Sakonnet Historical
A project by Brown Center for Public Humanities, the Tiverton Public Library, and the Little Compton Historical SocietyBrought to you by the Little Compton Historical Society, the Tiverton Public Library, and the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage, Sakonnet Historical puts the history of Tiverton and Little Compton, Rhode Island, at your fingertips. Explore unique historic places and create self-guided tours. Discover interesting people, places and events in Sakonnet River history.
Featured Story
Josephine F. Wilbur School: Little Compton's First Modern School
When schoolteacher Josephine Field Wilbor returned to her hometown of Little Compton in 1910, she found one room schoolhouses with outhouse lavatories, classrooms without heat or electricity, and…
Bridgeport and the Pogy Fleet
In the early 1900s, Tiverton was well-known for the stench of rotting fish. One local writer described the odor wafting from the menhaden factories along the Sakonnet River as “Rhode Island’s most…
The Rhode Island Red Monument
Imagine a stereotypical small farm with a few chickens pecking around the yard, the sun shining on their bright red feathers. This image is close to the reality in Little Compton today, but for a few…
Take a Tour
Little Compton Commons
Adamsville
Pardon Gray Preserve
Tiverton
Recent Stories
Vernal Pool at Pardon Gray Preserve
Vernal pools are temporary wetlands that annually fill with water in the winter and early spring and then become dry when the weather turns warmer, although some pools may not completely evaporate in…
Pardon Gray Cemetery
Until the early 19th century, it was common for farms to include a family cemetery. Later, as industrialization took over and people moved into towns and cities, family cemeteries were supplanted by…
History of Pardon Gray Preserve
Before Europeans arrived, the Pocasset people fished and farmed along the eastern shore of the Sakonnet River in what is now Tiverton. Forests, swamps, and streams provided fresh water, game, wood…
Pardon Gray Preserve Grasslands
The 65-acre meadow alongside Main Road may be the most valuable wildlife habitat of Pardon Gray Preserve. Grasslands and open fields are disappearing in the Northeast due to the diminishing number of…