Rhode Island
The haunting history of Tiverton’s Fort Barton Woods
- Entry: Off Route 77 (Foremost Street), flip onto Lawton Avenue to the highest of the hill. The trailhead is on the intersection of Lawton and Highland avenues.
- Parking: Out there at a paved lot throughout from Tiverton City Corridor.
- Canines: Allowed, however have to be leashed or underneath voice management and saved on the marked trails.
- Issue: Straightforward to reasonable, with some rocky and rooted paths.
TIVERTON — The Sin and Flesh Brook that winds via Fort Barton Woods is without doubt one of the most intriguing locations I’ve ever come throughout whereas mountaineering in Rhode Island.
The origin of the title dates again 350 years to King Philip’s Warfare between the Colonists and Native Individuals, a collection of bloody battles marked by many atrocities.
Within the deep woods right here in 1676, Zoeth Howland, a Quaker preacher, was tortured and killed whereas touring from his dwelling in Dartmouth to go to a congregation in Newport. His mutilated physique was present in an unnamed stream that turned often called “Sinning Flesh River.” Through the years, the title developed to Sin and Flesh Brook.
Strolling RI:Ninigret Nationwide Wildlife Refuge harbors naval, tribal historical past
Strolling RI:Go to A Civil Warfare grave and remnants of a bygone RI railroad in Hopkinton
That violent historical past contrasts with the quiet, peaceable protect I discovered after I not too long ago hiked via the 98-acre sanctuary. The brook meanders via the remoted japanese aspect of the protect underneath a dense cover of oaks, maples and holly timber. Thick inexperienced ferns carpet the banks.
Scenic stays of a Revolutionary Warfare lookout
I got down to see the brook for myself early one foggy morning from the trailhead on the western aspect of the protect, which is managed by the Tiverton Land Belief. I walked up a brief, steep, paved pathway to the stays of fortified earthworks constructed on a granite outcropping on Excessive Hill through the Revolutionary Warfare. The redoubt on a bluff 110 ft above the Sakonnet River defended the slim passage between Tiverton and Portsmouth. It additionally served as a lookout to test on the British occupation of Aquidneck Island from 1776 to 1779.
Strolling RI:Household-friendly mountaineering at a former Woman Scout camp in Westerly
Strolling RI:On the lookout for an excellent birdwatching spot? Do this former Navy website in North Kingstown
From the fortifications, Lt. Col. William Barton and a ragtag band of Colonists in 1777 launched a daring raid by boat round Prudence Island to Portsmouth. They rowed three boats at midnight of night time via the British fleet, slipped ashore and captured British Gen. Richard Prescott in his quarters.
The raid had little strategic significance, however experiences of Prescott being led off in his nightshirt swept via the Colonies and boosted the morale of the rebels.
To honor the raid’s chief, Tiverton Heights was renamed Fort Barton.
A 20-story remark tower now stands on the excessive floor subsequent to a pole flying the American flag. I made a decision to avoid wasting the climb to the highest for later, after the fog had lifted.
Strolling RI:5 nice hikes with ocean views
Strolling RI:Immigrant conflict hero’s legacy lives on at Glocester protect
Historic homeland of the Pocasset Tribe swept up in King Philip’s Warfare
From behind the tower, I walked down a gravel path to a set of wood steps that led down a steep embankment and into Fort Barton Woods.
I picked up the red-blazed path and handed by a farm behind a stone wall on the precise, the place I heard a rooster crow earlier than seeing chickens in a pen pecking for meals. The trail, rocky and rooted in locations, ran up and down a small ridge earlier than crossing a wood bridge over Archer Brook.
Strolling RI:A step-by-step information to stunning Stepstone Falls
Strolling RI:Finest place for a hike and osprey recognizing? Attempt the Nice Swamp in South Kingstown
Persevering with east underneath stands of holly, birch and black cherry timber, I crossed a stone wall and handed via a muddy space earlier than getting a primary glimpse of Sin and Flesh Brook, which meandered simply via the woods.
It was peaceable.
The Pocassets, a part of the Wampanoag nation, lived and hunted right here for 1000’s of years.
Throughout King Philip’s Warfare (1675-1676), they joined different tribes to struggle the Colonists after an escalating collection of disputes over land claims, tribal rights and cultural tensions. When the Colonists encroached on native lands, the Native Individuals retaliated by raiding settlers’ properties and property. That led to extra brutal clashes.
Two of the primary armed engagements of King Philip’s Warfare passed off in Tiverton because the conflict unfold all through the area.
In December 1675, in what’s now South Kingstown, the Colonists massacred 600 Native Individuals, together with ladies and youngsters, and burned dwellings and meals in what got here to be known as the Nice Swamp Bloodbath. About 150 members of the Colonial militia died within the battle.
