The Warren Armory

The Warren Armory. , The Warren Artillery Company , ~ incorporated May 17, 1842~ supported Governor King during the "Dorr Rebellion." In recognition, the state and town each gave the company $500 toward the total cost of $3,000 to build an "armory and public hall." The state also gave the Armory two Revolutionary War cannons., Over the years the Armory has functioned as Town Hall, a site for elections and financial meetings, theater productions, wedding receptions, parties, dances and a roller skating rink., In 1952 the American Legion, Warren Post 11, purchased the Armory for their headquarters and continued use as a public hall. It was sold to the Town of Warren in 2010 and then leased to a non-profit corporation with the mission to restore, protect and operate it for public benefit., The Armory is a Gothic revival, Norman-French building with two hexagonal castellated turrets made of brick and stone covered with stucco. The turrets have lancet windows (arrow loop) while other windows are double-hung and diamond-paned. The Armory was extended 13' in 1874 and a utility room was added to the northeast corner in 1896., The Dorr Rebellion , 1841 - 1842 , The colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, founded by a 1663 charter from King Charles II of England, gave the vote to male landowners only. By 1829, 60% of the state's free white males could not vote., In October 1841 Rhode Island suffrage supporters held a People's Convention, electing Thomas Wilson Dorr as Governor and approving a constitution that gave the vote to all white men with one year's residence. The existing charter government, led by Governor Samuel Ward King, opposed that constitution., On May 19, 1842 the Providence Arsenal - defended by the "Charterites" - was attacked by the "Dorrites." When their cannon failed to fire, the Dorrites retreated. Late in June, Dorr gathered his supporters in Chepachet to reconvene the People's Convention. When Governor King called out the state militia and marched to Chepachet, Dorr disbanded his forces and fled the state., In November 1842 the State Legislature passed reforms that gave the vote to any white male adult who owned land or paid a $1 poll tax. Members of the Narragansett tribe were specifically barred from voting.