Providence County RI Archives History .....Providence Circa 1898 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ri/rifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com June 6, 2007, 6:25 pm THE CITY OF PROVIDENCE. PROVIDENCE, the "Second City of New England," is situated at the head of Narragansett Bay 41°49'22" N. Latitude and 70°24'48" W. Longitude. Its area comprises about fifteen square miles, rising to a height of some two hundred feet on the east side. It enjoys an advantageous location between the cities of New York and Boston. It is easily approached by water through one of the finest harbors in the world, and by rail from any section of the country, over one hundred trains arriving and departing at the Union Passenger Station, thirty of them running daily between this city and Boston and other points, and fourteen of them being through trains to New York City; connections by water or rail for merchandise and passengers, with all parts of the known world, are thus quickly and easily made. HARBOR.-A vessel drawing 20 to 25 feet of water, leaving New York, passes through Hell Gate and Long Island Sound, rounds Point Judith, enters the smooth waters of Narragansett Bay, then passes up Providence River into the land-locked harbor of Providence, where good anchorage may be found at all times of tide. Providence Harbor can be entered at all seasons of the year in safety. It is the most accessible and least dangerous of any on the New England coast. Vessels of three thousand tons and over can find safe anchorage and a place of refuge. Access from the harbor can be had to the harbors of Pawtucket, Newport, Bristol, Warren, Wickford and East Greenwich, R. I. The port of Providence is sixteen hours nearer Liverpool, England, than New York. Cargoes of merchandise from foreign ports can be landed here at a less cost for all port charges than at the ports of New York and Boston. STEAMBOATS ply between Providence and New York daily, both for passengers and freight, and communication is also had by steamships with Philadelphia twice a week, and with Norfolk, Newport News and Baltimore three times a week. These vessels carry goods to the South and West at very lowest rates. WATEK, so necessary for domestic and mechanical purposes, and protection against fire, is carried to the door of the humblest citizen and millionaire alike, and is supplied in an unlimited quantity at all seasons of the year, with a "head" sufficient to carry it to the top of the highest buildings continuously, day or night, and to lift passenger or freight elevators without resort to storage tanks or other mechanism. SEWERAGE.-The sewerage system is excellent, extending to all parts of the city, the new system, now nearly completed, carrying the sewerage far down the bay, where tide-water takes it away to the ocean. HEALTH.-The death rate is very low; for thirty-four years the average was 19.73 per 1,000 inhabitants, a rate of mortality lower than most American cities. EDUCATIONAL.-There are ninety-two public schools, comprising three High, one School of Design, one Manual Training, fifteen Grammar, sixty Primary, two Cooking, twelve Kindergarten Schools, also a State Normal School; all accommodating about 20,000 pupils. A new and elegant State Normal School is in course of construction. BROWN UNIVERSITY AND FRIENDS' SCHOOL are well located on high ground, beautifully laid out, and will accommodate a large number of students. They rank with any similar institutions in the country. There are a large number of private schools, and schools of languages and for the study of music. PROVIDENCE BRYANT AND STRATTON BUSINESS COLLEGE, located in the heart of the city, is one of the leading business colleges of America. THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION possesses a fine building, fitted with appliances of physical, intellectual and moral culture, and has a membership of 2,000. LIBRARIES.-The Free Public Library, Athenaeum, Young Men's Christian Association Library, the libraries connected with Brown University and the Rhode Island Historical Society offer superior advantages to the lover of literature and art. CHURCHES.-There are over ninety Protestant and other organizations, and sixteen Roman Catholic Churches. ASYLUMS.-There is a large asylum for the poor, a hospital for the insane, and two for the sick and injured-one old school and one Homoeopathic. PARKS.-The Roger Williams Park covers about four hundred acres. It is beautifully laid out, and is a favorite place of resort; it is easy of access from all parts of the city by street or steam cars. There are many other parks and commons throughout the city. PROTECTION.-The city is well protected by an efficient police and fire department. The latter is supplied with modern appliances, and is one of the most efficient [sic] in New England. LIGHTS.-The city ranks among the leaders in electric street lights, the suburban districts being well lighted by gas. THE HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS are ample, the Narragansett Hotel being one of the largest and best in the United States. LABOR:-Providence is noted for the large number of skilled and intelligent mechanics that are found here in every branch of trade, and this has been the incentive that has prompted many manufacturers to locate here, together with the great variety of machine manufactures that guarantee the production of almost any kind of machinery or tools. WATER, COAL, HOUSE RENTS AND PROVISIONS are as cheap as in other cities, and coal and fruit are sold at a lower price than asked in many large cities, because of direct communications with the Central and Southern States. The city will make special rates