Reverend Roger Williams - Providence, RI - Statues of Religious Figures on Waymarking.com

In the Providence neighborhood of College Hill, is Prospect Park, which has two levels of grass, and a stone wall between them that has a larger than life figure of Rev. Roger Williams stairing out to the great city of Providence that he founded.

The park is located between Congdon and Wheaton Streets. Congdon has street side parking. It's a challenge to get there, since there are many one way roads. I approached from the south - there are some steep grades from that direction.

When you enter the park, you will approach the statue from the rear. At the center of the overlook is a stone structure surrounded by an iron fence. The base is stone and has the following words engraved on it: "Here reposes dust from the grave of Roger." Two columns rise above, with a statue of Roger Williams standing on the front of a canoe, with stylized waves at the bow. He has a hand raised (awkwardly, to me) as if to bless the city that he founded. The view from this sculpture provides a fantastice view of the city (though the trees are filling in the window).

It seems that more attention has been given to this complex figure. I have read an article in the Smithsonian magazine, recently, and a new biography has been written about him. The information here comves from the National Park website for the Roger Williams Memorial Park, which is nearby.

Williams was born in London, England, approximately in 1603. He was ordained a minister of the Church of England in 1629. In the same year, he married Mary Barnard. Over time, he became dissatisfied with the Church of England and became associated with the Puritans, who sought to 'purify' the Church of England, attempting to edge it further and further away from the theology and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. After Winthrop founded the colony of Massachusetts Bay at Boston, Williams and his wife soon followed the exodus to Boston in 1631. He preached there, but became a 'separatist' - believing in total separation of the Church of England, which eventually grated with local Puritans. He moved first to Salem, then to Plymouth, then back to Salem. While at Plymouth, he became friends with Sachem Massaessoit and the Wampanoags and learned Native American ways. In Salem, he was entagled in controversy, when he critcized the contracts written up between the Indians and Europeans, and he started criticizing the interelation between church and government rule. He was eventually banished from the colony and escaped before he was deported back to England. While in the country, he was likely found by a Wampanoag hunting party, who brought him the Massasoitt for shelter. In the spring, he and a few followers moved to present day Bristol where Massaoit gave them a track of land to live on. The Plymouth colony, though, informed him that he was still in the colony bounds and that he should move acroos the Seekonk River. In 1636, they came to the shore at the present day monument park and founded Providence. They developed a charter, which was the first to protect personal worship from interference by government. He went back to England twice, once to obtain an official charter for Rhode Island. This made Rhode Island a refuge for people of faiths different than the Puritan faith surrounding them. He helped found the Baptist Church in America in the city of Providence. He published a grammer book for the local dialect of the Algonquin language. He wrote other essays and letters, but only a fraction survives today. He died in 1682. Ashes of his are in the monument as stated in the engraving at its base.

Associated Religion(s): Baptist, Puritan, Church of England Statue Location: Prospect Park, between Congdon and Wheaton Streets Entrance Fee: 0 Artist: Leo Friedlander, artist; Ralph Walker, architect Website: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the statue. A waymarker and/or GPSr is not required to be in the image but it doesn't hurt.

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Date Logged Log   09/03/2022 stevepre2 visited it 07/14/2018 Moorephun visited it 03/27/2016 petendot visited it

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