Museum Shop
The Museum Shop at the Old Washington County Jail offers books, historic maps, posters, reproduction wooden toys, vintage jewelry, hand-painted greeting cards, hand-thrown pottery, historic postcards, folk art, and more.
Selections can also be purchased by mail via credit card, check or money order. Please include 7% sales tax for all purchases within Rhode Island. Shipping and handling is an additional $5.00 for most purchases, however may vary for heavier publications and objects. Contact us at 401-783- 1328 or pettaquamscutt@yahoo.com for additional information.
PHS Books and Publications available in our shop:
Jailed for Preaching: The Autobiography of Cato Pearce, a Freed Slave from Washington County, Rhode Island
by Christian McBurney
In 1842, a white abolitionist from Pawtucket, Rhode Island printed an extraordinary pamphlet entitled A Brief Memoir of the Life and Religious Experience of Cato Pearce, a Man of Color. It is an autobiography of Cato Pearce, who was born in 1790 in North Kingstown as the child of slave parents. Only recently rediscovered, Pearce’s autobiography is the most complete account by an Rhode Island-born African American who made the transition from slavery to freedom. The book has two parts: Part 1 contains an essay by Rhode Island historian Christian McBurney that summarizes Pearce’s autobiography and attempts to place the events described in it in historical context. Part 2 contains an actual facsimile of the only known copy of the pamphlet.
Copies are available at PHS or can be ordered by mail for $14.95 plus $3.00 shipping and handling.
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Now in its fourth printing!
LOST SOUTH KINGSTOWN: With a History of Ten of its Early Villages by Kathleen Bossy and Mary Keane with Eighteen Contributing Authors, 2004.
A History of Kingston,R.I. 1700- 1900: Heart of Rural South County
Another recent publication - a history of Kingston Village by former resident Christian McBurney. The 400 page book will offer fresh insight into the political and intellectual center of this significant area of Rhode Island. It covers such diverse topics as the jailing of African-American Cato Pearce by Elisha Potter for his preaching in 1808 as wll as the heroic service of Isaac Peace Rodman at Antietam in 1862, the Kingston benefactors at the beginnings of the University of R.I., etc., 2004. $19.95 + $3.00 shipping.
Picturing History: Wakefield's Post Office Mural of 1939
Published by the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society in 2003 and written by Dr. Christopher Bickford. The mural is on exhibit at the Washington County Jail (2nd Floor). The book is priced at $4.95 + $2 shipping.
Crime, Punishment and the Washington County Jail: Hard Time in Kingston, Rhode Island
Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, Christopher P. Bickford. Sponsored by the Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities. 2002. 64 pp., illustrated, bibliography. $4.95 + $3.00 shipping and handling.
The American Family of John Watson of the Narragansett Country (a genealogy of the Watson family). Compiled by George C. Davis, edited by Jean Adams Bradley. 1983. 143 pp, indexed, bibliography, photos, $40.00
South Kingstown Town Council Records, 1771 – 1795
Transcribed by Jean C. Stutz. 1988. 331 pp, indexed, $25.00
Ships, Sailors and Seaports. Pettaquamscutt Historical Society Research Committee
1963. 51 pp, bibliography, notes. $4.50
Musical Expressions of Early Rhode Island Indians
Mrs. Carl W. Kaiser, Sr. as told by Princess Red Wing. 1986. 15pp. $3.00
I Remember
James E. Perry, Sr. 1973, reissued 2000. 72 pp. $9.00
Historic Buildings of South County
Sponsored by the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society and the Rhode Island Bicentennial Commission. 65 pp, select bibliography, drawings. $10.00
Images of America: Wakefield
Betty J. Cotter. 1997. 128 pp, photos, bibliography. $16.99
Images of America: Peace Dale
Betty J. Cotter, 1998. 128 pp, photos, bibliography. $18.99
Images of America: Kingston
Betty J. Cotter. 1999. 128 pp, photos, bibliography. $18.99
Rhode Island A to Z, a Coloring and Learning Book
Sponsored by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Grant Panel. 2000. 64 pp. $9.95
1857 Map of the Town of South Kingstown
Washington County, Rhode Island. 36 x 36, suitable for framing. $10.00
Kingston Village Note Cards 10 per pack. $2.00
Samuel Casey Commemorative Coin
PHS has contracted with Accent Castings of Cranston, R.I. to make a facsimile counterfeit coin from the same historic die that Casey used. This die reproduces the reverse of a Carolus III Spanish milled dollar. Spanish silver dollars, also known as pillar dollars, were the principal currency for American colonists of the 18th century. The practice of cutting the coins into sections to make smaller denominations of one real each gave rise to the popular phrase "pieces of eight." The reverse of the Casey die has been lost.
PHS has added a simple inscription commemorating Samuel Casey.
Pewter coins are $7.00 each or 4 for $25.00
TOYS & GAMES
Plush historical figures, and an assortment of replica games,
as well as toy handcuffs, painted jail stones, pocket classic
books, and more. Call or email for pricing info.