for water to large consumers. SHORE RESORTS on Narragansett Bay are numerous and of a high order. Newport, one of the most noted watering places in the world, can be reached in two hours by steamer. SECRET BENEFICIAL SOCIETIES abound in sufficient numbers to suit the demands of all. POPULATION in 1840 was 23,172; in 1850, 41,513; in 1860, 50,666; in 1870, 68,904; in 1880, 104,857; in 1S95, 145,472. INDUSTRIES of Providence are greatly diversified. About every article, from a carpet tack to a locomotive, is manufactured here, and it is the home of many important and large manufactures, a number of them being the largest in the world. Providence is the centre of a large and growing interest in the manufacture of cotton, woolen and worsted goods, and thousands of help, male and female, find employment. The capital invested in the various industries is estimated at one hundred million or more dollars. BANKING AND INSURANCE.-There are in the city twenty-eight National and State Banks, five trust companies with an aggregate capital of $18,000,000, and a participation account of $9,000,000; five savings banks, with combined deposits of about $36,000,000. There are two safe deposit companies; about one hundred and thirty insurance companies are represented here. FINANCIAL.-The financial affairs of the city are in good condition, and its obligations command a premium. The total valuation of the real and personal property in 1897 was $174,059,480.00. STREET RAILWAYS.-The Union Railroad Company operate electric lines in all the principal streets of the city, and to nearly all of the principal cities and towns in this immediate section of the State, amounting in all to one hundred and twenty miles. The company own an electric power plant of over 7,000-horse-power capacity. THE PROVIDENCE TELEPHONE COMPANY has many thousand miles of wire and five thousand or more subscribers. They have erected a building especially adapted to their needs and to accommodate their increasing business. They have laid conduits and placed their wires underground. Their tariff rate to subscribers is very much less than in many other cities. The service cannot be excelled. THE NARRAGANSETT ELECTRIC LIGHTING COMPANY have a plant capable of supplying electricity for power, heating or lighting purposes to the extent of twenty thousand or more horse power. Their tariff rates are about 25 per cent, less than in many other cities. THE PROVIDENCE GAS COMPANY manufacture about 600,000,000 cubic feet of gas annually. They furnish and set up gas stoves for heating and cooking purposes at about cost. All classes are thus enabled to obtain a cheap and convenient fuel at moderate cost. The company will make special rates to parties consuming 1,000,000 feet of gas annually. BUILDINGS of granite, stone, brick and iron, for religious, residential and business purposes, are numerous, stately and palatial. THERE IS A DRY DOCK AND MARINE RAILWAY.-The former is 200x75 feet- Vessels of 2,000 tons can be accommodated. The company has two sets of railways, with a lifting capacity of six hundred and two hundred and fifty tons respectively. WAREHOUSES.-The Providence Warehouse Company have a fireproof building 400 x 120 feet, three stories high, fitted with modern appliances. They also have a system of "cold storage" for perishable goods. The Merchants' Freezing and Cold Storage Company have a cold storage building 100 x 100 feet, six stories high and basement, and do a cold storage and warehousing business, and are connected with the railroad by a spur track. THE RAILROAD COMPANIES and the city combined have spent several millions of dollars in arranging for a new union passenger station (now nearly completed) with an additional number of tracks and train sheds, all of which, when completed, will give to Providence the finest railroad terminal facilities for the easy handling of freight and passengers in the United States. The new freight yard is now in use, and the elevated tracks for the main lines are completed. The new freight yard, as now completed, in the heart of the city, contains about twenty tracks, with accommodations for nearly four hundred cars. CLUBS.-The city has a number of clubs of a high order, whose members are among the leading business men of the city. Among the leaders are the Union, Hope, West Side, Squantum, Pomham (the latter two having elegant club-houses in the midst of spacious grounds down the Bay), and the Providence Athletic Club, with a membership of one thousand, with a club-house five stories in height, ranking with the leading club-houses in this country. PROVIDENCE, surrounded by seven hills, fanned by gentle breezes from the ocean; its climatic benefits and freedom from serious epidemics; its great wealth and large banking facilities; its large and varied industries, the products of which are known throughout the world; its nearness to other and larger commercial cities-these, together with all other advantages Providence possesses, make it a most desirable place for residential or business purposes. PARTIES CONTEMPLATING A CHANGE OF LOCATION will find in Providence very desirable offices in buildings recently constructed; also, sites for building purposes contiguous to railroads and the water...front, which may be had on reasonable terms. Any further information will be cheerfully furnished by George H. Webb, Secretary of the Providence Board of Trade. Additional Comments: Extracted from: The Providence Board of Trade Thirtieth Year 1898 Providence: Chaffee-McIndoe Company, Printers 1898 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ri/providen/history/other/providen2gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/rifiles/ File size: 11.7 Kb