As you all may recall from history class, in 1773 a group of Boston residence that were upset by the high taxes from the British, tossed the bales of tea into the bay. This would come to be known as The Boston Tea Party. If you were fortunate enough, you may have even visited the museum that celebrates this historic event during a school field trip. What you might not be familiar with is the Rhode Island Tea Party.
Posted in Historical, Mysterious Landmarks and tagged boton, british, crown, fire, house, island, market, part, providence, rhode, strange new england, tea, Tea Party, tyrannywith no comments yet.
As residents tromp about their business on the East side of Providence, something evil lurks below. A dark chasm in the bowels
of college hill is the home of many frightening tales. A winter home for transients, a frat house for college parties and a church for satanic masses, the abandoned Eastside tunnel serves up a heaping dish of excitement for all those who venture inside.
The tunnel was built in 1908 as a means for easy access to Union Station in downtown Providence. The tunnel is an impressive 22 feet high, 31 feet wide and about a mile long. At its deepest point it is 110 feet below Prospect St. Originally the tunnel contained 2 tracks used by an electric commuter trolley for the first part of the last century. The trolley ran passenger to and from Warren, Bristol, and Fall River. After 1940 the tunnel seems to only have been used by freights of the Providence & Worcester RR. In 1981 they raised the Seekonk Bridge one last time and put an end to its use. Now the tunnel remains as an attraction for the curious and mischievous New Englander.
Posted in Mysterious Landmarks, The Underworld and tagged abandoned, brown, Dark, east, parties, railroad, satanic, Shadows, side, strange new england, tunnel, universitywith no comments yet.
In front of university hall at Harvard University stands a bronze statue of John Harvard. Danial Chester French sculpted the statue in 1884. The statue of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial is one of Mr. French’s better-recognized works. It had been originally placed on a granite pedestal to the west of Memorial Hall but was moved to its present location forty years later. Harvard’s Statue had been unveiled for the University’s 250th birthday in 1885. There is an inscription on the statue that reads, “John Harvard, Founder, 1638.” Though it may come as a surprise, none of it is true. All across campus the students refer to this monument to a great man as “the statue of three lies”. (more…)
Posted in Historical, Mysterious Landmarks and tagged 3, bronze, harvard, john, lies, luck, Statue, strange new englandwith no comments yet.
New England has many rocks with mysterious and cryptic messages scaring their surface. One of the more recognized is ‘Dighton Rock’ located along Route 24 in Dighton Massachusetts . Also off of 24, buried in the forests of East Bridgewater , is a strange rock known as Minister’s Rock that not many are aware of. In this case, the words can clearly be read by anyone and the person scribed them is not a mystery at all. What inspired this man to sprawl these words on a boulder is what puzzles me.
Posted in Mysterious Landmarks and tagged Bridgewater, massachusetts, Ministers Rock, Reverend, strange new england, Timothy Otis Painewith no comments yet.
At the intersection of Westminster and Weybosset Street in Providence Rhode Island is a site that has puzzled many. It has been called the Turk’s Head Building. Rumors of secret organization, religious cults, and eccentric men have been circulating around this fair city for as long as I can remember. In my search for the truth, I discover that some of these rumors contain a measure of truth.
Posted in Historical, Mysterious Landmarks and tagged Building, Head, providence, providence RI, RI, Saracen's Head, Sculpture, strange new england, Turk, Turk's Headwith 4 comments.
Recently I was digging through the cold cases and decide to pull out the Smallpox den file. I had known of the den for over ten years. Though it was a fantastic story, all I was left with was the name of the town and brook it lies near. The brook stretched for miles through fields and forest. Without more clues it would be like trying to find a needle in a hay stack. I thought I’d review the material to see if I could find something I might have missed.
Posted in Archaeological, Cave, Mysterious Landmarks, Weird Destinations and tagged cave, Den, Israel allen, Small Pox, strange new englandwith 1 comment.
Hidden on top of Pine Hill, overlooking the town of Waterbury Connecticut is Holy Land USA. Once a local mans recreation of the Holy Land, it now lies in disrepair. Years of exposure to vandals and the natural elements has give it a post-apocalyptic aesthetic. Stories of gang murders, a secret order of nuns and cult like activity are now the staple theme of tales concerning this curious landmark.
Posted in Historical, Mysterious Landmarks, Ruins and tagged connecticut, Holy Land, Holy land USA, park, strange new england, theme, usa, Waterburywith no comments yet.
Through out history many small New England towns have chosen local landmarks that personify the unique flavor and history of the area. Often it will be a home where Washington slept, a tract of land where a battle occurred or even pub historical characters frequently stumble from on a late evening. When these sites are put at risk the community rallies to protect them. All in all, as this story begins it sounds much like the usual Yankee lifestyle and it would be if it were not for the odd characters and location involved. For in North Kingston RI at the end of Devil’s Foot Road is a rock bearing the same name. It came as a surprise to me when I had heard how important this slab of stone had become to this fair town and the many mysteries wrapped up in its history.
Posted in Mysterious Landmarks and tagged cloven, devil, Devils Foot, hoof, hooves, indian, road, strange new englandwith no comments yet.
In Rockville, Rhode Island, located in Yawgoog Scout Reservation, is a petroglyph that has baffled historians and archaeologists. On the local map, its noted as Symbol Rock. Experts have described the images as a woman with child, and various circular line drawings and depressions. No one really knows what it’s meaning or purpose could be. Settlers discovered many of these rocks, but most were destroyed when the land was cleared for farms, or when the rocks were used for walls and buildings. Symbol Rock is one of the few stones that survived unharmed. Settlers that saw the rock were as puzzled as we are today. Local Indians did not provide any insight as to it’s origin. Archaeologists have many theories as to who created these carvings. Some experts claim a much earlier generation of Narragansett Indians may have carved the images. Others argue that the symbols are not at all like any known Indian symbols, and resemble Viking, Pre-Colombian Celtic, or Phoenicians symbols.
Posted in Ancient New England, Mysterious Landmarks and tagged indian, inscription, mystery, petroglyph, Symbol Rockwith no comments yet.