Welcome to the Massasoit Historical Association
The Maxwell House is located at 59 Church Street, Warren, RI
To schedule a tour, please contact Deb Jobin at debjobinhomes@gmail.com or call (401) 527-7894
Featured Museum Items
The Maxwell House (circa 1756), 59 Church St., Warren, RI. Built by Rev. Samuel Maxwell, later home to shipowners James & Level Maxwell.
Toll Bridge Ledger (1802-1815) from the first Kelly’s Bridge, Warren & Barrington. Gift of Ralph Petrucci.
Thalia Club Souvenir Program (Feb 8, 1893) for the Massasoit Monument Association fundraiser. Published by the Association and printed by E. A. Johnson & Co., Providence, RI.
Postcards (Oct 19, 1907) featuring photos from the Massasoit Spring dedication, including the marker, plaque, and attendees.
Scale Board Drawing (Early 18th Century), authenticated by maritime historian William A. Baker. This scribed wood board, found in the attic flooring of the Maxwell House, is the oldest known shipbuilder’s draft of an American vessel. Published in Garret Archaeology, 1978.
Photograph (1890) of Warren Town Hall, featuring Alice Merchant DeWolf (first on the left, second row). Part of the Merchant DeWolf Collection. The DeWolf family were prominent Rhode Island merchants, shippers, and politicians.
Liquor License (July 6, 1885): Second Class License No. 1, Town of Warren, granted to Joseph W. Butler. At $150, this license would cost approximately $4,881.40 today!
A monument to Massasoit Ousamequin, 17th-century Chief of the Pokanoket tribe, stands near 81 Baker St., Warren—once a reputed aboriginal village site. Dedicated on October 19, 1907, by historian Virginia Baker and two indigenous descendants, the boulder was sourced from settler Hugh Cole’s farm. Baker, who lived nearby, wrote extensively about Massasoit and early Warren
Day Book (1869-1893) by James Jerome Cady, recording material prices for jobs for Clarence and James A. Seymour. A day book (or book of original entry) logs transactions chronologically before they are transferred to a ledger.
Photograph (July 4, 1890) of the grandstand in front of the Baptist Church, Main St. & Market St., Warren, RI, taken by Henry Cady.
Photograph (Spirit of '76, undated) by Church Studio, featuring Gordon B. Church (central figure). Represents the patriotic spirit of the American Revolution.
-
To schedule a tour, please contact President Deb Jobin at debjobinhomes@gmail.com or call (401) 527-7894.
The Maxwell House is located at 59 Church Street, Warren, RI.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
President Deb Jobin
Email: DebJobinHomes@gmail.com
Phone: (401) 527-7894
Mail: P.O. Box 203, Warren, RI, 02885
Website: www.massasoithistorical.org
Looking for a Membership?
Yearly membership runs from July through June. Those taking out a new membership after February 1 are considered paid for the next year.