Mission

The Massasoit Historical Association charges itself with the collection and preservation of historical data and relics pertaining to the town of Warren and its history; to care for and preserve the Maxwell House, to preserve and mark buildings, landmarks, and other objects of historic or architectural interest; to conduct events and activities, to educate, and to stimulate an interest in local history.

 Projects

The Association maintains the Maxwell House and the Massasoit Spring at the foot of Baker Street. In 2014 the Haile Collins House and adjoining commercial property was bequeathed by Lombard John Pozzi. The Association presents Eighteenth Century Dining Experiences and Tea Parties. Meetings, held monthly, are open to the public.

Collection

Archives | Cartography | Ceramics | Clothing And Dress | Diaries | Drawings | Dress Accessories | Family Papers | Furniture | Gardens | Genealogy | Historic Buildings | Newspapers | Paintings | Photographs | Postcards | Printed Ephemera | Textiles | Tools | Toys

The archives include slides of Henry Cady's work (local artist), glass slides and photographs, Maxwell family furniture, maps of Warren, logbook of an early 19th-century vessel, a daybook of an 18th-century carpenter, and varied papers and photographs relating to the Town of Warren, RI. The scaleboard, found in the Maxwell House, is a wooden plank scribed in the early 1700s with what was authenticated in 1978 by William A. Baker, curator of the MIT Hart Nautical Museum, as "the oldest known shipbuilder's draught of an American vessel." The board was probably the plan for a sloop-rigged craft used for local trading on Narragansett Bay.

View our Collection here.

Building Description

The Maxwell House, maintained by the association as a museum, was built between 1752 and 1756 by the Reverend Samuel Maxwell. The house, believed to be the oldest brick dwelling in Warren, is distinguished. The exterior brickwork has a distinctive Flemish bond with a fieldstone foundation. The interior features five exhibit spaces, six fireplaces, and a massive central chimney. The kitchen has a large functional fireplace and bake oven, some original floorboards and beams, and an exposed plank, lath, and plaster wall. Simple grounds feature an eighteenth-century herb garden.

Membership

Yearly membership runs from July through June. Those taking out a new membership after February 1 are considered paid for the next year. Categories ranging from $15 to $1000.

CONTACT
Deb Jobin, President
401.527.7894
DebJobinHomes@gmail.com

Massasoit Historical Association
P.O. Box 203
Warren, Rhode Island, 02885 

SITE TO VISIT
Maxwell House
59 Church Street
Warren, Rhode Island 02885
(at the corner of Church and Water Streets)

GOOD FOR CHILDREN
Over the age of 3

HOURS
Open upon request

VISIT US
massasoithistorical.org
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