence Cyclodrome | ArtInRuins
• Forgotten Stadiums: The Cycledrome
• Cycledrome History | Pro-Football-Reference.com
• Cycledrome - Wikipedia.
• Deflategate, Roaring '20s Style: New England's 1st Controversial NFL Champions | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report
• Way before the Patriots, Providence fans enjoyed title ride with Steam Roller
• Forgotten Stadiums: Kinsley Park
• Motor-Paced - RI SPORTS CHRONICLE
• Cranston Historical Society
• Providence Steam Roller – NFL & the Great Depression
• The Birth of the National Football League - HISTORY
• How the NFL took over America in 100 years
• Who Invented (American) Football - HISTORY
• Providence Steam Roller
• Decade by Decade The 1920s and Providence | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site
• Thrill of the 6-day race: When endurance cycling was the sport to watch – Chicago Tribune
• Rhode Island History Journal: Volume 77 No. 1 by The Rhode Island Historical Society - Issuu
• A Revolution On Two Wheels: Columbia Bicycles - Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project
• The Safety Bicycle and Beyond | Smithsonian Institution
• Newark: Cradle of Cycling in the Sport's Golden Age
• Six Day Bike Racing Was a Far More Brutal Predecessor of the Tour de France....Who Killed It and Why?
• Six-Day Racing in America - Peloton Magazine
• Bike Racing 1920s | Ephemeral New York

So, you’ve seen his face on t-shirts and posters and on the covers of anthology books all over Providence, but who exactly is H. P. Lovecraft? Tune in to the first episode of Season 2 to find out! I cover a number of Providence locations in this episode, and you’re welcome to visit them while listening. Many are pretty close to one another. Here’s my recommended mini tour:  

• Lovecraft’s Birthplace Memorial (home demolished): 454 Angell Street, Providence, RI
• Lovecraft’s 2nd Home: 598 Angell Street, Providence, RI
• St. John’s Churchyard: 271 N. Main Street, Providence, RI
• Lovecraft’s 3rd Home: 10 Barnes Street, Providence, RI
• Lovecraft’s Final Home: 65 Prospect Street
• Lovecraft’s Grave: Swan Point Cemetery 

Episode Source Material

• H. P. Lovecraft: Nightmare Countries (The Master of Cosmic Horror) by S. T. Joshi (2012) Hardcover
• Today We Celebrate the Short, Unhappy Life of H.P. Lovecraft | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine  
• H. P. Lovecraft - Wikipedia
• The Fantasy Author H.P. Lovecraft at 125: Genius, Cult Icon, Racist - The Atlantic
• Her Letters To Lovecraft: Sarah Susan Phillips Lovecraft – Deep Cuts in a Lovecraftian Vein
• Lovecraftian horror — and the racism at its core — explained
• Howard Phillips Lovecraft: The Life of a Gentleman of Providence
• Guide to Lovecraftian Sites in Rhode Island
• H.P. Lovecraft Birthplace - Providence, Rhode Island USA - Childhood Homes on Waymarking.com
• How to Find the Spirit of H.P. Lovecraft in Providence - The New York Times
• Reanimating Providence | The Haunts and Hauntings of H. P. Lovecraft
• I Am Providence”: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft – Chris Thayer - Issuu
• A Literary History of Weird Fiction: An Interview with S. T. Joshi
• The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H. P. Lovecraft

In Smithfield, Rhode Island, out in the middle of the woods, there are the remains of an old village that disappeared over 100 years ago. A ghost town known as Hanton City, sometimes called Haunted City or the Lost City.  

To Visit: Walk the Hanton City Hiking Trail, starting from 70 W. Reservoir Rd in Smithfield. About 3/4 of a mile or so in (I didn't map it exactly) you'll see the remains of an old cellar on your right in a clearing. 

This is my last episode before a little summer break. Thank you to everyone who continues to listen and support me on this little podcasting journey! It truly means the world to me. 

