Burrillville Historical & Preservation Society

08/29/2026

Indoor yard sale at the Bridgeton School, 16 Laurel Hill Avenue, Pascoag today 9 to 3 pm. Some larger items outside, more items in basements. Lots of good stuff. Don't miss it.

08/25/2026

Yard Sale at the Burrillville Historical Society on Saturday, August 29 from 9 to 3 pm. This is an indoor yard sale inside the Bridgeton School, 16 Laurel Hill Avenue, Pascoag (opposite Serios). Lots of good stuff and interesting unique items. We also have some artwork and paintings. If you have items to donate, please call or send text to 401-500-0433. Our museum room will be open that day so if you haven't seen it, drop in to see artifacts from Burrillville's past.

08/13/2026

Come to Uncle Ronnie's Red Tavern for a free travel presentation by Collette on the "Azores - the Jewel of Portugal" on Wednesday, August 19th at 6:00 pm. The event will be held downstairs. If you'd like to order dinner, please arrive early to place your order before the presentation.

This 13-day trip travels to three islands of the Azores: Sao Miguel, Faial, and Terceira. Beautiful scenery and an exciting itinerary with cultural experiences awaits you.

The dates of the trip are April 15-27, 2027. The price per person double occupancy is $5,599 per person, single price is $6899. You only need to make a small deposit by September 9, 2026.

This trip of a life time is sponsored by the Burrillville Historical & Preservation Society. Please RSVP if you plan to attend the travel presentation by calling or texting Betty at 401-500-0433. Call if you'd like a color brochure.

07/26/2026

BBQ Dinner Fundraiser
First Universalist Church of Burrillville
The dinner will be held in the outdoor pavilion at Addieville East Farm
Friday, August 21, 2026
5 pm - 9 pm
(dinner served at 6:30)
Tickets must be purchased in advance
Call or text me for tickets: 401-500-0433
Adults - $30.00
Children under 12 - $15.00
Bring cash for the bar and the raffle
All proceeds benefit the preservation of the First Universalist Church, 134 Main Street, Harrisville See less

07/15/2026

Travel to the Azores with the Burrillville Historical & Preservation Society - April 15-27, 2027. This 13-day trip travels to three islands of the Azores: Sao Miguel, Faial, and Terceira. We will visit Sete Cidades caldera for a magnificent view, Terra Nostra Botanical Garden, a visit to a tea plantation, a coffee plantation, a pineapple plantation and Capelinhos Volcano Interpretation Center. At Algar do Carvao, the "Cavern of Coal," we will descend into a lava tube. There is an optional tour to the Island of Pico to see Pico Island Vineyard Culture- a mixture of lava rock and exotic vegetation. The tour ends in Lisbon. The price per person double occupancy is $5,599 per person, single price is $6899. This price includes airfare and hometown pickup. A small deposit is due by September 9, 2026.

This is a small group tour with an average of 12 to 24 passengers.

Collette will give a FREE travel presentation on the Azores at Uncle Ronnies Red Tavern on Wednesday, August 19th at 6:00 pm. Please RSVP by calling or texting Betty at 401-500-0433.

This will be an unforgettable journey.

06/11/2026

Looking for volunteers to help clean cemetery #89 on Sunday, June 14th at 8:00 am. It's located in the woods off Hill Road. If you'd like to help, call or text me at 401-500-0433 for directions. Please bring rakes, brush loppers, leaf-blower, weed-whacker, brush cutter. If there's any fallen trees, we might need a chain saw. Bring gloves and water to drink. There's lots of mountain laurel in this cemetery. It is in bloom now and should be quite pretty. To get to the cemetery we have to walk on a path in the woods maybe about 2/10 mile.

06/11/2026

Join us for a tour of historic places in Burrillville this Saturday, June 13th at 10:00 AM - a Burrillville 250 event. We will meet at the Callahan School and then drive through 5 villages in Burrillville stopping periodically for historical information. Some of the sites include the site of the Peregrine Mathewson sawmill, Oakland train station, Re*****on Mansion, Sweet's Hill, Burrill monument, Levy gravesite, Hopkins Machine Shop, Potter Bridgeway and others. Please call or send text to 401-500-0433 if you'd like to attend. The photo below shows the Re*****on Mansion in Harrisville (the post office is there now). Hope you can join us.

06/02/2026

Only one week left to sign up for the European Christmas Markets tour with Collette through the Burrillville Historical Society. This is a unique opportunity to experience all the magic of Christmas in a unique way. This 9-day trip is $3,799 per person double occupancy. We will visit Dresden, Prague, Vienna and Budapest and more. Click on this link for details about the tour. You'll love it!

Set out on a holiday adventure through the iconic capital cities of Central Europe – Prague, Vienna and Budapest. Along the way, immerse yourself in festive Christmas markets, experience cultural traditions, sample local cuisine, and glimpse this region’s rich history.

05/19/2026

Reminder! Collette presentation on European Christmas Markets is Wed, May 20 at 6 PM at Uncle Ronnies. We will be downstairs. You are welcome to come to the free travel presentation to learn about this exciting tour during the Christmas season. The dates of the tour are Dec 9-17th so you will be back in plenty of time to celebrate Christmas here. We will visit the European cities of Dresden, Prague, Vienna and Budapest and will see them all lit up and brightly decorated for the Christmas season. Besides the Christmas Markets, the trip has city tours, visiting the Prague Castle, candy making, classical music performance, local artisans, and lots more as well as Christmas cheer everywhere you go! The cost is $3,799 per person double occupancy. Ask for the single price. You can order dinner at Uncle Ronnies or just enjoy the travel presentation. No obligation! Deposits for this tour are due June 3, 2026.

Please call 401-500-0433 if you would like to attend the travel presentation. Make this a most memorable Christmas!

05/16/2026

Today I visited the Riverside Cemetery in Harrisville (opposite the Harrisville Fire Station) and was sickened at what I saw. Five large heavy monuments had been toppled. Three of them are big heavy granite monuments and 2 of them are marble. The marble stones are more fragile and broke when they fell. I immediately contacted the Burrillville police. Sergeant Carvalho arrived and I showed her the damage. I do not know when this vandalism occurred but it probably happened within the last few weeks. On April 4th a large group of volunteers cleaned this entire cemetery and we cleaned and reset two monuments. It is heart breaking to see this type of blatant and senseless damage. One of the lots damaged is the Smith Wood lot. His wife, Nancy and son Emor were knocked over. Smith Wood is the man who built the Stillwater House in Harrisville. Two stones were knocked over in the Aaron White lot: his son George and daughter Erminie. Erminie was heavily involved with the First Universalist Church. The 5th stone was that of Amos Griffith. These historic stones mark the graves of people who helped shape our town's history and it is very disturbing to see this damage. We will be repairing the broken stones and resetting them with our tripod. This will be a lot of slow, tedious work because the stones are so heavy.
If anyone saw any strange activity in this cemetery or if you heard anything that may help lead to the arrest of the people responsible, please contact Sergeant Rebecca Carvalho at 568-6255 or send an email to [email protected]. You can also contact me, Betty at 401-500-0433. Please share this. Thank you.