Newport Historical Society

The Newport Historical Society is a multi-faceted history-based institution that has three general areas of activity. It retains and preserves significant collections of artifacts, documents and properties. It supports, generates and collates scholarship on the history of Newport County and its place in American history. And, it develops and delivers a variety of educational programs — exhibits, tours, conferences, publications and other formats — to transmit information and open dialogs with the public about history. As a small organization with significant holdings and a large mission, it is specifically a component of the NHS’ strategic plan to work as much with other organizations as possible to expand its reach. We are relentless collaborators.

Museum & Shop at Brick Market

Circa 1762. The perfect place to begin your visit to Newport's Old Quarter. This award-winning museum provides an engaging introduction to the area's rich history and beautiful architecture.

Our mission

Since 1854, the Newport Historical Society has collected and preserved the artifacts, photographs, documents, publications and genealogical records that relate to the history of Newport County, to make these materials readily available for both research and enjoyment, and to act as a resource center for the education of the public about the history of Newport County, so that knowledge of the past may contribute to a fuller understanding of the present.

Our history

The Newport Historical Society was chartered in 1854 to collect and preserve books, manuscripts, and objects pertaining to Newport’s history. The Society’s collections originated thirty years earlier as the “Southern Cabinet” of the Rhode Island Historical Society. By 1853, several prominent Newporters recognized the need for a separate organization specifically devoted to preserving the history of Newport County, and the collections of the Southern Cabinet were reorganized under the auspices of the Newport Historical Society.

The first quarters of the Newport Historical Society were temporary. Meetings moved from member’s home to member’s home, and lectures were held in rented halls. By 1884, however, the Society was suffering from growing pains. It needed a permanent space to house its collections. After some deliberation, the Society purchased the old Seventh Day Baptist Meeting House (1730).

This was arguably their first real artifact, and certainly one of the first examples of adaptive reuse of an historic structure with deliberate homage to the structure’s own integrity. It is a responsibility the Newport Historical Society has taken seriously and managed well since 1884.

It did not take long for the Society to fill its new quarters. In 1884, they advertised that “The Newport Historical Society have taken possession of their new quarters on Barney Street and are soliciting donations of historical material relating to Newport.”

The influx of gifts was gratifying, but the membership soon realized there were untapped resources that the current building, surrounded as it was by stables, paint shops, and other fire hazards, could not safely accommodate. In 1887, the Society purchased a site on Touro Street and in the fall of that year moved its building there.

As the holdings of the Society continued to increase, the need for more space and security became evident. Ground was broken in 1902 for a brick library building on the Touro Street side of the lot. The new building provided office space for the Society, a fireproof vault for historic documents, and a library. In 1915, the meeting house was detached from the library and moved to the rear of the lot. A three story brick building was constructed between the library and the meeting house. Brick veneer, a slate roof, and steel shutters were added to the exterior of the meeting house to make its exterior covering consistent with the adjoining structures, and to provide added protection from the weather and the threat of fire.

The collections of the Newport Historical Society have continued to grow, and have, in fact, outgrown every structure provided for them within a decade or less of the ground-breaking. The result is one of the finest local historical society collections in New England. Its manuscripts, portraits, silver, furniture, decorative arts, and genealogical collection are nationally recognized.