Cumberland is at the heart of the region's earliest history.
In
the territory now known as Cumberland, that the first European settler made his
home in the area of Study Hill. William Blackstone was an erudite and gentle man, whose pioneering ways
originally led him to land at Shawmut Point, now known as Boston,
several years before Governor Winthrop arrived with his colony in the Town of
Charlestown in 1630. Blackstone was a non-conformist Episcopal minister in England who was not
willing to endure the "tyranny of the Lord Bishops" so he traveled to America
arriving around 1625. After several
years as the English Settlers started to settle in the Shawmut region, he sold his land, save for six acres
at Shawmut for six shillings from each household. But after a few years of
settlers instituting their regulations and "tyranny", Blackstone again
sought seclusion and traveled to Wannamoisett, a territory which later included Rehoboth, Seekonk,
Attleborough,
Massachusetts and Pawtucket and Cumberland, Rhode Island. He built his home on
Study Hill which is located about three miles from Pawtucket where Lonsdale
Station and the Lonsdale Company stood. Its Indian name was Wawepoonseag.
Wherever Blackstone roamed, he planted gardens
and the first apple trees in America. He was a very quiet man enjoying
solitude in his pioneering lifestyle, yet he had kept meticulous records of his
life in the wilds of America. Unfortunately, the many volumes of his personal
diaries were lost in a fire which destroyed his home, Study Hall, during King
Philips War, only two months after his death in 1675.
In 1641, the eight square mile area known as Massasoit (though later
measurement states that it was closer to ten square miles) was purchased from
the Indians with two subsequent purchases of Wannamoisett and the North Purchase
by 1694. Cumberland was then known as Attleborough Gore until it was divided
from Attleborough in 1746 and became Cumberland. Cumberland was divided again in
1812 when part of the town became Seekonk, retaining its original Indian name.
In 1659, Blackstone married Mrs. Sarah Stevenson, a widow with three children
and they together had a son named John. There are some discrepancies about
William Blackstone in historical accounts, but it is known that he used to
preach for Roger Williams at times in Providence, arriving either by horse or
even by white bull. This sojourn would spark all kinds of attention, especially
when Blackstone would distribute "yellow sweetings" amongst the
children along the way. He was buried on his farm, though in later years, his
unmarked grave was moved and celebrated with a Memorial found in Cumberland
today. However, his grave was moved again when a road was built through the town
and no one seems to know what happened to his remains.
Cumberland derived its name from Cumberland in England due to the similar
richness of soil minerals and geological features. By 1746-7, town government
was organized and the first busienss was laying out a highway and executing new
laws . Some of these laws prevented dogs and sheep from running wild throughout
the region. Some of the early family names included the Ballous, the Cooks, the
Whipples, the Razees, the Tingleys, the Pecks, the Metcalfs and perhaps most
renown, the Wilkinsons. Jeremiah Wilkinson, a genius, it is said, born in 1741
was the first to make silver spoons, carding machines and invented cold-cut
nails used throughout the world. He also made molasses from corn stalks, darning
needles and many other desired products. His son, Jeptha Wilkinson invented the
celebrated and patented reed-machine, the Colt revolver (though Mr. Colt took
copies and got them patented first) and the rotary cylindrical printing press.
The next generations were equally gifted and Jemima Wilkinson even claimed to
have supernatural spiritual powers with a great following of devoted believers.
There are many other tales of skirmishes with Indians, full participation of
the town's men in the Revolutionary War with a warning signal on Beacon Hill and
Duel Hollow, about a mile from Cumberland Hill. This was the site of a duel
between two Boston men in 1833 after one became insulted. Cumberland was also a
stronghold of force, banded together under Nathan Whipple, that sought to
revolutionize government in the Dorr Rebellion though Chepachet was the scene of
the skirmish.
Perhaps the saddest moment in Cumberland's history is Nine Men's Misery. The
site off of Diamond Hill Road, now known as Nine Men's Misery, was the
scene of a terrible ambush of colonial Americans during the height of King
Philip's War. The troops under Captain Michael Pierce were surrounded,
outnumbered, tortured and killed. A stone monument was erected in 1928. To this
day visitors claim sightings of monks, phantoms on horseback and even children
in the woods surrounding the monument.
There is a memorial there now with a short walk off of Diamond
Hill at the Monastery.
The first manufacturing in Cumberland was a site called Robin Hollow on the
Abbott Run River, under authority from King Charles II, to make tar. In 1797,
the second cotton mill in America (Samuel Slater the first in Pawtucket) was
created by the Watermans upon the site of a 1797 saw mill for marble. Though
this mill burnt down in 1850, Amasa Whipple partially owned the water privilege
and erected another mill here, eventually becoming the Cumberland Mill
Company.
Other mills were created in the vicinity but eventually were torn or burnt down.
These included iron works, cotton and smelting and foundry works as well as boat
building and sash and blind manufacturing and horseshoes.
By 1875, Cumberland's population was 5,688. More industries grew from the
mineral resources found in Cumberland, including coal, lime, granite, though
some of these turned out to be more hope than promise. Ashton, about two and a
half miles above Lonsdale, became the home of a 348 x 90 foot mill, four stories
high with a French roof. This mill was built with updated fire equipment so that
each floor could be doused almost immediately. It held 40,000 spindles and
manufactured fine shirtings which are transported by the Providence to Worcester
Railroad right nearby.
Berkeley, another hamlet, also had a large mill 300 x 90 with 40,000
spindles. Cumberland Hill was the location of town government and the tavern,
store, churches and a bank. Diamond Hill Village initially contained a post
office, a hotel and store by 1852 and the RI and Ma RR was built through the
village in 1877. Arnolds Mills is still very much similar to how it was a
hundred years ago with its quaint and picturesque feel. Lonsdale, Manville and
Valley Falls all had mills at the heart of their village.
The Arnold Mills Community
House, located on Hillside Road, in the Cumberland, RI village of Arnold Mills,
presents their Annual Art Show runs mid-April. The organization is actively
involved with offering a wide array of arts and crafts instruction, public
service programs and cultural heritage. For additional information on
the art exhibit and other happenings, call the Arnold Mills Community House at
401-333-6080.
Arnold Mills village itself
captures the quintessential small town New England village, reflected in the
public buildings and elegant nearby homes.
External Link: Historic
Cumberland Cemeteries
CUMBERLAND PUBLIC
LIBRARY, “THE MONASTERY” & 9 MEN’S MISERY
1464 Diamond Hill Road, Cumberland, RI 401-333-2552
fax: 401-334-0578
Contact: Betty Havrylik Email address: reference@cumberlandlibrary.org
Website: www.cumberlandlibrary.org
Community Room on 2nd floor. First mass grave
site in America dating from the King Philips War. The Monastery and Site of Nine Men's Misery - Rte 114 -
Take a short walk at this interesting building and acknowledge the sacrifice
that our ancestors made during early settlement
BLACKSTONE RIVER THEATRE
549 Broad Street, Cumberland, RI 02864 401-725-9272
fax: 401-725-9278
Contact: Russell Gusetti Email address: russell@riverfolk.org
Website: www.riverfolk.org
