We are renovating the main meeting/exhibit room to remove an asbestos-containing floor covering and to refinish the floor underneath. The project is now underway and we expect to remain closed through to the end of February. We will keep you updated as the project moves along.
To contact the BH&PS during this time, it is best to email us at info@bhpsri.org.
NOTE: The BH&PS applied for and received a very generous Champlin Grant to renovate the floor but we are still short a whopping $10,000!!! Therefore, we are looking for donations to help us make up this shortfall and we would be be grateful for your help!! Please click on the NEW FLOOR DONATION button below to make your donation. Thank you!!
African & Indigenous Maritime Narratives
LECTURE
BY DR. AKEIA DE BARROS GOMES
"FREEDOM, SOVEREIGNTY, AND THE SEA"
FEBRUARY 20 @ 6 PM
Join the Bristol Historical & Preservation Society and the Rogers Free Library for an evening with Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes, the curator of “Entwined”, an exhibit currently on display at the Mystic Seaport Museum.
This in-person event will take place in the Herreshoff Community Room at Rogers Free Library, 525 Hope Street, Bristol, at 6 p.m. on February 20. Free and open to the public but seating is limited so pre-registration is required.
Please click here to reserve your spot.
Scholars and museum professionals often tell maritime histories using Euro-Centric perspectives. African, African-descended, and Indigenous maritime narratives are often outside of that focus. “Entwined: Freedom, Sovereignty and the Sea” focuses directly on Indigenous and African ties to the waterways of New England, called “The Dawnland”, and calls on visitors to think about history, water and spirituality in new ways. Dr. de Barros Gomes' presentation will give the audience a deep insight into that new way of thought.
Dr. de Barros Gomes, a Newport native with a background in anthropology and African American history, brought her extensive experience to the project. Formerly Curator of Social History at the New Bedford Whaling Museum and Assistant Professor at Wheelock College, she most recently served as Vice President for the American Institute for Maritime Studies at Mystic Seaport Museum. This past November the Newport Historical Society named her Director of its new center for Black History, set to open at the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House.
For more information, call the BH&PS at
401-253-7223 or email info@BHPSri.org,
DON'T FORGET TO PRE-REGISTER.
BUS TOUR
BRISTOL TO MYSTIC: A DAY OF DISCOVERY AND HISTORY
APRIL 9 -- 8:30 AM to 5 PM
The Bristol Historical & Preservation Society invites you to join us for a motorcoach trip to Mystic, CT, to view the exhibit Entwined: Freedom, Sovereignty, and the Sea, currently on display at Mystic Seaport and curated by Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes, our February 20th speaker. Afterwards, we will go to Stonington for private tours of the Lighthouse Museum and of the Stonington Borough itself.
OPEN TO BH&PS MEMBERS & THE PUBLIC:
$85 for BH&PS members and Early Birds
$95 after March 6.
Please click here to reserve your spot.
Our first stop will be the Mystic Seaport Museum, where we'll be greeted at the special exhibit Entwined by a docent, who will share insights into this amazing exploration of Indigenous and African ties to the waterways of “The Dawnland – New England.” The exhibit calls on visitors to think about history, water and spirituality in new ways.
Afterwards, you will have free time to explore other buildings on this museum campus.
Then our motorcoach will take us to the heart of Mystic - West Main Street – where you will have free time to enjoy lunch, perhaps do some shopping, or visit the Mystic Art Museum.
From there it’s a short drive to the 170-year-old Stonington Lighthouse, where members of the Old Stonington Historical Society will open the Lighthouse Museum just for us, and then lead us on a one hour walking tour of the Stonington Borough, settled around 1750.
We’ll then board our motorcoach
and head back to Bristol with an ETA of 5 p.m. and with new insights into our New England history.
DON'T FORGET TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT!
THE BH&PS WINTER HISTORY BOOK CLUB
Next up for books to read for the BH&PS Winter History Book Club is the
Diary of King Philip’s War, 1675-1676
by Benjamin Church.
The discussion will be held at
1 p.m. on March 1st in the
Quiet Study Room at the Rogers Free Library,
525 Hope Street, Bristol,
The Bristol Historical & Preservation Society and the Rogers Free Library have joined together to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the King Philip War with a three session History Book Club.
On June 21, 1675, Pokanoket warriors killed seven colonists in Swansea in retaliation for a series of injustices suffered at the hands of the English. Generally considered the beginning of King Philip's War, this act led to a bloody conflict that involved every New England colony and Algonquian peoples throughout the region. Local tribes attacked more than half of all the settlements in New England and reduced about a dozen towns in Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies to ashes. By the end of the War in August of 1676, more than 600 settlers had died and 1,200 homes had been burned. An estimated 3,000 Native Americans died at the hands of the English.
The first book for discussion was
Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick.
The second book for discussion is on March 1:
Diary of King Philip’s War, 1675-1676 by Benjamin Church.
The third and final book for discussion is on April 5:
The Name of War by Jill Lepore.
Copies of the books will be available for checkout at the Rogers Free Library circulation desk a month in advance of the discussion date.
Free and open to the public.
OUR 2025 EXHIBIT WILL BE COMING SOON
COLLECTORS OF CURIOSITIES:
THE HISTORY OF THE WUNDERKAMMER
What do 200 year old Fijian war clubs, etched glass cups from the World’s Fair of 1893, 19th century wooden water pipes from Bristol, and a collection of sand from beaches all over the world have in common?
They are all in the BH&PS collections!
A Wunderkammer, or "cabinet of curiosities," was a collection of unusual, rare, and sometimes bizarre objects typically amassed by wealthy individuals or scholars during the 16th to 18th centuries.
In the spirit of the Wunderkammer, the BH&PS is bringing out some of our most interesting and diverse curiosities for our 2025 exhibit.
Check back here or on the Exhibit Page for dates of our opening and special events surrounding this exhibit. The exhibit will open as soon as the repairs to our exhibit room floor are complete.
Image: "The Curiosity Seller"
by Cornelious de Mann (1621-1706)
WALKING TOURS 2025
The 2024 Walking Tour Season is sadly over.
Check back in the spring for our 2025 WALKING TOURS when we will have lots of new tours as well as the return of old favorites with new routes and directions.
Check out our CALENDAR for dates and details.
The Society has self-guided downtown walking tour maps, too. Pick up one at the Society during open hours or CLICK HERE to print one out.
THE BH&PS WINS PRESTIGIOUS HISTORY AWARD
The Timeline of Enslavement in Bristol, Rhode Island
The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) congratulates the Bristol Historical & Preservation Society, of Bristol, RI, for receiving an Award of Excellence for The Timeline of Enslavement in Bristol, RI. The Award of Excellence is part of the AASLH Leadership in History Awards, the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation of state and local history. It is the first time in more than four years that a RI project has been honored.
The Timeline of Enslavement in Bristol, RI is a 56 foot-long strip of fabric that lists in chronological order the names of those who were enslaved in Bristol, Rhode Island, between 1680 and 1808. All those identified occupy their own space on the timeline, regardless of how much or little is known about them. The approximately 600 entries represent approximately 475 enslaved individuals in total.
