Historic Happenings at the RIHS

What would we be without our collection?

For over 200 years, the Rhode Island Historical Society has served as the state’s collective memory, gathering and preserving thousands of photographs, films, textiles, books, paintings, artifacts, furniture, and so much more.

Our team has been hard at work making these "memories" easier to use than ever, expanding digital access to our collections exponentially in the past year. Even the way you search is more intuitive, with our newly-launched Cabinet search engine showcasing our resources with unmatched clarity.

We want to share some of our team's latest projects with you and thank you for the love you show our collections through your support. It is because of you and your generosity that we are able to continue to preserve these materials for all Rhode Islanders.

Show your support today

Collections Projects to Follow

Rhode Island Digital Newspaper Project

The RIHS and Providence Public Library, as part of the National Endowment for the Humanities and Library of Congress National Digital Newspaper Program, have undertaken an extensive newspaper digitization project that is placing all of Rhode Island’s historical newspapers online and widely available through the Library of Congress's Chroniciling America website for the first time in history.

Rhode Island History Navigator

The Rhode Island History Navigator is a database of the most comprehensive guide to historical writings about Rhode Island, made easily accessible to all on the RI History Navigator website. Many of these books and articles are available in full text.

The Cabinet Online Catalog

Explore our collections through our online catalog's new platform, The Cabinet. Search for printed books, sound recordings, moving picture film, and material from our manuscript collections, which grow every year, due to gifts and purchases.

The American Revolution in Rhode Island

The Rhode Island Historical Society is proud to share its collection of Revolutionary War manuscripts and military records. These are mostly documents from Rhode Island Continental and state regiments, county militia regiments, and independent companies, during the period of the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain from 1775 to 1783. The digitization of these documents was supported by the National Archives, specifically the National Historical Records and Publication Commission.