>From the book "History of Washington and Kent Counties, Rhode Island" by J.R. Cole, published 1889, New York, W.W. Preston & Company. Beginning on page 547. [xxx] respresents either notes or the page number. SUICIDE. – a painful suicide occurred at Kingston on Tuesday morning, December 5th, 1882. The victim was Mr. John F. Adams, proprietor of a harness shop in Kingston. No suspicion was excited until the afternoon, when a letter was found in his coat pocket directed to his brother, Mr. Samuel Adams. The letter was in detached, mysterious sentences, to the effect that it was best he should do this; that it would have been better had he done this last October; that he hoped his brother would give good advice to the children, and that he would like to write more, but there was no time. A search immediately instituted, but darkness coming on, it was abandoned till Wednesday [548] morning, when a large number of citizens turned out, determined to sift the mystery to the bottom. Early in the forenoon George Briggs found Mr. Adams leaning against a tree, with his head down on his chest, looking so lifelike that he was at first on the point of speaking to him, but in a moment discovered he was hanging by a small cord tied around his neck. The cord had been thrown over a small limb, one end tied to a sapling, and the other, in the form of a slip-noose, was around the victim's neck. He had probably stood on a stump while adjusting the cord, and then stepped off, his feet couching the ground, yet allowing the fatal work to be accomplished. Mr. Adams was fifty-three years of age, and left a family of five daughters and one son, all married but one daughter. He was an excellent workman, was very popular in the village, and no satisfactory causes have been shown why he accomplished the melancholy deed. SCHOOLS. – The town of South Kingstown has now twenty-two school districts. In an early day this territory was lorded over by slave owners, who owned large tracts of land, and as wealthy proprietors, having a life of leisure, large libraries and social intercourse among themselves, and their own private schools, found no time to devote to the subject of maintaining public schools. The general assembly, in February, 1800, enacted a law, however, "That each and every town in the state shall annually cause to be established and kept at the expense of such town, one or more free schools." By a further enactment, also, the town of South Kingstown was required to keep "so many free schools for such a term of time as shall be equivalent to keeping three such schools eight months each." Thus encouraged, the friends of education had in the year 1828, "One academy in which a school was kept the year round, and seven school houses in which schools were kept winter and summer." There were at that time also a nubmer of schools kept irregularly in private houses. The inhabitants of the town that year numbered 3,723. The town also received that year the allowance made by the late enactment of the state, of $10,000, to be proportionately distributed, which gave to South Kingstown the sum of $336.74. In 1839 the whole amount spent in the state for public schools was $35,354.86, and South Kingstown spent $1,154.38. In 1839 the aggregate number of pupils in the town was 645. The census reports of 1885 show that there were 369 males [549] and 389 females in the town between the ages of 7 and 14 years, and that the public school tax was $3,847.42. The school officers for the year 1887 were as follows: School Committee: J.G. Clarke, chairman; H.N. Knowles, clerk; George G. Pearse, Charles H. Knowles, R.G. Hazard, 2d, A.W. Brown, J.G. Perry. Superintendent of Public Schools, Arthur W. Brown. Trustees of the South Kingstown High School: John G. Clarke, John A. Brown, Benjamin F. Robinson, Rowland Hazard, Daniel Whaley. Special constable under Chapter 641 of Public Laws, of the Enforcement of the Truant Law, John P. Case. TOWN FARM. – The town of South Kingstown has made ample provision for the poor. In 1865 sixty-two and a half acres of land were purchased of Thurston Robinson for a town farm. Elijah Watson and others planned a building that was afterward erected by Albert Gardiner, and which has since been used as a home for those financially unfortunate. The average number of the inmates of this institution is twenty-six. It started with fifteen, and the number has run as high as thirty-five. There are now but eighteen persons in the building. Five of these are negroes, two are idiotic, and one is utterly helpless. Job Briggs was the first superintendent. Mr. William E. Sheldon, the present efficient superintendent, took charge March 17th, 1871. TOWER HILL. – The hamlet of Tower Hill is situated upon the summit of a lofty hill in South Kingstown and overlooks the waters of Narragansett bay, the Atlantic ocean and Long Island sound, and presents an extensive view of the adjacent landscape. The first individuals who settled there were of English extraction, and they thought proper to name it after a celebrated place in England where Lady Jane Gray was decapitated. The first house erected at this place was built by Samuel Wilson, from whom have since descended seven generations, some of which reside there yet and own the original homestead. This man was grandfather of J. Wilson's grandfather and was one of the seven Pettaquamscutt purchasers. The house was forty-two by fifty-six feet, two stores high, with a roof of one-third altitude. It was taken down in 1823. "About one hundred and seventy-five years ago," says James Wilson in the Narragansett Times, from which we have freely copied, "wealthy families located themselves on Tower Hill and built gambrel roofed houses, and as their proportions somewhat resembled the present Mansard roof, we have every reason to [550] believe that the style was of French origin. Those first settlers represented four different nationalities. The Torreys, Browns, Wilsons, Dyers, Watsons, Balls, Hulls, Cases, Smiths, Nileses, Bosses and Mumfords were Englishmen; the Helmses and Nicholses were Frenchmen; the Pollocks and douglasses were of Scotch and Irish extraction. Several other wealthy individuals built houses of the same style in different parts of the town, among which was that of Rowland Robinson about a mile distant from South Ferry. The floor boards of this house were glued together and laid down as one piece, no nails except around the edging, and they were concealed from view by the wainscotting." All of the above named parties spared no pains to render their houses convenient and attractive. From the incorporation of Kings county June 16th, 1729, until the court was removed to Little Rest (Kingston Hill) Tower Hill was the principal village of the county. Judge James Helme, at one time chief justice of the supreme court, wa married to Esther Powell October 19th, 1738, and immediately took up his residence there, and for a number of