The Warren Preservation Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit membership organization dedicated to promoting Historic Preservation in the Town of Warren, Rhode Island.  The objective of the Warren Preservation Society is to promote an interest in the history of Bristol County and Warren, Rhode Island in particular; to preserve their historic integrity and cultural resources; and to educate the public to the historic value of the area.

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 RICH Grant Update

You are invited to The Warren Mill Project Exhibit

A display of photographs, maps and artifacts, and recorded oral histories from Warren’s Mills, 

a related installation and artwork by Deborah Baronas, and a lecture by Richard Greenwood

on Thursday September 16th 5:30- 8:30pm

at the former Warren Manufacturing Mill (aka Tourister Mill)

99 Main Street, 3^rd floor

(behind the RI Fencing Academy- back stairs by the Warren River)

The exhibit will also be open:

Friday September 17th 3-7 or by appt.

Saturday September 18th 1-5 or by appt.

Starting Sept. 28th through October 10th

The Mill Project Exhibit will continue at Imago Gallery, 36 Market Street, Warren (www.imagoartgallery.com)

 with an opening reception on

Thursday Sept. 30 5-8pm

Rhode Island Council for the Humanities Grant

WPS received a $2000. matching grant from RICH - Rhode Island Council for the Humanities - for a project that will contribute to the documentation the history of the mills in Warren, RI and the community of workers who settled there.  The Warren Mill Project will address the historical significance and how it relates to the contemporary use of the mill complexes.   We will present to the public the rich history of these mills, how the community grew as a result of these mills and how the community has changed as the result of the closing and redevelopment of these mills. By recalling the “embodied” energy that went into the buildings many years ago, we hope to recreate for our audience the reality of the past and how it helped shape the community as it exists today.

The team for our documentary project includes: Deborah Baronas, RISD graduate, textile designer, artist; Rick Greenwood, Architectural Historian; Doug Hinman, Research Assistant for the Warren Preservation Society; Davison Bolster, Research Assistant for the Warren Preservation Society, and Diane Horton, Project Director for the Warren Preservation Society.

Currently we are working to find a location for an exhibition planned for early Fall 2010. 

Please stay tuned for updates as the project develops!

Past Events 

Plaqueing Ceremony

Our plaqueing ceremony walking tour was held on Sunday, June 6th from 12pm -3pm.  Properties scheduled for the event included: 405 Water Street, Marble Hall (Blount Seafood), 239 Water Street (former Hope Bank and E&M Martin Lumber Co), 259 Water Street, and the Mercier's Hardware Building. 

This walking tour was designed to promote an appreciation for mixed use and commercial properties as part of our waterfront community.

All of our members and the public are invited to attend these events.

May Quarterly Meeting

Mid 20th-Century Urban Redevelopment: A Cautionary Tale or Why Warren Dodged the Bullet

Ned Connors, Speaker

Looking back on mid 20th-century urban renewal and slum clearance in Rhode Island’s major urban areas, it’s hard to avoid a feeling that the towns and cities that missed out on the period’s visionary projects were the lucky ones. Dense, bustling, 19th-century ethnic and commercial neighborhoods of Providence, Pawtucket, and Woonsocket were obliterated to make way for massive redevelopment plans and highway projects of the 1950s through the early 1970s. Included among these—Weybosset Hill, West River, and Lippitt Hill (University Heights) in Providence, the Social neighborhood of Woonsocket and downtown Pawtucket.  Some areas, through the luck of geographic distance from these projects or inability to attract Federal Funding for urban renewal, find themselves in the year 2010 with old street patterns unchanged, a plentiful stock of historical buildings, intact neighborhoods, and a spirit to integrate modern development with the architectural assets of our past.

Ned Connors is an independent historical preservation consultant. His company, Edward Connors and Associates, has worked throughout Rhode Island and Massachusetts on municipal surveys, preservation tax credit projects, and National Register of Historic Places nominations for districts and individual properties since 1994. Current projects include a survey of Providence Architecture of the Recent Past and a resurvey of the Providence Jewelry District in light of the demolition of the portion of Route 195 that passes through it.

Connors, a resident of Riverside, sits on the East Providence Historic District Commission and is adjunct faculty in the Historic Preservation Program at Roger Williams University.

Warren Preservation Holiday Party Update

Thank you to all of our members and guests who attended the WPS Holiday Party this  past December.  The event was held at the Joseph Martin House (Main Street, currently the site of the Women's Resource Center).  Thanks to many generous donations, WPS was able to contribute over $300 to the Women's Resource Center.  Many of our members and guests had never been inside the Joseph Martin House. The opportunity to use this space for our Holiday Celebration made the experience a special one for everyone involved. 

Samuel Randall House Restoration Celebration Update

Thank you to all who attended and volunteered at the Restoration Celebration!  It was a tremendous success and renovations will continue at 31 Baker Street thanks to all the efforts of the volunteers and money raised at the event.

Pancake Breakfast

The Pancake Breakfast fundraiser was held at the Warren Methodist Church on Saturday, May 23rd.  WPS would like to thank everyone who participated in this event for making it such a great success - and especially Allison Newsome for providing flowers and foliage and decorating the alley.  Proceeds from the breakfast, together with many generous donations, will be used in collaboration with the Town of Warren - Department of Public Works for the restoration of "Stingy" Alley (aka Parsonage Way).

  Enjoying breakfast in Stingy Alley (before the rain!)