Betsey Williams Cottage

Betsey Williams Cottage. Roger Williams Park. , Built in 1773, the one-and-a-half-story, five-room, gambrel-roofed cottage sits on part of the land originally deeded to Rhode Island's founder, Roger Williams, by the Narrangansett sachems Miantonomi and Canonicus., It was built for James Williams, the great-great-grandson of Roger Williams and father to Betsey and Rhoda Williams. Raising chickens and tending to farmland, the sisters occupied the house until 1850, when health problems forced them to move. In 1871, Betsey's will bequeathed the entire Williams property to the City of Providence, which was actively assessing land to create a public park., Did you know? , This property was technically within Cranston's city limits. In 1873, Providence finally accepted Betsey's donation and Cranston willingly ceded., [Captions:] , Upon donating 102 acres of her family's farmland, Betsey Williams stated that the site must be for public use, carry the name of Roger Williams, and include a monument in his name. The monument, built in 1877, is pictured here and still stands today greeting patrons of the now 430-acre park., This view uphill (from the area currently occupied by the Seal House) also shows a refreshment stand and the park's once popular pastime of boating, circa 1895., Information and photos courtesy of the RWP Museum of Natural History archives, the National Register of Historic Places, and "The Jewel of Providence" by David Marshall.