Strolling RI:Exploring trail-blazer ‘Vin’ Gormley’s playground in Charlestown
Strolling RI:Trestle Path in Coventry is a good spot for health coaching
In response, the Native Individuals burned settlements and killed Colonists all through Rhode Island. In 1676, Howland, the preacher, was discovered lifeless in Sin and Flesh Brook. Historians have discovered courtroom data that named a Native American as his killer.
The conflict lasted till Canonchet, chief of the Narragansetts, and later, Metacomet, chief of the Pokanoket and often known as King Philip, had been killed.
Because the conflict ended, the Pocassets had been pushed from the land, which was granted to Colonists, in some circumstances for excellent service through the conflict. Their farms dominated Tiverton for lots of of years. The stone partitions that crisscross Fort Barton Woods had been most likely constructed as property strains or limitations to maintain livestock from wandering into swampy areas.
Peaceable but eerie setting for a woodland stroll
I paused and considered all that historical past as I adopted the red-blazed path throughout a wood bridge over the Sin and Flesh Brook, which flows southwest into Nannaquaket Pond. I crossed the winding brook three extra instances on huge, wooden-board bridges. At one bend within the river, in a darkened space closely shaded by tall oaks, the one sound was the water rippling over stones within the shallow stream. It felt a bit eerie.
Strolling RI:Seal-watching and scenic splendor at Rome Level in North Kingstown
Strolling RI:Retracing Thoreau’s 1854 hike via Windfall
The path bent north after which east, with a stone wall operating parallel to the trail.
I handed via a rocky space of outcroppings and boulders earlier than dipping right down to some wetlands, together with a placid, vernal pool with purple maple and yellow birch timber rising on a small island within the center. I heard the strum, a deep, banjo-like twang, of a frog.
At a junction, a blue-blazed cross path opened on the left, however I continued straight on the red-blazed path. Once I reached a green-blazed path on the precise, I took it up a hillside and thru what’s known as Highland Woods. From there, I took a brief path on the left and located a small, stone-lined cemetery with stones for members of the Manchester and Durfee households.
Strolling RI:Take within the fragile great thing about Warren’s Touisset Marsh throughout a coastal hike
Strolling RI:Rediscover Windfall’s Roger Williams Park on a serene hike round its ponds
Panoramic views from remark tower
Only a quick stroll up the hillside on the left was the remark tower I might handed after I began. The climate had cleared, and I climbed the wood tower, erected in 1970, for a panoramic view west to the Sakonnet Passage and Mount Hope Bay. I might see the Sakonnet River Bridge and Roger Williams College far within the distance.
The world round me had as soon as been a staging floor for 11,000 Colonial troops who had been ferried throughout the passage in 1778 to struggle within the Battle of Rhode Island on Aquidneck Island. Their assault was unsuccessful.
Strolling RI:Exploring Huge River, website of the flood that by no means was
Strolling RI:At Trustom Pond in South Kingstown, silence is golden
Once I was performed learning the scene, I completed my stroll of about 3.5 miles over two hours.
How did Sin and Flesh Brook get its title?
I used to be intrigued by what I had seen, although, and did some further analysis into the that means of “Sinning Flesh River” that later turned Sin and Flesh Brook. No one actually is aware of.
I did be taught that Howland turned a Quaker after talking out publicly and harshly towards the Puritans, whose clergy fined him, put him within the shares and drove him from his dwelling in Plymouth. So, does the title seek advice from a sinful man who was punished for his beliefs? Or is it so simple as the sinful homicide of a peaceable preacher? Or does it imply one thing else altogether?
Strolling RI:New conservation space in Coventry honors reminiscence of late educator
Strolling RI:Coastal views and prime bird-watching at Tiverton’s Emilie Ruecker protect
Strolling RI:A birder’s paradise by the shore in Middletown
Regardless of the derivation, the title, and its historical past, are haunting and never straightforward to overlook.
John Kostrzewa, a former assistant managing editor/enterprise at The Windfall Journal, welcomes e mail at johnekostrzewa@gmail.com
Since the pandemic, student absenteeism has skyrocketed across the country, sending education departments and school districts searching for solutions. It is a priority with the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) and every school district in the state. And, while results haven’t been dramatic, they are moving in the right direction.
Statewide, pre-pandemic absenteeism in Rhode Island schools was about 19 percent. It ballooned to more than 34 percent in 2021-22, dropping the following year to 28.9 percent, and in 2023-24 it was 24.7 percent.
The same pattern is reflected in Aquidneck Island area schools. The Rhode Island Department of Education publishes a daily report on absenteeism for the more than 270 Rhode Island public schools, and certain patterns are clear. Wealthier communities have fewer absences, and it appears that greater absenteeism occurs in high and middle schools.
