(light music) - [Narrator] There is an old Massachusetts coin here that was discovered on the property and dates back to 1652.

We'll take a close look at a small book that was used by enslaved people learning how to read and write.

And later, a trip to the Rose Island Lighthouse gives us a glimpse into life as a lighthouse keeper.

This is "Treasures Inside the Museum."

(light music) (light music continues) (light music continues) (gentle music) (gentle music continues) Smith Castle is a two story wooden structure that sits on the western shore of Narragansett Bay.

- Our history covers four centuries and it's almost 400 years old.

Our story begins 1637 with Roger Williams and Richard Smith both starting trading operations here.

- [Narrator] It may not look like the castle we think of in fairytales, but in Rhode Island in the 1600s, the original dwelling was considered one.

Over the years, there have been different stories passed down about how the name came to be.

- One of them is that the original trading operation had a stockade fence around it, so it resembled what castles might have looked like back then.

And then at various times the story goes that there were cannons here, so it was this large house with cannons out in front of it.

I tend to favor the version that it was just such an enormous house and stood out that people referred to it as a castle.

(gentle music) The house here is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and then the site, Cocumscussoc, which is a name given to it by the Narraganset, is also listed independently as a national historic landmark.

- [Narrator] Today, the Historic Sites Association focuses on Native American, colonial and plantation periods.

- Our history starts here in 1637 with Roger Williams and Richard Smith starting trading operations here.

In 1639, Richard Smith builds the first dwelling here.

During the years after that, plantation took hold here, but then we have King Philip's War enter the picture.

So, in 1678, in retaliation for an attack on the Narraganset, the original dwelling built by Richard Smith is burned by the Narraganset.

Richard Smith Jr. rebuilds the house right here salvaging many of the same timbers.

And that is basically the structure that we're in today.

There are some renovations done in the 1700s, but the structure we're in today is basically the same house that was built here in 1678.

- [Narrator] A large brick fireplace sits at the center of the home.

- If you were here a hundred years ago, if you walked into this room, you would not see this fireplace at all.

- [Narrator] As cooking practices evolved, the fireplace became smaller and was eventually covered over.

In 1924, the home's owners rediscovered this important piece of history during renovations.

- This is an extremely large fireplace for a colonial house of that period, and it points to the fact that this was not just a home, this was a plantation.

So at that time we were, there were double ovens, one of which we believe the one on the left was probably a warming oven, and then the other regular oven.

And they would've been cooking for probably 30 people a meal easily.

Because you had the family, the Updikes were great entertainers.

They had the Lafayette was here one time.

They had other people that visited, but it would've been the politicians of the day, particularly around the Revolutionary War.

This was a hub of people getting together to meet here, to discuss what was going on, to make plans.

And so they were constantly having people in and out.

They were very socially conscious.

The very early diet was largely based on meat.

But beyond that, when you get into the further days when things became more refined with the Updikes, primarily into the 1700s, they would've been cooking pastries, they would've been cooking regular foods.

Of course, it wouldn't have been the lady of the house that would have been cooking.

It would probably have been the head cook, which probably would have been one of the enslaved people.

- [Narrator] The collections at Smith's Castle are a reflection of all the people who lived here through the centuries.

Exhibits help us to understand their daily lives and their place in society.

(light music) (light music continues) This carefully preserved artifact connects the home's history within enslaved people.

- This particular artifact I find to be the most fascinating and moving of any objects we have in our collection.

It's a primer from 1737.

A primer was a small book used by children to learn to read and write.

And the fascinating part is that it most likely is the only artifact we have here that we can directly relate to the enslaved people that lived here.

The book was printed in 1737, and in 1738 to 1740, renovations were done here by Daniel Updike and his wife Anstis, and the wall panel that this was hidden behind was covered with lath and plaster never to be seen again until 1951.

We had three young people that lived here that were enslaved during this time period.

Two young men named Mingo and Prince, and then a young woman named Lily.

So it's quite likely that this book was associated with one, or possibly all three, of the enslaved young people that were here.

And if you stop and think about it, at the time, they lived in a house of Updikes that were privileged, educated people that had access to learn to read and write.

And these young people, the only way they could learn to read and write was by somehow acquiring this primer book and then being forced to hide it behind the walls so they wouldn't be caught with it.

