Ninigret Park History

Ninigret Park History. Welcome to Ninigret Park. , After the glacier receded, indigenous peoples lived here during the warmer months, moving inland in the winter to villages surrounded by forest. They lived in this diverse ecosystem hunting deer, bear, moose, fowl, seals, and whales; fishing and shellfishing; gathering nuts, fruit, berries, mushrooms, and other edibles; and growing corn, beans, squash and melons. A mound of oyster shells, called a midden, dating from thousands of years ago is located in the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge. Ninigret Park is named for a line of Ninigret sachems of the Niantic and Narragansett nations in Rhode Island. Today, the two are united as the only federally recognized tribal nation in Rhode Island, the Narragansett., By the mid-1600s, an area south of the glacial moraine in Charlestown was settled by Jeffrey Champlin, one of the original Misquamicut settlers. The relatively rock-free soil left by the glacier and a mild, maritime climate made farming this land productive. In the 1770s, the 2,000-acre Champlin plantation, of which this land was a part, became one of the largest, most successful in Narragansett County. Exported were cheese, ham, and wool, and approximately 200 slaves tended to more than 600 sheep, 50 dairy cows, and hundreds of pigs. From the 1800s until World War II, this land remained farmland (see the 1939 photo showing potato fields and summer homes along the shore). , During World War II, the federal government acquired this land for a Naval airfield. Here President George H. W. Bush trained in 1943, and ultimately 1,500 personnel were stationed at the base. In 1944, Navy pilots trained in night fighter operations. The air station was likely the first to employ Ground Control Approach, where radar on the ground was used to guide pilots to the runway at night or in fog and alert them if they deviated from their intended glide slope when landing. Training was dangerous, resulting in 62 deaths from airplane crashes off the coast and in the nearby woods and swamps. The Naval Airfield Memorial in Ninigret Park honors their ultimate sacrifice in protecting our country., In the early 1970's, the airfield was decommissioned, and a nuclear power plant was proposed. Edwin "Frosty" Drew sounded the alarm, and Concerned Citizen's of Rhode Island, made up of townspeople and led by Samuel and Helen Seeley, formed to fight the proposal. Joining the fight were business leaders, state and federal legislators, and state and national conservation organizations. Finally, a decision by a judge in 1979 disposing of the property resulted in approximately 380 acres becoming the Salt Pond Unit of the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, a refuge for birds and wildlife, and almost 230 acres becoming a park, Ninigret Park (see Ninigret Park map), for residents and visitors alike to enjoy., By the 1980's the Ninigret Park Committee, let by George Bliven, with his co-chair Art Ganz, got to work. With the help of the RI National Guard, citizens and businesses, over 30 dilapidated buildings and miles of asphalt were removed and a park created. The commander's house became the Senior/Community Center, and the Chief Petty Officer's house the Frosty Drew Science Center. Runways became park roads and the Criterion, with the control tower as its Judges Stand. The firefighting pond was converted to Little Nini Pond, and the playground sits where an old hangar stood. Ball courts, an observatory, sports fields, a disc golf course, and more were added. The town continues to invest in its park., For additional information about the history of Ninigret Park please visit http://charlestownri.org.