Newport Schools superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain says students in poorer communities face challenges of family responsibilies, housing and transportation issues. All three are recognized as significant issues nationally by Panorama Education, which says some students from “low-income families may need to stay home to care for younger siblings or work to support their families.”
Chronic absenteeism national is defined as missing 10 percent of school days, or the equivalent of about two days. The consequences, says Panorama, range from health, dropout, social and behavioral, along with a negative impact on academics.
RIDE publishes a daily attendance tracker. Here’s a look at area schools, as reported in the November 25 attendance tracker, and listed by state rankings.
- Howard Hathaway Elementary School, Portsmouth, with 412 students, ranked 25 with projected chronic absences of 31 (7.5 percent), a reduction of 2.9 percent from last year.
- Melville Elementary School, Portsmouth, with 320 students, ranked 26 with projected chronic absences of 25 (7.8 percent), a reduction of 4.9 percent from last year.
- Jamestown Middle School, with 189 students, ranked 36 with projected chronic absences of 31 (7.5 percent), a reduction of 2.9 percent from last year.
- Portsmouth Middle School, with 607 students, ranked 42 with projected chronic absences of 58 (9.6 percent), a reduction of 2.9 percent from last year.
- Aquidneck Elementary School, Middletown, with 302 students, ranked 44 with projected chronic absences of 29 (9.6 percent), a reduction of .3 percent from last year.
- Wilbur and McMahon Elementary and Middle School, Little Compton, with 219 students, ranked 68 with projected chronic absences of 23 (10.5 percent), a reduction of 1.3 percent from last year.
- Portsmouth High School, with 787 students, ranked 114 with projected chronic absences of 105 (13.3 percent), a reduction of 1.3 percent from last year.
- Fort Barton Elementary School, Tiverton, with 133, students, ranked 98 with projected chronic absences of 16 (12 percent), an increase of .9 percent from last year.
- Forest Avenue Elementary School, Middletown, with 300 students, ranked 112 with projected chronic absences of 40 (13.3 percent), a reduction of 1.6 percent from last year.
- Tiverton High School, with 424 students, ranked 140 with projected chronic absences of 60 (14,2 percent), a reduction of 1.6 percent from last year.
- Pocasset Elementary School, Tiverton with 31 students, ranked 150 with projected chronic absences of 31 (14.7 percent), a reduction of .4 percent from last year.
- Gaudet Middle School, Middletown, with 434 students, ranked 181 with projected chronic absences of 31 (7.5 percent), an increase of .7 percent from last year.
- Middletown High School, with 521students, ranked 209 with projected chronic absences of 107 (20.5 percent), an increase of 1.5 percent from last year.
- Claiborne Pell Elementary School, Newport, with 662 students, ranked 221, with projected chronic absences of 147 (22.2 percent), a reduction of 2.4 percent from last year.
- Frank E. Thompson Middle School, Newport, with 495 students, ranked 225 with projected chronic absences of 115 (23.2 percent), an increase of .6 percent from last year.
- Tiverton Middle School, with 500 students, ranked 234 with projected chronic absences of 119 (23.8 percent), an increase of 11.3 percent from last year.
- Rogers High School, Newport, with 600 students, ranked 246 with projected chronic absences of 183 (30.5 percent), a reduction of 5.7 percent from last year.
North Kingstown, R.I. – A Rhode Island man is facing a disturbing charge.
According to police, on Friday at approximately 4:00 p.m., the North Kingstown Police Department responded to a 911 call reporting an incident of indecent exposure. The caller, a 17-year-old, reported that a male subject drove up her on Prospect Avenue, asking for directions to the North Kingstown High School while completely naked. The suspect was driving a silver Subaru, registered in New Hampshire. The vehicle was last seen traveling towards Fairway Drive.
Officers immediately responded to the area from different directions to contain the vehicle and investigate the report. The vehicle was located and stopped on Lantern Lane. The driver/sole occupant was identified as David C. Palmer of East Providence. After further investigation, Palmer was taken into custody and charged with Disorderly Conduct – Indecent Exposure.
Palmer was later arraigned at the station before a Justice of the Peace and released on a $1,000 personal recognizance bail. He is scheduled for formal arraignment at the 3rd Division District Court on December 6th.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island FC falls 3-0 to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in USL Championship final – What's Up Newp
Rhode Island FC’s historic inaugural season came to an end in the USL Championship Final on Saturday when it fell 3-0 to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC at Weidner Field. Becoming the first Eastern Conference team in league history to advance to the final match in its first season, the Ocean State club will return to Rhode Island proud after making the farthest run by an expansion side in eight years.
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC had a golden chance to take the lead less than a minute into the match when Yosuke Hanya was on the receiving end of a central pass as he cut behind the Rhode Island FC defense. Sprinting into a one-on-one opportunity with Koke Vegas, the midfielder dragged his shot just wide of the right post.
