About Us...
The Warren Preservation Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit membership organization dedicated to promoting Historic Preservation in the Town of Warren, Rhode Island. The objective of the Warren Preservation Society is to promote an interest in the history of Bristol County and Warren, Rhode Island in particular; to preserve their historic integrity and cultural resources; and to educate the public to the historic value of the area.
Save The Date
Thursday, May 17th
The WPS Annual meeting with officer elections and the annual Plaquing Ceremony featuring research by WPS researcher Doug Hinman and presentation of plaques will take place on Thursday, May 17th at 6:30 pm at the Warren Methodist Church on Church Street, Warren.
The following properties will be awarded historic plaques:
54 Wheaton Street
36 Baker Street
125 Water Street (Simply Devine, former Nathaniel Porter Inn)
337 Water Street (Blount property)
383 Water Street (Blount Seafood Plant)
Dessert and coffee will be served after the ceremony. Please join us for an update on the official business of the organization and to participate in our plaque presentation ceremony.
Spring General Meeting Photos
Elizabeth "Bonnie" Warren
President Collins thanks Bonnie for her dedication to preservation. Members Dory Skemp and Marcia Blount are also pictured.
Spring General Meeting
The Warren Preservation Society is pleased to welcome Elizabeth ("Bonnie") Warren as the speaker at our Spring general meeting which will take place on Thursday, March 15th, 2012 at 7:00 pm at the First United Methodist Church, Church Street, Warren, RI.
In her presentation "Has Main Street Gone To The Dogs? "A 40 Year Review on the Transformation of Main Street, Ms. Warren will use historic and contemporary images to illustrate the transformation of Main Street and the building of Warren's truly remarkable public buildings.
She will trace pioneer restoration efforts along and beyond Main Street; the impact of National Register listing and use of state grants, federal and state tax incentives for historic preservation; the courageous battles to stop demolition along Main Street; and the exciting effort to bring together community interests to chart the future of the Warren waterfront.
Ms. Warren holds a B. A. in Architectural Sciences from Radcliffe College/Harvard University and a certificate in Historic Preservation Planning from Cornell University. She has worked as a city planner for both the cities of Providence and Pawtucket and The Research and Design Instiitute (REDE). She helped initiate the Historic Preservation Program at Roger Williams University and is a founder of The Friends of Linden Place and more recently The Friends of Haines Park. In 2000 she retired from the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission. She continues to volunteer for East Bay historical groups with a recent focus on the renewal of Mount Hope Farm in Bristol.
The Warren Preservation Society meeting will begin at 6:00 pm with a potluck supper for members and guests.
The General Meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Ms. Warren's presentation will begin at 7 p.m. and will continue for approximately 45-60 minutes. The presentation is open to the public.
Past Events
2011 Holiday Celebration
The Warren Preservation Society annual Holiday Party was held on the evening of Thursday, December 15th at the home of Keri and Prescott Cronin at 90 Union Street. There were approximately 50 members and guests in attendance. The Warren Preservation Society would like to thank both Keri and Prescott for hosting our most sucessful holiday celebration to date. Cheers!
Fall General Meeting
On Thursday September 22nd, the Warren Preservation Society was proud to host a presentation by Arnold Robinson, AICP, and graduate students from Roger Williams University's - Program of Historic Preservation Planning.
Mr. Robinson and the students presented a summary of the Historic Preservation Plan for Warren RI,
which they prepared as part of an academic exercise in the Winter and Spring of 2011.
The presentation included the context for planning for historic resources and the possible paths for preservation of Warren’s historic resources. The Roger Williams team presented a summary of the plan, including a distillation of Warren’s Historic character, a review of historic preservation efforts to date, and an updated survey of historic resources, including those that may be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. They also reviewed Warren’s unique preservation issues specifically: Historic Open Spaces, Churches, and Archeology – and how each are important to the character of Warren. The final point of the presentation was the group’s assessment of existing conditions and a discussion of possible methods that can be used to increase and improve preservation efforts.
June Annual Meeting
Our Annual meeting was on Thursday June 23rd. Lane Sparkman, our scheduled speaker, gave a presentation on Mosaico Community Development Corporation's Sense of Pride Program. Ms. Sparkman joined Mosaico in 2009 as the Coordinator for the Sense of Pride program. The program teaches children about their town - its history, architecture and natural environment, with the goal of inspiring them to become thoughtful and active stewards of their community.
Two new trustees, Helen Hawkins and Cory Kallfelz were elected at our June 23rd meeting.
If you know anyone who might be interested in joining WPS, please have them contact Julie at
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To make it easier to join WPS, pay dues, and get on our mailing list, check out our new membership page!
Public Opinion Survey
To help us evaluate the historic value of our town and to help create a Historic Preservation Plan for the Town of Warren, Roger Williams University School of Architecture has prepared a simple public opinion poll. The results will inform the issues that will be addressed in the preservation plan. A Public Workshop was held on April 13th at the Kickemuit Middle School to discuss historic preservation issues in depth. The results of the Poll and the Study have been released by RWU School of Architecture's Historic Preservation department. A public presentation will be scheduled for the Fall and we will begin posting excerpts soon. Thank-you to all who participated!! Stay tuned!
2011 Spring Plaquing Ceremony
The 2011 Spring Plaquing Ceremony took place at our General Meeting on the evening of Thursday, April 28th at the First United Methodist Church of Warren on Church Street. Doug Hinman, researcher for the Warren Preservation Society, presented his research on the history of these properties and the property owners were presented with a plaque.
