Maps of Potowomut

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The name "Potowomut" is an anglicized form of the Narragansett Tribe.  The Narragansetts consider this peninsula as a summer community for hunting, fishing, farming and meeting place in the summer months for thousands of years before the first white European explorers and settlers arrived to the area in the early 1600's. One can almost picture the wetus and/or wigwams, carved-out canoes and fires of the tribal families as they fished in the Potowomut River and hunted in the wooded areas. Interestingly, it is a common understanding that the word "Potowomut" is an Algonquian word translated as, "Land of Fires." While studying historical maps and texts, it became quickly apparent that Potowomut had several different spellings and pronunciations including, Patawomuck, Patawomut, Patowomuck, Pootowoomet, Potawomut, Potowomett, Potowomuck, Potowomut ,Potowoomuck and  Pottowomut. This is not an uncommon occurrence as names are heard, recorded and translated differently over time. 

Sydney Smith Rider, born in 1833, became an apprentice to a bookseller at the age of 12. His work kindled within him an intense interest in printed materials of all types, including maps, manuscripts and historical records.  According to Brown University Library, where his massive collection is stored and maintained, "Once he took over the shop from Burnett and established himself in trade as a bookseller, he became a noted collector of Rhode Islandiana."[1] Amongst the thousands of pieces in his collection is a 1903 map created by Rider entitled, "Map of the Colony of Rhode Island Giving us the Indian Names of Locations."[2] This map lists what we now call "Potowomut," "Potowoome," and is a an intriguing document.

Another interesting map, preserved by the Rhode Island Historical Society, is Cushing and Farnum-Map of the Farm of the Late Mrs. Hope Ives at Potowomut, 1856. Cushing and Farnum were a "well-known civil engineering firm" in Providence. The map indicates the vast estate owned by the Ives Family in 1856. It also indicates the location of various structure that existed at the time the survey was done.[3]

When, how and even if the land became the "property" of the Greene Family and subsequent prominent Rhode Island Families is still in debate. Well-known local historian, Robert Geake notes in his fascinating Rhode Island History Blog called, Rhode Island Footprints," that,