- [Narrator] Once hidden away, the primer is now on display for visitors to see.

It's an essential part of the story of the enslaved people and is included in the narrative of this house.

Another piece of the collection belonged to Daniel Updike, who became the Attorney General in 1722 at the age of 28.

- What we're looking at is a second edition of Blackstone's New Law Dictionary.

And this was the basic source that all of the attorneys in the United States used for law in the cases that they were presented with.

This was Daniel Updike's personal copy.

His signature is right on the front piece here on the side of the inside cover, as are other signatures of the families.

We don't know if those are their signatures or if the law clerk that assisted Daniel may have been copying their names and so forth and practicing his writing.

That often happened in ledgers and law books as well.

In New England, particularly in Rhode Island as we had a freedom of speech and also sole liberty, the right to worship in whatever way we wanted, there was not a lot of intertwining of scripture with the law.

It was separate, it was clearly a distinct separation of church and state in Rhode Island.

And so the resources that Rhode Island lawyers used were the English laws and then brought over here and modified as needed to fit the needs of New Englanders and Rhode Islanders.

If there was a case that was needed to find some precedent of a law or a decision that had been made earlier, this was the resource to find it in.

And also, if there was an arcane point of law that you wanted to bring up or maybe to find a way to finagle a way of getting your client out of a situation, you would look through this as well to find some sort of precedent that you could then bring to the judge and hope that he would recognize that as a precedent and rule in your favor.

(light piano music) (light piano music continues) - [Narrator] Updike's home and personal belongings were those of an educated, elegant man embodying the lifestyle of the English gentry.

- This is the waistcoat that he would've worn, and it's emblematic as well as his walking stick, of the way in which he choose to impart himself as a gentleman and as an attorney, a prominent attorney.

These were the accessories that a man of his standing would've been expected to wear.

And his way of presenting in the court was also supposedly very eloquent, and he was highly prized for his ability to argue a case.

(light piano music continues) - [Narrator] In addition to personal belongings, the museum home is filled with period pieces.

Exhibits are designed to tell the stories of the people who lived here.

The history of the Indigenous people who once inhabited these islands is included.

(light piano music continues) Other artifacts tell the story of Smith Castle as a trading post established by Roger Williams and Richard Smith in the 1630s.

- This particular item is most likely the oldest artifact that we have here at Smith's Castle.

It's a 1652 Massachusetts oak tree coin.

And at first glance, it looks like it would be just an old penny that you'd find out in the ground, but it's actually made of silver.

And although it's called a 1652 oak tree coin, it was minted sometime after 1660.

In 1652, the English prohibited the colonies from making their own currency, so anything made after that time period, they would put the 1652 date on it to give it the appearance of having been in circulation for a while.

If you look closely at it, it does have an oak tree, and says New England on one side, and then the other side has the 1652 date and it says Massachusetts.

In 1972, a class from the University of Rhode Island was here doing an archeological dig, and one of the students showed up with a newfangled metal detector, and the professor was not real keen on him using it, but he allowed him to use it.

Within minutes, he found this coin and dug it up.

So it's been in our possession ever since then.

The significance of this is it was here during those very early years of Richard Smith Sr. and Richard Smith Jr living here.

Whether they were the ones that lost it, we'll never know, but I said before it has the appearance of a penny that you probably wouldn't worry too much about if you lost it.

But this particular coin would've been the equivalent of a $20 bill today.

So it's not something that was lost and somebody wasn't concerned with it.

It would've been something they probably searched for, but it wasn't found for several centuries later and we have it here now for people to come in and and view.

(light music) - [Narrator] Portraits depicting the people who lived in these houses through the centuries were often considered a luxury.

- I'd like to introduce you to Anstis Updike Lee.

She was born in 1765.

- [Narrator] Anstis and her family owned a parcel of land in Providence that held value for developers.

She was a shrewd businesswoman who had a plan to leverage her family's history of longevity.

- And at the time that they were building The Arcade in Providence, which would've been in 1826, I believe they started the plans for it.

Okay, she was approached by a Mr. Duncan who was a banker and he was a financier and he was interested in this whole project and was probably doing some of the funding for it.

And he made an offer to her that it would set it up as an annuity type of thing.

