Black History Month and the R.I. Slave History Medallion Project Articles

Linden Place re-examined its history in preparation of the installation of a QR coded Medallion as part of the Rhode Island Slave History Medallion Project, and research is ongoing.We will be sharing the stories we have uncovered about the house, its inhabitants, and most importantly the enslaved and free black people connected with Linden Place and our community. Some stories are straight forward and anecdotal, and some are nuanced and painful. As part of this project, one goal is to create a safe space at Linden Place to discuss a difficult topic. We welcome your comments and insights as they will help us in our journey to that goal. More about the Project can be found in this article. 

Our first installment is about the African-American barber who set up shop in Linden Place's conservatory in the 1850s. His name was Daniel Tanner, "A Knight of the Razor."

Our second installment is about the Native-Americans who inhabited the lands that today, we can Bristol. "The Land and the First People."

Our third installment is titled “A Revolution is Brewing”: Twenty thousand English colonists descend on the New England region; the ship “Desire” transports enslaved Native Americans to the West Indies; Simeon Potter and the DeWolf dynasty; Phillis Wheatley and Scipio Burt. 

Our fourth installment is titled “Fight for Freedom and for Social Justice”: The First Rhode Island Regiment, the Revolution, Prince Ingraham and Juba Smith; Isaac Tatem Hopper and the Philadelphia abolitionists

Our fifth installment: Love joins two disparate families together; the story of Rosalie DeWolf and John Hopper

Our sixth installment focuses on George DeWolf and his plantation in Cuba, George DeWolf builds his home on Hope Street, financed by the business of slavery