page_title: Timeline of Providence, Rhode Island
section_title: 19th century
hierarchical_section_title: Timeline of Providence, Rhode Island / 19th century
context_page_description: The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Providence, Rhode Island, United States.
context_section_description: 1800 — Population: 7,614.
  1801
  January 21 — The first "Great Fire" destroys 37 buildings and leaves many families homeless
  Providence Marine Corps of Artillery founded.
  1802 – Providence Phoenix newspaper begins publication.
  1805 — Providence streets receive official names for the first time
  1810 — Population: 10,071.
  1814
  Union Bank of Providence founded.
  1815
  September 23: The Great Gale of 1815 causes extensive damage and flooding.
  1816
  October 13: The First Congregational Church (Unitarian) dedicated, now known as First Unitarian Church.
  1818 – Rhode Island Peace Society and Merchants Bank established.
  1819
  New England Yearly Meeting Boarding School opens.
  1820
  January 3: The Manufacturers' & Farmers' Journal, Providence & Pawtucket Advertiser begins publication, precursor to The Providence Journal.
  1822 – Rhode Island Historical Society founded.
  1823
  April — The first ordinance passed requiring snow removal from sidewalks within 24 hours after falling
  Providence Franklin Society incorporated.
  1824
  The first city directory issued
  Race riot in Hard Scrabble
  August 23 — Lafayette visited Providence for the first time since the Revolutionary War to great acclaim
  1825
  May — the second "Great Fire" began at the corner of Union and Westminster Streets
  1828
  Dexter Asylum built.
  Westminster Arcade built.
  High Street Bank established.
  Herald newspaper begins publication.
  1829
  The Providence Journal newspaper begins publishing daily.
  1831
  Boston and Providence Railroad begins operating.
  Race riot in Snow Town.
  Gorham Silver and Franklin Lyceum established.
  1832
  City incorporated. City government meets at Market House
  Samuel W. Bridgham elected first mayor.
  1833 — David Brown opens a shop on South Main Street that later becomes Brown & Sharpe
  1835 – Train station and first India Point Railroad Bridge built.
  1836
  Providence Athenaeum formed.
  City hosts Rhode Island Anti-Slavery convention.
  1838
  Providence Association for the Benefit of Colored Children organized.
  Narragansett Boat Club organized.
  1839 – Providence Marine Corps of Artillery armory built.
  1841 – 1842: Dorr Rebellion
  1843 – Classical High School established.
  1844
  Butler Hospital for the Insane founded
  Corliss, Nightingale & Co. in business.
  1845
  The City Council votes to prepare plans for a new City Hall
  Grace Church built.
  Laureldale Chemical Works established.
  1846
  Swan Point Cemetery established.
  Scholfield's Commercial College, a business college located downtown, established.
  A. T. Cross Company established.
  1847
  Providence and Worcester Railroad begins operating
  Union Railroad Depot built
  Providence Tool Company established.
  1848
  Providence Medical Association instituted.
  B.B. and R. Knight, which later becomes Fruit of the Loom, established
  1850 – Providence Reform School opens.
  1852
  Central Congregational Church established.
  Locust Grove Cemetery incorporated.
  1853
  Providence Young Men's Christian Union established
  Joseph Brown teams with Lucian Sharpe to form Brown & Sharpe
  1854
  A cholera pandemic sweeps the city, especially among crowded immigrants and workers. Local cemeteries see record numbers of burials. For the next 30 years, 1854 is remembered as "The Year of Cholera."
  Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad begins operating.
  1855
  James Y. Smith becomes mayor.
  Providence Aid Society organized.
  U.S. Customshouse built.
  1860 - Population: 50,666.
  1863
  Bryant and Stratton National Business College (now Bryant University) opens a campus in Providence
  1865 – Population: 54,595.
  1866
  Providence receives state approval to tap the Pawtuxet River as a source of drinking water
  1867
  Young Women's Christian Association organized.
  Babcock & Wilcox founded.
  1868
  Rhode Island Hospital dedicated.
  Women's City Missionary Society organized.
  1869
  Morning Star newspaper begins publication.
  November: Prospect Terrace Park created.
  "1870s" – A sewer system is constructed which discharges city waste into the harbor.
  1871
  Roger Williams Park donated to the people of Providence by Betsy Williams
  Thanksgiving Day: Providence municipal water service begins, pumping water f
caption: Union Railroad depot, Providence, 19th century
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