years kept a large retail dry goods store. The court house stood on the west end of Helme's lot and the jail directly across the way on the Brown estate. Rowland Brown and his brother established a hotel and a dry goods and grocery store. Their house stood on the west side of the post road nearly opposite the Presbyterian meeting house, which was in close proximity to Helme's burying ground. The Browns continued in business for many years and finally became wealthy. As they were affable and polite gentlemen their establishment was well patronized. The hotel was a large building with numerous out houses, and it had quite a picturesque appearance. "It had a quadrangular front yard enclose with an ornamental fence and arched gateway. The enclosure was paved with grey stone, except two diamond shaped spaces which were white. On the outside a pavement six feet wide, surrounded the enclosure. A great variety of ornamental shrubs, with trailing vines had a vigorous growth within the enclosure, besides there were six large poplar trees seventy feet high, which gave the whole establishment a delightful appearance. As there were no carriages in those days except a few old fashioned chaises, which were purchased in England at a cost of three or four hundred dollars apiece, most of the travel was performed on horseback, [551] consequently stone horse blocks were very common. There was one of those horse blocks a few feet north of the hotel about eight feet long, five feet wide and four feet high, with steps, and the hitching post was a whale's rib-bone ten feet in length, imbedded in the ground, which remained undisturbed till 1830. "The post road from Boston to Philadelphia passed directly through the village, and the inn-keepers entertained many distinguished individuals. It was positively asserted by many of the residents that Doctor Franklin in his peregrinations about the country, frequently passed a day or two at Brown's hotel. There were formerly several other houses of entertainment, and quite a number of grocery stores. Besides these there were tailor shops. Holly Chappell followed tailoring in a part of the Robert Brown house, and Fanning Adams' tailor shop was directly opposite, across the road. "On the brown of the hill on the south side of the road stood the Case house. Nathan Gardner kept a tavern there for many years. The father of Christopher Raymond Perry, father of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, lived there for several years whilst he was engaged in nautical pursuits, and only visited them occasionally. The Perry family and Browns were very intimate. John Hull, one of the seven purchasers, built a large gambrel-roofed house upon a lot of land a few rods west of the court house, and his grandson Joseph Hull followed farming and black-smithing. He also kept a hour of entertainment there for several years. A few rods further west Andrew Nichols built a large two-story house, and kept a dry goods and grocery store until he moved upon his farm, which subsequently belonged to Mr. John Sweet. A few rods further, on a portion of the Presbyterian burying ground lot, stands the small gambrel-roofed house of William Nichols, which now belongs to the heirs of Edward Oatley. The next in order comes the Presbyterian meeting house, which stood on the corner lot and fronted west, close beside the Helme burying ground. The underpinning stones and sills remained in their places until the year 1810. The school house stood a few rods further south on the same lot, and the Pettaquamscutt school was kept there until 1817, when it was removed to Little Rest. A few rods further south John Nichols built a large gambrel-roofed house, and was engaged in the tailoring business there for several years. The house now belongs to Mr. Benjamin F. Hull. Across the road was the house of Robert [552] Brown. It was a two-story building and was occupied by Rowland Brown, Jr., who was engaged in farming and in the grocery business, which he continued to the year 1815. "William Dyer built a large dwelling house on what is now called the Dyer farm; a part of the house is still standing. He followed farming and was wealthy. Adjoining the Dyer farm on the south was the Bull farm, upon which stood a large two-story house built by Henry Bull, which John J. Watson took down in 1811. The Bull farm was considered the est dairy farm in Narragansett. When Staunton Tucker improved the Dyer farm he made butter enough to pay the rent. A few rods south of the Bull house on the opposite side of the road stood the dwelling house of William W. Pollock kept a house of entertainment. He also followed carpentering and blacksmithing. About a quarter of a mile from the Pollock house in a northerly direction is Wilson's Corner. Samuel Wilson, who was one of the seven purchasers, erected there a large house, soon after the Pettaquamscutt purchase, which took place in the year 1757, and which after various repairs, new sillings, etc., stood until 1823. There were also a carpenter shop and a blacksmith shop on the premises. Half a mile from this corner in a northeasterly direction (upon what is called the Side hill farm) John Watson erected a house aobut twenty rods north of Pettaquamscutt Rock. "Many of the individuals owned slaves, who usually bore the surnames of their masters. John Watson owned a number of slaves, among whom were Ned and Sip. The former was a preacher, the latter a skillful performer on the violin. He owned another slave named Guy Watson, who was captain of a company in a colored regiment that served in the continental army, and who was distinguished for his heroism, particularly in the battle of Ticonderoga. Ned and Sip lived in a small house which their master had provided for them, about three rods east from Pettaquamscutt Rock, until they were freed by the laws of Rhode Island. Having obtained their freedom, they established themselves in a small house upon the hundred acre lot. The cellar and pear trees are still to be seen there. Ned built an altar a few rods from his house, which consisted of a stone about six feet across, placed upon four other stones, and shaded by two large oak trees. There he preached the gospel for a number of [553] years. Afterward he bought a house an dlot near Watson's Corners, which is now owned by Bridget McGuire." The Tower Hill House, now standing on the hill, was opened in 1871, and kept in first-class style. It is now kept by Charles A. Oakes, and is acknowledged to be a first-class hotel. Its commanding situation and pleasant surroundings render it very popular. It is 150 feet above and half a mile distant from the sea, and looking oceanward one beholds as fine a view as ever looked upon in Rhode Island. The parlor of this house is very large, the piazza that surrounds the building wide, the bedrooms are handsomely furnished, and every addition and equipment necessary to a first-class summer resort has been made.