A marker on Governor Street in Providence, Rhode Island tells of Arthur Fenner and his son James Fenner. Each was governor - the elder from 1790 until his 1805 death; the younger from 1807 to 1811, again from 1824 until 1831, and lastly 1843 to 1845. The narrative sign is set on the east side of a small triangular plot of public land between Power Street and Williams Street known as Fenner Square. It reads:
The Fenner estate at one time included land from Hope Street to the Seekonk River. Governor Street was a driveway leading to the Fenner Farmhouse.
Governors' Fenner Square
Fenner Square Commemorates~
Rhode Island Governor Arthur Fenner - b. December 10, 1745 - d. October 15, 1805, and Rhode Island Governor, and Senator, James Fenner - b. January 22, 1771 - d. April 17, 1846. The Fenner farm, also known as the "What Cheer Estate", was located just east of this location.
Governor Arthur Fenner, an anti-Federalist, had been recently elected the fourth governor of Rhode Island when ironically, on May 29th 1790, Rhode Island became the 13th and final original state to ratify the US Constitution. Rhode Island, like many states at the time, was wary of a strong central government espoused by the Federalists. The anti-Federalists, including Arthur Fenner, fought for a Bill of Rights, and its passage by Congress was ratified by Rhode Island and other states in 1791.
Prior to becoming Governor, Arthur Fenner was a prosperous merchant in Providence where he owned a wharf on the Providence River that also featured a nearby rum distillery. His wharf is said to be the launching point for a raiding party of colonists who attacked the British ship Gaspee in June 1772 in Narragansett Bay off the coast of what is now Pawtuxet Village. A popular governor throughout his tenure, Governor Arthur Fenner was elected for 16 one-year terms until 1805 when he died in office just prior to his 60th birthday.
Arthur Fenner and his wife, Amey Comstock Fenner, had three children, one of whom was James Fenner, Governor and Senator. James Fenner, a 1789 graduate of Brown University, served as US Senator from 1805 to 1807, when he was persuaded by Rhode Island Jeffersonians to run for Governor. James Fenner served four one-year terms as Rhode Island Governor from 1807 to 1811 when he was defeated two years in a row. He didn't run for Governor again until 1824 and served until 1831 when he was defeated again. He was persuaded by a Whig faction to run once again in 1843 and was defeated one last time in 1845.
Governor James Fenner reflected the political climate in Rhode Island, which was dominated by rural and agricultural interests while he was Governor. He was very much against central government, land taxes, and extended suffrage. He also is associated with an infamous Rhode Island event, the hanging of Irish immigrant, John Gordon, who was accused of shooting Cranston mill owner Amasa Sprague in December 1843. At Gordon's trial in 1844, he was convicted and sentenced to death. Despite evidence that came out after the trial that might have exonerated Gordon, Gordon's death sentence was not commuted by the General Assembly. Gordon's attorney then appealed to Governor James Fenner for a stay of execution. Fenner rejected the request and John Gordon, who was hanged in 1845, became the last person in Rhode Island to receive capital punishment.
The Fenner land ran from east of Hope Street and Power Street intersection, to the Seekonk River. During the late 1700s, the Fenner farm estate, then owned by Governor Arthur Fenner, consisted of a 57 acre tract, extending east to the edge of the Seekonk River, which at the time extended inland as far as Gano Street. The Fenner Farm included Slate Rock, the location where Roger Williams first landed in Rhode Island. During 1847 and 1848, the heirs of Governor James Fenner had the family farm surveyed and platted for residential development. The plat remained relatively undeveloped until after the Civil War. The Fenner family donated the site of Roger Williams Landing to the City of Providence, dedicating it to remain forever a public open space.
Governor Street, originally the entry road into the Fenner Farm and farmhouse, became a street when the farm was platted out in 1847-1848. Circa 1895-1914, there was a large horse stable located at what is now 81-83 and 85 Governor Street. During that time stable workers would exercise the horses around this triangular piece of land known then as "Heater Park", and today as Fenner Square.
The upper third of the sign is illustrated by a pair of the men's portraits - Arthur at the upper left and James at the upper right. Between them is an 1875 map of the area showing the several city blocks from the Seekonk River at the east and west to Hope Street and north of Power Street to south of Fremont Street, roads which still exist today.