Hello! Welcome back to our blog as we travel in this
post to the State of Rhode Island’s lone National Park Service Unit, Roger
Williams National Memorial.
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| Entrance sign |
BACKGROUND:
In
1636, a colonist in Massachusetts named Roger Williams found himself on the wrong
side of the law. Williams, a Puritan
minister, had been urging a separation from the Anglican church. This however, was considered not just
heretical, but also criminal as the head of the Anglican church was the King of
England, and as such there was no separation of church and state. Under threat of arrest, he fled Massachusetts
to the southwest, finding a location on the headwaters of Narraganset Bay. Several Indian Chiefs with whom Williams was
friendly with gave him the land on which he formed his own government, the
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He dubbed the capital of his new colony
“Providence,” meaning gift from God, and wrote into the colonial charter
provisions that restricted laws to temporal and civil matters rather than
spiritual, and guaranteed religious freedoms within the colony, creating the
first government with a separation between church and state. Roger Williams' example of religious freedom
would later be enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution.
To
honor not just the man who founded both Rhode Island and its capital city of
Providence, but also the first champion of religious liberty in America,
Congress authorized the creation of a National Memorial in Providence on the
location of Williams’ original settlement.
After acquiring and clearing the authorized land, a large public park
was created to serve as the memorial.
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| Roger Williams National Memorial as seen from the north. |
THE MEMORIAL:
Roger
Williams National Memorial consists of a large rectangular public park in the
center of downtown Providence, opposite the Rhode Island state capitol
building. The park lies on the site
where Roger Williams first settled Rhode Island and Providence. There are several memorials and interpretive
signs throughout the park but it is largely green-space. A small visitor center built within an
historic colonial home is located at the park’s northeast corner. Fittingly, Roger Williams overlooks the park,
as his grave-site is directly uphill to the east, with his statue atop his grave
looking down on the city from above.
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| The grave of Roger Williams, overlooking the memorial and the city. |
TRAVEL TIPS:
The
Roger Williams National Memorial is easily accessible within the center of
Providence Rhode Island. There is
limited parking at the Memorial so visitors will mostly need to use street
parking. The park is a public space and
is open at all hours and seasons, however the visitor center is only open from
9:00am-4:30pm. The park is handicapped
accessible and the visitor center contains a short film and passport stamps. For those visitors who are interested, the Roger Williams gravesite is a relatively short, though very steeply uphill, walk away.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
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| The memorial visitor center. |
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| The well at the center of the park marking the spot where Roger Williams founded both Providence and Rhode Island. |
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| This building opposite the well stands on the place where Roger Williams' house once stood, as indicated by the plaque between the second and third floors. |
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| A view of the park from the south. |
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| A memorial on the park grounds to Gabriel Bernon, a Huguenot who came to Providence fleeing religious persecution in France. |
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| A view of the Rhode Island State Capitol from the Memorial. |
