Evening star., 1911-08-30


accumulated a large fortune He was
one of the founders of Rhode Island
College. which afterward received the
name of Brown University. and the first
resolution looking to the establishment OF
that institution was offered by him In
the legislature. When he was ninety-flve
years Of age he met President Andrew
Jackson in Providence, June 10. lSSs, ana
said to him. Il m glad to see thee
have known all thy predecessors in once
and | wanted to see thee"
Impression of Washington.
In 17s1 he met Washington, and in a
letter to a friend he wrote, Il was with
Stephen Hopkins when Gen Washington
called to see him. sat some time view
ing the simple, friendly. and pleasant
manner in which these two great men
met and conversed with each other on
various subjects"
Mr.. Brown was very enterprising ana
public-spirited and patriotic during ms
long life. He was the founder OF tne
Abolition Society, the Bible Sof1e.s,, -;c. .m1 .I
Society and the Providence Athenaeum
and held share No. l in the corpora
tion. He was as enterprising IN tne pro
motion OF agriculture and educatioh
in the development OF manuiacturinass as ~
dustries. and his monument IS the Nose
Brown School, famous Quaker lnstl.u-
ton at Providence to which his name was
given in 1904. n
The Friends School. as ii was known
until six years ago. Was .;ods, .he Meetinr
House the twenty-fifth day OF the
third month, 1873. and it's purpose -
explained in a quaint letter, in WHICH
Moses Brown proposed to dona.e q
AlnH ranv
stitution for the guarded sducatloh
for the rising generation w.ii De pro
motive for their usefulness in society
and the honest truth. he wrote
have, for the furtherance or these oe
sirable objects. concluded to give
tract of land on the west side OF my
homestead farm, containing aoou.
forty-tfree acres. for the purpose OF
erecting suitable buildings for the
boarding school thereon.
valuable. being located in the center
OF the most desirable residence por-
ton of Providence. The orignai main
building is 900 feet long, and is sur
rounded by other modern structures IRE
that will accommodate 236 boys. The
graduating class last June consisted or
eighteen members. The curriculum Is
intended to prepare them 10 pass lne
entrance examinations at Brown uhi-
yersjty and similar other institutions
DIR. Seth X clifford is the. principal,
and he is assisted by a faculty or seven
professors and several instructors.
Laid Foundations Well.
Albert K Smiley. the sage of Mo-
honk. was principal Of the Moses
Brown school for nineteen years. and
his twin brother. Alfred H. Smiley,
from whom, in life. he was never sep
arated. was his assistant. They re-
tired in 1879 to go into the hotel bust
ness at Lake Mohonk. In the author
lied history of the school. written by
Augustine Jones. his successor. II Is
said: He laid the foundation OF much
Of the subsequent prosperity IN the
school. He built broad and well.
Providence is famous for many nne
examples of colonial architecture. per
haps more than any other city, unless
it be Salem. Tne most important is
the First Baptist Meeting House.
founded by Roger Williams, who was
IT'S f1rst pastor. The society was or
eanized in 1889, and it is the oldest
Baptist church in America. The pres
enf edffice was erected in 1la5 For the
worship of God and to hold commence
Martins -in-the Fields of London.
The con,men encements of Brown Uni
versity have been held in the meeting
house since the foundation.
in 1853. is another fine specimen. as
we'll as sacred spot because of its
historic associations. May 4. 1176.
two months prior to the Declaration OF
Independence in Philadelphia. the CO
loniaI assembly of Rhode Island in this
building renounced its allegiance to
Great Britain-the first act of the kind
among the American colonies.
Nearly opposite the statehouse is the
Mansion House. originally known as
the Golden Ball Inn. 1t is one of the
Oldest hotels in the United States.
Washington. Adams. Jefferson. LaFay-
cite and other famous men OF revolu-
tionary days have peen It's guests
mansion in the United States is known
as the John Brown House. It was
built in 1885 by the architect who de-
signed the First Baptist Meeting
ton and other prominent men have
been entertained there. and 1t contains
many interesting historical relics. as
we'll as the finest Shakespeare library
in the world.
The Providence National Bank occu-
MES a building built by Joseph Brown
in 1774 for hts home. IT is famous
for it's staircase and mantelpieces and
other architectural details.
-.Old Providence Houses.
The first brick house built in Provi-
dence Is NUMBER ooG NOTIn MAIN street,
and dates back to 1850. 1t is more
notable for it's age than its architec-
ture.
The John Carter Brown mansion.
built in 1921. was considered one OF
the finest houses in America in its day
It is still an object of great interest.
The new statehouse. erected in 1901
O2 by McKim, Mead & White at
cost OF $3,25O,0 Is considered a model
among public buildings and a triumph
in masonry. Its distinguishing fea-
ture is a dome Of mortised marble ris-
ing 235 feet above the surrounding
terrace There is great rivalry be-
tween the statehouse at Hartford and
this. but they are very different.
In the Office OF the secretary OF state
YOU can see the original charter Of the
Rhode Island plantation granted by
King Charles in 1858. and among other
treasures is a full-length portrait OF
washington by Gilbert Stuart. and a
COMPANION portrait Of Gen. Nathaniel
Greene. Stuart was commissioned by
the general assembly Of Rhode Island
to paint Washington and was paid
5000.
this building. On the south front are
the words Of Roger Williams. ITO