Episode Source Material

• Remembering Smithfield: Sketches of Apple Valley
• Hanton City, Rhode Island
• The Diary of Thomas Vernon: A Loyalist, Banished from Newport by the Rhode Island General Assembly 1776
• Are There Ghosts in Smithfield's “Haunted City?”
• Benjamin Harrington, of Providence (c.1618 - 1694) - Genealogy
• They Live Alone in Ghost Towns - The New York Times
• Ghost Towns - Why do we love abandoned places?
• Ghost town - Wikipedia
• William Harrington or Herrington
• Herendeen Descendants Report
• Town of Smithfield History
• HistoricandArchitectural Resources of Smithfield, Rhode Island:
• Hanton City Road Area -... - Greater Rhode Island Roaming | Facebook
• The Early Records of the Town of Providence

Have you ever been to see a show at the Providence Performing Arts Center and marveled at the gorgeous building? Well, you might be surprised to know that when PPAC opened in the late 1920s, the theater showed a different kind of show–movies! I’m joined by special guests Lynn Singleton and Alan Chille this week to dive into the history of Providence’s Movie Palace, these elaborately decorated movie theaters designed to make the average person feel like royalty. And Lynn and Alan will share some amazing behind-the-scenes stories that shed light on everything that goes into keeping a historic building like this one open for all to enjoy. 

Episode Source Material

• https://preservation.ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur406/files/pdfs_zips_downloads/national_pdfs/providence/prov_weybosset-street-220_loews-state-theater.pdf
• PPAC History | Providence Performing Arts Center
• Loews Cineplex Entertainment - Wikipedia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickelodeon_(movie_theater)
• Movie palace - Wikipedia
• The Theaters of Providence Part 2 – The Modern Era - Online Review of Rhode Island History
• Rapp and Rapp - Wikipedia
• Providence Performing Arts Center - Wikipedia
• Providence Performing Arts Center | Rhode Tour
• Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI - Cinema Treasures
• The Theaters of Providence, Part 1 – The Early Years - Online Review of Rhode Island History
• Loew's State Theatre, Palace Concert Theater & Ocean State Theatre
• Politics and Pasta 
• History of film - Wikipedia
• Silent film - Wikipedia
• Providence Performing Arts Center (Loew's State Theatre) | SAH ARCHIPEDIA
• Palace Theater, (Ocean State Theatre, Performing Arts Center), 220 Weybosset Street, Providence, RI
• “Playing the Palace”: A History Of Motion Picture Palaces - The Credits
• Movie Palaces Let Everyday Americans Be Royalty | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine
• A very short history of cinema | National Science and Media Museum

In South Kingstown, there’s an odd monument hidden away in the bushes off Tower Hill Road. It’s a four-sided granite pillar covered, from top to bottom on all sides, in a written inscription. And this inscription tells a story. But not one of a famous battle or prominent leader or politician or historical landmark. It tells the story of a gruesome murder that took place here.

To Visit: 

Map to Koch Eye Associates in Wakefield, at 20 Hampton Way, Wakefield, RI 02879. Park in the Koch parking lot near the business’s dumpster. The monument is directly behind the dumpster. It’s in thick brush. You won’t see it at first, but if you walk to the edge of the busy road (be safe) right in line with the dumpster, you’ll see a break in the bushes where the monument is hidden. 

Episode Source Material

• Jackson Was Murdered And Carter Was Hanged For It-But That Is All We're Sure About - Online Review of Rhode Island History
• Memoirs of the Rhode Island Bar | Wilkins Updike
• The Narragansett Historical Register | Volume 1 1882-3
• The Narragansett Historical Register | Volume II 1883-84
• The Narragansett Historical Register | Volume VII 1889
• State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at the End of the Century: A History | 1902
• Literary Gossip, Criticisms of Books and Local Historical Matters Connected with Rhode Island | 1902
• South Kingstown Public Library Digital Collections | Hazard Diary 009
• Joseph Peace Hazard Papers
• Mysterious Carter Jackson Monument, South Kingstown, Rhode Island
• Joseph Peace Hazard: Rhode Island Spiritualist · Introduction · Special Collections Exhibits
• Murder memorials: A grisly history written in stone - BBC News
• Murder stone - Wikipedia
• The Gibbet: A Disturbing Execution Practice Meant To Deter Criminals
• The Gibbet — History's Most Inhumane Punishment | by Hdogar
• Who was Joseph Peace Hazard? | SKPL History
• National Register of Historic Places Registration Form G
• Hanging in Chains - Harnessing the Power of the Criminal Corpse - NCBI Bookshelf
• The Incredibly Disturbing Historical Practice of Gibbeting
• Memorials and Monuments
• Why Just 'Adding Context' to Controversial Monuments May Not Change Minds | History| Smithsonian Magazine
• Who do American monuments honor the most? A landmark study finally has answers.