Now, she's 70 years old, and of course he doesn't know about this longevity thing, which I think is maybe why she has a slight smile on her face.

So they set up this annuity, and time goes by and she gets her payment every year.

Then she was 80 years old, then she was 85 years old, then she was 90 years old.

And I guess at this time, Mr. Duncan was a little bit annoyed by all of this.

And he made a comment to someone, "When is this old lady going to die?"

This got back to her somehow or another.

And so then the next time that she received her payment, she always would write a little note thanking you, I have received your payment.

So this time she wrote, "I give my compliments to Mr. Duncan and I want him to know that I plan to live to eat the goose that eats the grass that grows on your grave."

So she was a bit of a character for sure.

- [Narrator] Anstis went on to live another 10 years and passed on her 100th birthday, making her business deal even more profitable and memorable.

Her story, and stories like this one, are shared by docents and volunteers throughout the year, bringing context to visitors of this historic home.

(light music) (pleasant music) It's just about a 15 minute boat ride out of Newport Harbor to travel a 100 years back in time.

Rose Island is that pristine piece of land just south of the Newport Bridge.

- Rose Island is this incredible 18 acre parcel of land here in the Narraganset Bay.

There's so many layers of history here, dating back to when it was even called Conockonoquit by the Narragansett people before Rose Island ever showed up on the charts.

And all of those layers of history are really fascinating to explore, as well as the natural environment and the ecology.

- [Narrator] While the natural environment here is an attraction, it's this landmark on the southwestern tip of the island that has captured the eye of locals and visitors as well as mariners navigating Narraganset Bay.

The Rose Island lighthouse was built here more than 150 years ago.

- So the lighthouse itself is on this raised structure, which predates the lighthouse.

That is called a bastion.

That was set up for strategic cannon power to be facing out against the Narraganset Bay in the late 1700s, early 1800s.

So then 1869, when the US government was authorized to build a lighthouse here, that raised platform lent itself perfectly for that.

So 1869, the lighthouse is built, the light is lit in 1870, and it served its purpose for 101 years and was formally decommissioned in 1971 when they built the Newport Pell Bridge, because the bridge had enough lighting on it where this light wasn't needed in the same way anymore.

- [Narrator] In the years that followed, the abandoned lighthouse fell on hard times.

It was repeatedly broken into, pigeons moved in, and the building was nearly a total wreck.

Eventually, a group of concerned citizens came together, driven in part by the visionary leadership of Charlotte Johnson, with a goal of saving the lighthouse from demolition.

- In 1983, the lighthouse was declared surplus by the General Services Administration.

- Our organization, my predecessors, formed the Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation, as it was formally known, to work with the city of Newport to obtain the lighthouse property and restore the lighthouse.

- And it just garnered so much support from the city that the city was able to accept the lighthouse at no cost.

And the Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation was formed in order to restore, maintain, and operate the lighthouse at no cost to the citizens of Newport.

Whether it was baking cookies or pounding in pilings at the end of the dock.

I mean, there's just this huge amount of support.

- It took them six, seven, eight years to fully restore the lighthouse and relight the light.

And today the light serves as a private aid to marine navigation.

You'll still find it on the coastal charts.

(water sloshing) - [Narrator] Today, the Rose Island Lighthouse is open to the public, where they honor and celebrate maritime life and history.

- We're a really unique museum in that our first floor we think of as a living museum.

We actually have people stay overnight here in the lighthouse in season from the beginning of April through the end of the October.

And that's such a unique experience because when the boat does leave at 4:00 PM, you really get to step back in time and take on that role of lighthouse keeper out here.

- I would say very similarly to today, lighthouse keepers have plenty of chores that they have to constantly maintain and upkeep, but the downtime is filled with absolute peace.

You can tell looking around the museum that there are lots of gorgeous things made by people in this lighthouse; quilts, sailor valentine's.

You can tell that they filled their time with music between the pump organ and the Victrola, that the time that was spent not doing chores was certainly well spent doing other things.

(light music) (light music continues) (light music continues) - [Narrator] The entire first floor has been meticulously decorated with help from someone who actually lived here.

Wanton Chase first came to the island as a child to live with his grandfather, who was a keeper here in the early 1900s.

Decades later, when he heard about the efforts to restore the old lighthouse, Chase didn't hesitate to offer help.