42 Market Street
825 Main Street
26 Bridge Street
16 Bridge Street
23 Bridge Street
For more information go to our Plaquing program page (click here)
The Warren Mill Project
The Warren Mill Project Exhibit
A display of photographs, maps and artifacts, and recorded oral histories from Warren’s Mills,
a related installation and artwork by Deborah Baronas, and a lecture by Richard Greenwood.
The Warren Mill Project made its debut on the evening of Thursday, September 16, 2010. An opening reception was held for the exhibit on the third floor of the former Warren Manufactuing Mill (aka American Tourister Mill). The evening was the culmination of months of effort put forth by Ms. Baronas, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Doug Hinman, and the members of the Warren Preservation Society responsible for coordinating, organizing, and installing this inspiring exhibit. The opening reception was very well attended not only by members of WPS, but also by the community as a whole.
The Warren Mill Project moved to Imago Gallery at 36 Market Street, Warren, from September 28th to October 10th and continued at the Cutler Mills, 30 Cutler Street, Warren from mid-October through December 2010.
The Mill Project
Artist Deborah Baronas will continue to expand the exhibit outside of Warren. The Mills Project, including artwork, archival materials, video, and mill songs, was featured in the Slater Mill Gallery and the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative Gallery in downtown Pawtucket on January 13, 2011.
Artwork from the Mill Project will be on display during the month of April at the Greenville Public Library.
From August thru October the Mill Project will be exhibited at the Woonsocket Museum of Work and Culture and the Depot (home of the Blackstone River Corridor Association). Ms. Baronas has installed a permanent exhibit at the museum - window panels created using images from the Mill Show Scrims, with new figures added.
Ms. Baronas is currently in the process of writing a RICH grant and a RISCA grant to continue the project. She is also working on a NEFA presentation and on securing a collaboration with Mass MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art).
Rhode Island Council for the Humanities Grant
WPS received a $2000. matching grant from RICH - Rhode Island Council for the Humanities - for a project that will contribute to the documentation the history of the mills in Warren, RI and the community of workers who settled there. The Warren Mill Project will address the historical significance and how it relates to the contemporary use of the mill complexes. We will present to the public the rich history of these mills, how the community grew as a result of these mills and how the community has changed as the result of the closing and redevelopment of these mills. By recalling the “embodied” energy that went into the buildings many years ago, we hope to recreate for our audience the reality of the past and how it helped shape the community as it exists today.
The team for our documentary project includes: Deborah Baronas, RISD graduate, textile designer, artist; Rick Greenwood, Architectural Historian; Doug Hinman, Research Assistant for the Warren Preservation Society; and Diane Horton, Project Director for the Warren Preservation Society.
2011 Spring Plaqueing Ceremony
The Spring Plaqueing Ceremony was held on Thursday, April 28th at the First United Methodist Church, Church Street, Warren. WPS was able to present plaques to the owners of the following properties: 42 Market Street, 825 Main Street,
Holiday Party 2010
The 2010 Warren Preservation Society holiday party was held on the evening of Thursday, December 9th at the residence of Sally and John Barker in Touisset. Many thanks to Sally and John for hosting the evening and for opening their beautiful home to our members and guests.
Plaqueing Ceremony
Our plaqueing ceremony walking tour was held on Sunday, June 6th from 12pm -3pm. Properties scheduled for the event included: 405 Water Street, Marble Hall (Blount Seafood), 239 Water Street (former Hope Bank and E&M Martin Lumber Co), 259 Water Street, and the Mercier's Hardware Building.
This walking tour was designed to promote an appreciation for mixed use and commercial properties as part of our waterfront community.
May Quarterly Meeting 2010
Mid 20th-Century Urban Redevelopment: A Cautionary Tale or Why Warren Dodged the Bullet
Ned Connors, Speaker
Looking back on mid 20th-century urban renewal and slum clearance in Rhode Island’s major urban areas, it’s hard to avoid a feeling that the towns and cities that missed out on the period’s visionary projects were the lucky ones. Dense, bustling, 19th-century ethnic and commercial neighborhoods of Providence, Pawtucket, and Woonsocket were obliterated to make way for massive redevelopment plans and highway projects of the 1950s through the early 1970s. Included among these—Weybosset Hill, West River, and Lippitt Hill (University Heights) in Providence, the Social neighborhood of Woonsocket and downtown Pawtucket. Some areas, through the luck of geographic distance from these projects or inability to attract Federal Funding for urban renewal, find themselves in the year 2010 with old street patterns unchanged, a plentiful stock of historical buildings, intact neighborhoods, and a spirit to integrate modern development with the architectural assets of our past.
Ned Connors is an independent historical preservation consultant. His company, Edward Connors and Associates, has worked throughout Rhode Island and Massachusetts on municipal surveys, preservation tax credit projects, and National Register of Historic Places nominations for districts and individual properties since 1994. Current projects include a survey of Providence Architecture of the Recent Past and a resurvey of the Providence Jewelry District in light of the demolition of the portion of Route 195 that passes through it.
Connors, a resident of Riverside, sits on the East Providence Historic District Commission and is adjunct faculty in the Historic Preservation Program at Roger Williams University.
Samuel Randall House Restoration Celebration Update
Thank you to all who attended and volunteered at the Restoration Celebration! It was a tremendous success and renovations will continue at 31 Baker Street thanks to all the efforts of the volunteers and money raised at the event.
Pancake Breakfast
The Pancake Breakfast fundraiser was held at the Warren Methodist Church on Saturday, May 23rd. WPS would like to thank everyone who participated in this event for making it such a great success - and especially Allison Newsome for providing flowers and foliage and decorating the alley. Proceeds from the breakfast, together with many generous donations, will be used in collaboration with the Town of Warren - Department of Public Works for the restoration of "Stingy" Alley (aka Parsonage Way).
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