Event Title

When Bridgewater Almost Became Part of Rhode Island: The Border Commission of 1741

Location

Hart 116

Start Time

12-5-2016 1:15 PM

End Time

12-5-2016 1:45 PM

Description

The 1663 Charter of Rhode Island in theory extended the eastern border 3 miles east of Narragansett Bay. However, the province of Massachusetts ignored this provision and it was not until 1741 that a Border Commission assembled at Providence and gathered testimony for two months designed to arrive at a definitive solution to the border question. Early in the proceedings RI tried to claim the entire Taunton River basin, which would have made Bridgewater a border community of RI. While the final border was established far to the west, this incident shows the border commission of 1741 to be a fascinating document, containing testimony from inhabitants, both Anglo-American and Native American, of the region.

Comments

Moderator: Martina Arndt

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
May 12th, 1:15 PM May 12th, 1:45 PM

When Bridgewater Almost Became Part of Rhode Island: The Border Commission of 1741

Hart 116

The 1663 Charter of Rhode Island in theory extended the eastern border 3 miles east of Narragansett Bay. However, the province of Massachusetts ignored this provision and it was not until 1741 that a Border Commission assembled at Providence and gathered testimony for two months designed to arrive at a definitive solution to the border question. Early in the proceedings RI tried to claim the entire Taunton River basin, which would have made Bridgewater a border community of RI. While the final border was established far to the west, this incident shows the border commission of 1741 to be a fascinating document, containing testimony from inhabitants, both Anglo-American and Native American, of the region.