Holding just 30 percent of possession throughout the first 15 minutes, RIFC got its first real chance of the match when it won a dangerous free kick at the corner of the 18-yard-box in the 14th minute. JJ Williams stepped up to take the free kick, and curled it narrowly over the bar as the match stayed scoreless.
Colorado Springs eventually broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute when Hanya broke free on the right wing, sending a cross into the six-yard box for Juan Tejada. Making a run into the open space, Tejada side-footed the ball into the back of the net from close range to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
In the 42nd minute, Colorado Springs doubled its lead with a powerful strike from the top of the box. It happened when Jairo Henriquez tore down the left flank, cut inside and took a shot that was blocked by RIFC. Unfortunately for the Ocean State club, the rebound fell kindly to Haneriquez, who made no mistake on his second effort and picked out the top-left corner to make it 2-0.
The Switchbacks nearly took complete control with a third goal in first-half stoppage time when Quenzi Huerman unleashed yet another shot from distance, but Vegas punched the effort over the bar and took care of the resulting corner to keep the match 2-0 at the break.
Nine minutes into the second half, RIFC nearly cut the deficit in half when Clay Holstad connected on a corner kick from the top of the box. Instead, Colorado Springs blocked the shot and quickly broke out on the counter-attack, where Roaldo Damus finished with a low, one-on-one effort to make it 3-0.
RIFC came within inches of getting one back in the 64th minute when Frank Nodarse headed a corner towards the bottom-right corner, but Colorado Springs goalkeeper Christian Herrera produced a sharp diving save to deny the Ocean State club. Minutes later, Jack Panayotou forced another save out of Herrera, and Morris Duggan couldn’t keep the close-range rebound on frame.
The opportunities were as close as RIFC could get to finding the back of the net in the match as the USL Championship Final ended 3-0.
After the match, the visitors walked over to thank the over 400 Rhode Island FC faithful who made the trip out west. The fanbase’s incredible support during the record-breaking inaugural season fueled the team to a memorable finish. The Ocean club will now look forward to its launch of season two from The Stadium at Tidewater Landing in downtown Pawtucket.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
COS – Juan Tejada (Youke Hanya), 22nd minute: Tejada connects with Hanya’s right-wing cross from inside the six-yard box. COS 1, RI 0
COS – Jairo Henriquez, 42nd minute: Henriquez picks out the top-left corner with a powerful strike from the top of the 18-yard box. COS 2, RI 0
COS – Ronaldo Damus (Matt Real), 53rd minute: Damus finishes a one-on-one counter-attack with a low finish into the bottom corner. COS 3, RI 0
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Saturday’s match was the first-ever USL Championship Final to air nationally on network television (CBS).
- The opening goal for Colorado Springs in the 22nd minute marked the first time RIFC trailed during the 2024 USL Championship Playoffs.
- The 2-0 halftime deficit marked the first time RIFC has trailed by multiple goals at halftime since April 26.
- RIFC will return to the Ocean State after making the furthest playoff run by any Eastern Conference expansion team in league history, and becoming the first expansion club in eight years to advance to the final.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Clay Holstad
Match stats and information available here.
Two killed and one injured as plane crashes in Colorado mountain range
This woman bought a dream house with a creek. Her community turned it into a living nightmare
Human smugglers convicted after Indian family freezes to death trying to illegally cross northern border
'Canary in the coal mine': Dallas mayor explains Trump's 'gift' to GOP after he switched parties
Florida mom accused of drowning 14-year-old daughter in bathtub, authorities say
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
Two killed and one injured as plane crashes in Colorado mountain range
Fred Harris, former Democratic senator from Oklahoma and presidential candidate, dies at 94
‘Optical illusion’: Key takeaways from COP29
With talks teetering, climate negotiators struck a controversial $300 billion deal
Trump administration takes shape: President-elect completes top 15 Cabinet picks
-
Business1 week agoColumn: Molly White's message for journalists going freelance — be ready for the pitfalls
-
Science5 days agoTrump nominates Dr. Oz to head Medicare and Medicaid and help take on 'illness industrial complex'
-
Politics7 days agoTrump taps FCC member Brendan Carr to lead agency: 'Warrior for Free Speech'
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25739950/247386_Elon_Musk_Open_AI_CVirginia.jpg "Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI")
Technology6 days agoInside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI
-
Lifestyle7 days agoSome in the U.S. farm industry are alarmed by Trump's embrace of RFK Jr. and tariffs
-
World7 days agoProtesters in Slovakia rally against Robert Fico’s populist government
-
News6 days agoThey disagree about a lot, but these singers figure out how to stay in harmony
-
News7 days agoGaetz-gate: Navigating the President-elect's most baffling Cabinet pick