- So, Wanton comes out to the island, he starts explaining where everything used to be, and he had a neighbor who had this stove in his basement, went to his neighbor's house and he said, "Hey, that stove that you had, that looks exactly like the stove my grandmother had when I was out on Rose Island, would you be interested in donating it to the foundation?"

His neighbor said, "Yes, but there's some parts missing."

So Wanton had a bunch of parts cast and then disassembled the stove, brought it out to the island in a whole bunch of boxes, laid it up against this wall.

And by this point it was pretty late in the day, and he decided he'd go back to Newport, get a good night's sleep, come back in the morning with all of his tools.

That night, however, there was a lighthouse keeper upstairs named Chris Owens.

And Chris Owens took it upon himself to assemble the stove solo.

So he spent all night putting the stove together.

When Wanton Chase returned the next morning, he had his tools and his coffee in hand, and he walked up the hill, walked in the front door, saw the stove, and he dropped everything.

Turned pale, pale white.

Charlotte thought that he was having a heart attack when he had looked at the stove, but he said, "No, no, but do you see her?"

Charlotte said, "See who, Wanton?"

And he said, "Do you see my grandmother standing over the stove?"

So it's a true testament that this place looks exactly like it did when he was back here in 1909.

(light music) - [Narrator] At the top of the tower is the light that mariners once relied on to safely navigate these waters.

- This is our sixth order Fresnel lens.

It still shines every night, and you'll see it on charts as a private aid to marine navigation.

We have the Pell Bridge in the background.

The light was formally decommissioned when that bridge was built because the bridge emitted enough light where this wasn't needed anymore.

And so after about 15 years of the lighthouse falling into total disrepair there, we were able to take it over as an organization and restore it.

And a few years later, the light was re-lit here.

1993 was when it was re-lit.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) Yeah, this isn't the original lighthouse lens.

We don't know the exact fate of that original lens, but we do know that it was victim to the vandalism that took place here in the seventies and early eighties.

This is actually a replica lens.

It's a a sixth order Fresnel lens.

It's not made of glass, it's made of a polycarbonate plastic material.

You couldn't tell though when you walk right up to it, and it still does its job as a Fresnel lens, refracting and reflecting light to a distance of about six miles at night.

This lens would've originally had a red light that shone out because when ships and boats were coming up the Narraganset Bay, they follow that old key navigational rule, red right return.

So the red lens would've been on their starboard or their right side as they were coming up the bay.

And of course, one of the lighthouse, the most important job for the lighthouse keeper was keeping this light lit.

So they were up here, it was originally would've been oil that burned for the light, a little later it was kerosene, now it's a solar powered LED light, which is a lot easier to maintain.

But when the lighthouse keepers were active here for 101 years, making sure that that flame stayed lit, was fueled, the lens was clean, and emitting that signal out to the world was incredibly important jobs.

So lighthouse keepers didn't really sleep through the night, rather they catnapped in between making sure that the light was still lit.

(light music) This light was commissioned by the US government in about 1868, and that's because there was a really popular steamship line called the Fall River Line that would bring passengers from New York City into the Narraganset Bay, to Newport and up to Fall River, where they could catch trains to Boston and Providence and Newport at that time.

So it was the steamship line that requested this light be built.

Before this light was built, they would light fires here on Rose Island as a signal to mariners.

- [Narrator] Today, the Rose Island Lighthouse is completely restored, and the museum here open to the public.

- [Sean] This lighthouse is really a connection to our past.

We love getting school groups here.

We love getting visitors here where we can help them make that connection and actually see this lens that was so critical for so long.

- [Narrator] This iconic building and the stories it tells continue to be a part of the fabric of Newport and Narragansett Bay.

- This is a very special place.

This is just a very, very treasured island.

(light music) (light music continues) (light music continues) (light music continues) (light dramatic music) (upbeat music) - [Narrator] This program and other episodes of "Treasures Inside the Museum," as well as digital extras, are now available to watch anytime by visiting RhodeIslandPBS.org or the Rhode Island PBS YouTube channel.

Take a private tour with exhibit curators, get an inside look at the conservation process and go behind the scenes to see hidden treasures.

Whether you are interested in artifacts, paintings, photography, architecture, or history, you'll be inspired to learn more.