Bristol is a town in Bristol County, on the east side of Narragansett Bay. The population is around 23,000.
Bristol was the site of the first battle of King Philip's War in 1675. The town was established in 1680 by separatists of the Plymouth Colony, and after the Plymouth Colony merged into the Massachusetts Bay colony, Bristol was a town in Massachusetts. In 1747, the British Crown declared that the town of Bristol, as well as the towns of Warren and Barrington, were to be transferred to Rhode Island.
Bristol thrived as one of the queen cities of colonial New England. The town was an active shipbuilding location. Ships also carried agricultural products and livestock from the area to the Caribbean. Distilleries along Thames Street produced rum, which was traded in the Slave Triangle by shipping it to West Africa, where slaves were picked up and brought to the Caribbean, which in turn shipped sugercane and other raw materials to Bristol.
When abolition gained ground and slaves were freed following the Civil War, Bristol declined as a port town. Whaling replaced shipping to the Caribbean, but the town's small harbor, compared to other New England ports, meant that the industry was short-lived. The small port, however, was suitable for specialized skill work. Herreshoff Manufacturing Company flourished in the late 1800s and early 1900s as a yacht-making company for America's elite, and for the America's Rup races.
Bristol claims to have the oldest Independence Day celebrations in the United States. The first celebration occurred in July of 1777, and was noted by a British officer who heard sounds of 13 cannon fire coming from Bristol across Narragansett Bay. To mark this distinction as the first celebration, the center line on Hope Street has been painted red, white, and blue.
Houses on Hope Street. On the left is the John Howe House, also known as "The House with the Eagles", built in 1808. On the right is the William H. Bell House, built in 1797 . Bristol's distinctive red, white, and blue center line for Hope Street can be seen in the foreground.
Buildings on Hope Street. In the foreground is the William H. Bell Block, built in 1879. On the right is St. Michael's Episcopal Church, built in 1861 in the traditional English fashion.
Burnside Memorial Hall, on Hope Street. The structure, which also once doubled as a town hall, was built in 1883 as a memorial to Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, who was a Civil War hero, and served as Governor of Rhode Island three times, and later as a U.S. Senator.
The John Russell House, on Hope Street. The house was built in 1810.
The YMCA Building, on Hope Street. The structure was built in 1899, and features stores on the ground floor, with an auditorium and gymnasium upstairs.
The old U.S. Customhouse, on Hope Street. The custom house, which was also a post office, was built in 1857. The use of brick, rather than granite, indicates that Bristol was already declining from a position as one of the premier ports in New England.
The Belvedere at Bristol, on Hope Street. The structure was originally the Belvedere Hotel, and was built in 1901. The hotel was built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, primarily to service the yacht company's elite customers.
Byfield School, on the town common at High Street. The school was built in 1873.
The old Bristol County Courthouse, on the town common at High Street. The courthouse was built in 1819, and served as one of Rhode Island's five state houses from 1819 to 1854.
The First Baptist Church, on the town common at High Street. The church was built in 1814.
Walley School, on the town common at High Street. The school was built in 1896.
The William Van Doorn House, on State Street. The house was built in 1811 by Russell Warren.
The Bradford-Norris House, on Hope Street. The house was built in 1792, and was remodeled in 1845 by Russell Warren to have the Ionic porch and Chinese Chippendale-type balustrades.
The house was originally built for William Bradford, who was deupty governor of Rhode Island during the American Revolution.
Linden Place, on Hope Street. The house was built in 1810 and launched the career of Russell Warren, Bristol's gift to American architecture. Warren was from nearby Tiverton, and arrived in Bristol in 1800. He designed houses in Bristol for several decades, even after leaving for Providence in the 1820s, and was loyally patronized by the DeWolf and other families.
Colt-Andrews School, on Hope Street. The school, originally Colt Memorial High School, was built in 1913 and financed by Samuel Pomeroy Colt.
The Rogers Free Library, on Hope Street. The library was built in 1877, and originally had multiple floors, which were lost in a 1956 fire.
Businesses on Hope Street.
The Francis Dimond House, on Hope Street. The house was built in 1838 by Russell Warren.
The Martin Bennett House, on Hope Street. The house was built in 1855, and replaced a Greek Revival house, with Doric columns, from 1838 designed by Russell Warren to compliment the Francis Dimond and Josiah Talbot houses that neighbor it.
The Josiah Talbot House, on Hope Street. The house was built in 1838 by Russell Warren.
A house on Franklin Street.
A building on Bradford Street.
Houses on Bradford Street.
The Bristol Steam Mill, on Thames Street. The mill was built in 1843 by the Bristol Seam Mill Company, after the original building from 1836 was destroyed by fire.
Houses on John Street.
The old Bank of Bristol, on Thames Street. The structure was built in 1797, as part of DeWolf's Wharf. The top two floors were destroyed in the 1938 hurricane, and were added in the early 2000s as part of a hotel development.
The Usher Store, on Thames Street. The store, built in the late 1700s, is one of the few pre-Revolutionary War warehouses and stores left along the waterfront street.
The William Fales House, on Thames Street. The house was built in 1797.
Pokanoket Mills, on Thames Street. The mill was originally built in 1839, and was rebuilt in 1856. The original section of the mill is that with the gabled roof. To the north is an extension dating to 1911, and at the end is an extension from 1921.
The main part of Pokanoket Mills is a 1940 expansion that now forms most of the complex.