Newport Historical Society

Newport Historical Society Devoted to the history of Newport County, Rhode Island since 1854. Become a member today! NewportHistory.org
(1)

Since 1854, the Newport Historical Society has collected and preserved five centuries of history and continues to document Newport’s unique contribution to our national narrative. The mission of NHS is also to chronicle and interpret this history for a broad audience, so that knowledge of our past will contribute to a deeper understanding of the present and better preparation for the future.

The official opening of the Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History is almost here 🎉Join us for the ...
06/16/2026

The official opening of the Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History is almost here 🎉

Join us for the Opening Celebration of the Center on Saturday, June 20th at the Great Friends Meeting House. This special event not only celebrates the opening of the Center, but also honors the two women who are key to our community: Mrs. Victoria Johnson and Mrs. Pauline Perkins-Moye.

The Opening Celebration will be highlighted by a keynote address from internationally renowned author and advocate Heather McGhee. General admission is $175 per person, VIP tickets at $500 + include a tour of the Center at 17 Broadway at 5 PM. All proceeds will support the Newport Historical Society and the Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History.

For more information and to purchase tickets for the Opening Celebration visit NewportBlackHistory.org/events

🎉Center Opening Celebration
📅Saturday, June 20th | 6pm to 8pm; 5pm Center tour for all VIP level ticket holders.
📍 Great Friends Meeting House | 21 Farewell Street, Newport

Join us for an interfaith celebration in partnership with representatives from the Narragansett Nation, Mt. Zion AME, Tr...
06/15/2026

Join us for an interfaith celebration in partnership with representatives from the Narragansett Nation, Mt. Zion AME, Trinity Church, Temple Shalom, St. Peter’s Lutheran, Channing Memorial, and more. This special event welcomes the community to come together in reflection, connection, and shared fellowship.

Sunday, June 21st | 1:00pm
Free Public Event*
*Guests who wish to explore the Center before or after the service will need to purchase an admission ticket.

Reserve tickets to visit the Center by visiting NewportBlackHistory.org/visit-us/

Postcard with black and white ink drawing of Trinity Church in Newport, RI. "Trinity Church, Newport, RI" by Edith Ballinger Price. Collections of the Newport Historical Society, FIC.2013.115.

Join us in welcoming the NHS' 2026 Summer Fellows✒️From left to right: Kaitlin is a recent graduate of Washington Colleg...
06/13/2026

Join us in welcoming the NHS' 2026 Summer Fellows✒️

From left to right:

Kaitlin is a recent graduate of Washington College in Chestertown, MD, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and a minor in Museum, Field, & Community Education. She recently worked at Liberty Hall in Union, NJ where she taught students on field trips and led tours.

Grace is a recent graduate of Wellesley College where she earned a B.A. in Art History and Middle Eastern Studies. She will be starting her dual degree master’s program in Modern and Contemporary Art History/Arts Administration and Policy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the fall.

Ella is a recent graduate of Salve Regina University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in American History. During her time there, she completed a senior thesis exploring John Adams’s legal legacy in the Boston Massacre trials. Before attending Salve Regina, she earned an associate degree in Liberal Arts from Northern Essex Community College, where she also worked part-time at the Museum of Old Newbury in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

Griffin is a recent graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in Education. He is currently completing a Master of Education in Secondary Education through UMass’s Teach 180 Days in Springfield program.

Welcome to the Newport Historical Society🎉

Experience Newport’s Revolutionary past brought to life!On July 11, 1780, General Rochambeau and 6,000 French soldiers a...
06/12/2026

Experience Newport’s Revolutionary past brought to life!

On July 11, 1780, General Rochambeau and 6,000 French soldiers and sailors arrived in Newport, marking a turning point in the American Revolution. On July 11, 2026, join the Newport Historical Society in Washington Square for a day of living history featuring performances, historical demonstrations, and hands-on activities celebrating America’s oldest allies.
Visitors can explore Newport’s Revolutionary-era connections through engaging programs and family-friendly experiences across the square, with living history interpreters, historic trades, and interactive activities that bring this pivotal moment to life. Part of the NHS’s ongoing 250th-anniversary commemorations, French in Newport highlights the enduring alliance that helped secure American independence.

Step into Revolutionary-era Newport for a day of living history, performances, demonstrations, and hands-on activities commemorating the arrival of General Rochambeau and the French forces in 1780. Programs will take place throughout Washington Square, with trolley service at King Park, Trinity Church, Colony House, and Eisenhower Park.

Free programming is provided in collaboration with the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail.

For more information visit NewportHistory.org/events

🎉French in Newport Living History Event
📅Saturday, July 11th | 10am to 4pm
📍Washington Square & Various Locations

Photo credit 📸 Madison Van Wylen Photography

🎉Join us during the opening weekend of the Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History for "Soul Value" ...
06/11/2026

🎉Join us during the opening weekend of the Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History for "Soul Value" on Saturday, June 20th.

"Soul Value" is a joint dance and poetry performance taking place during family day activities at the Center for opening weekend June 19th through 21st and is one of many events celebrating this historic moment in Newport's history.

A duet, performed by April H. Brown and Jessica T. Pearson, brings to life the stories of New England Black women—Elleanor Eldridge, Elizabeth Freemen, and Margaret Kinnicutt—and the men of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment during and after the American Revolutionary War. Through a dynamic blend of monologue, dance, ritual, and song, Soul Value highlights the untold contributions of Black men and women in New England history, focusing on their advocacy, resilience, and survival.

This project is supported in part by a grant from the Rhode Island Semiquincentennial Commission (RI250).

