Lime Kiln

Great Road Day

September 24, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
1873 Old Louisquisett Pike, Lincoln, RI 02865

Great Road Day Map

BVHS is participating in Lincoln’s Great Road Day, where historic properties are open to the public.  The Eleazer Arnold House, the Saylesville Friends Meeting House, Hearthside House, the Hannaway Blacksmith Shop, the Moffett Mill, the Pullen Corner Schoolhouse, and the Mount Moriah Lodge will all be open at no charge.  Northgate and Arnold’s Lonsdale Bakery will be open 11:00 am to 4:00 pm on September 24.   We will have chocolate chip cookies in the bakery. Please stop by!

Northgate was built around 1807 as a residence for the toll collector for the Louisquisset Turnpike, which was constructed at the same time to expedite the shipment of lime to Providence. In later years, the building served as the Lime Rock Grange, a social gathering place for local families.

The bakery was originally a one-room, one story workshop, which was used by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Jenks Arnold as a bakery in 1874, and was the start of their Lincoln business which lasted nearly 100 years. They were so successful that a large bakery was built in Saylesville, and eventually the little bakery was purchased by one of the Arnolds and moved to Saylesville next to their new building. In the 1990’s the original bakery was relocated and rebuilt in its current spot adjacent to Northgate.
The Jenks’ collection of antique baking equipment was placed on display at the bakery, and Gail Harris from BVHS has added to the bakery collection. Here is an article about the bakery from the Valley Breeze.

On Great Road Day, BVHS will also host an exhibit of Vincent Bernasconi’s paintings of the lime quarry and Lime Rock, courtesy of Joyce Bethel and the Conklin Lime Quarry. In addition, Dan Bethel will show material he has collected about Bernasconi.

Vincent Bernasconi (1885-1962) was a staff artist at the Providence Journal. He was born in Birmingham, England and graduated from art school. He began working at the Providence Evening Bulletin in 1917, drawing illustrations for the sporting page and sketching cartoons. He lived on Great Road in one of the houses just past the quarry, and in his free time he enjoyed painting his neighborhood. These illustrations of Lime Rock and the lime quarry may be on public view for the first time. On this page is a picture by Bernasconi of a lime kiln on Wilbur Road.

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