WEST GREENWICH – A village in West Greenwich and western Coventry has made the National Register of Historic Places, the R.I. Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission announced this month.
The commission said the National Park Service recognized the Hopkins Hollow-Roaring Brook Historic District for its contributions to the history of settlement, community development, agriculture, architecture and landscape architecture.
The roughly 2,000-acre district encompasses forested, agricultural, residential and industrial properties, along with wood-frame houses, agricultural outbuildings, several cemeteries, a church, sawmill, gristmill and blacksmith shop, granite quarry, cranberry bog, several dams, stone bridges and walls, wells, and building foundations. There are also several ponds, swamps, and waterways that flow into the Moosup River. The commission said settlement started in the area in 1728 when the land was part of Warwick.
“Rhode Island’s rural heritage is revealed by well-preserved historic places [such as] Hopkins Hollow,” commission Executive Director Edward F. Sanderson said.
With all due respect, the article’s author should consult a map of the area and note that the designated historical district is in fact in in the Town of Coventry near the village of Greene. Only a few acres (if any) of the overall Hopkins Hollow area are physically in the Town of West Greenwich.
Those of us who reside in the recently designated historical area would appreciate PBN’s correction of the district’s reported location.
Skip Mays
Perry Hill Rd.
Coventry, RI