"Soul Value" Performance
Saturday, June 20th | Performances at 11am, 12pm & 1pm
Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History | 17 Broadway, Newport
For more information visit NewportHistory.org/events

Learn about America's 250th Anniversary with the Newport Historical Society🎉Today's Topic: The Committee of FiveOn this ...
06/11/2026

Learn about America's 250th Anniversary with the Newport Historical Society🎉

Today's Topic: The Committee of Five

On this day, June 11th of 1776, a committee of 5 men were appointed by the Second Continental Congress to draft the Declaration of Independence. The committee consisted of the following delegates whose names you may recognize as the founding fathers of American government: John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Robert R. Livingston of New York, and Roger Sherman of Connecticut.

Appointed with the task of creating the document that would set the tone for American identity, history, and government, it took Thomas Jefferson 17 days to create the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. By July 4th, 1776 it was formally adopted by the Second Continental Congress and by August 2nd, 1776 it was officially signed by 56 delegates.

Of the 56 delegates, two were representatives from Rhode Island: William Ellery ofNewport and Stephen Hopkins of Providence.

To learn more about about Rhode Island's connections with the 250th Anniversary of United State Independence visit https://newporthistory.org/250th-anniversary/

Image 1: Framed print of portrait of William Ellery. FIC.2014.9. Gift of Miss. Mary E. Powell. Collections of the Newport Historical Society.
Image 2: Portrait of Stephen Hopkins by John Philip Hagan (ca. 1999). No known likeness of him exists. This portrait was based on an original sketch of Hopkins’s nephew made by painter John Trumbull. Brown University Portrait Collection.

Join the NHS team for Independence Day at the Colony House🎉Celebrate America's anniversary of declaring independence fro...
06/10/2026

Join the NHS team for Independence Day at the Colony House🎉

Celebrate America's anniversary of declaring independence from Great Britain on Saturday, July 4th at the Colony House in Washington Square!

From 9am to 11am the Colony House will be open for the public to visit and learn about Newport's important role in American independence. A slate of free events are also scheduled to take place in Washington Square. At 11am, the Declaration of Independence will be read from the steps of the Colony House, at which point public admission to the interior of the Colony House will end.

For more information about this celebration visit NewportHistory.org/Events

🎉Independence Day Open House
📅Saturday, July 4th | 9am to 11am
📍Colony House | Washington Square, Newport

Photo credit 📸 Madison Van Wylen Photography

The Newport Show is the highlight of Newport's summer✨Join us on Friday, July 24th for the highly anticipated Newport Sh...
06/08/2026

The Newport Show is the highlight of Newport's summer✨

Join us on Friday, July 24th for the highly anticipated Newport Show Gala Preview Party! Be amongst the first people to view the best arts, antiques, and exquisite objects from around the globe.

Whether your interest is in fine gold objects, antique furniture, or one-of-a-kind jewelry, the Newport Show has everything you are looking for!

For more information and to purchase tickets for the Newport Show Gala Preview Party visit TheNewportShow.com

🎉Newport Show Gala Preview Party
📅Friday, July 24th | 6pm to 9pm; 5pm VIP entry for all Patron ticket holders and higher
📍St. George's School Ice Rink | 384 Purgatory Road, Middletown

Join the Newport Historical Society for a celebration in honor of Mrs. Victoria Johnson and Mrs. Pauline Perkins-Moye🎉As...
06/05/2026

Join the Newport Historical Society for a celebration in honor of Mrs. Victoria Johnson and Mrs. Pauline Perkins-Moye🎉

As we celebrate the opening of the Edward W. Kane & Martha J. Wallace Center for Black History, we will also be celebrating Mrs. Johnson's and Mrs. Perkins-Moye's crucial contributions that led to the opening of the Center through their combined hard work, endless knowledge, and upbeat energy.

The celebration will take place on Saturday, June 20th from 6pm to 8pm at the Great Friends Meeting House. An exclusive tour of the Center for Black History with Director Dr. Akeia de barros Gomes will be available at 5pm for all VIP ticket holders.

For more information and to purchase your tickets for this celebration visit NewportBlackHistory.org/events

🎉Opening Celebration in Honor of Mrs. Victoria Johnson and Mrs. Pauline Perkins-Moye
📅Saturday, June 20th | 6pm to 8pm; 5pm Center tour for VIP ticket holders
📍Great Friends Meeting House | 21 Farewell Street, Newport

Did you know that George Washington visited Newport, RI three times? How about that he walked the floors of the Colony H...
06/05/2026

Did you know that George Washington visited Newport, RI three times? How about that he walked the floors of the Colony House?

Join an NHS tour guide on Saturday, June 13th and follow in the footsteps of George Washington on the George Washington's Footsteps immersive walking tour through Newport’s Old Quarter. Visit the historic sites where Washington stayed, dined, and strategized during his visits to Newport.

For more information and to purchase tickets for this walking tour visit NewportHistoryTours.org

**All walking tours now check in and depart from the Colony House in Washington Square**

👟George Washington's Footsteps Walking Tour
📅Saturday, June 13th | 2pm
📍The Colony House | Washington Square, Newport

Undated photographic print depicting a bronze casting of Jean-Antoine Houdon's original statue of George Washington. The cast was produced by the Gorham Company in 1932 on behalf of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum, based on earlier casts produced by William James Hubard in the late 1800s. Circa 1932, P4652. Collections of the Newport Historical Society.

Address

82 Touro Street
Newport, RI
02840

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Newport Historical Society posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category