New historical markers highlight Cranston walking tours

Two more historical signs have gone up on the Cranston Discovery Network walking tour. The latest markers tell the stories of the Oak Lawn Library and Knightsville neighborhoods.

“We want people to stop, slow down and learn about the history,” said Sandra Moyer, president of the Cranston Historical Society, which is partnering with the city and the Cranston Public Library on the initiative. “By making the tour walkable, we’re also helping the neighborhoods because people walking around might stop and go to a restaurant or they might stop at a store.”

“A lot of people may know fragments of the city’s history, but they don’t see it as a whole and how one village affected another village and so, by installing markers in clusters, we get a pretty good idea of what life was like in that one particular area,” she said.

The Rhode Island Foundation gave the city of Cranston $15,000 to document and celebrate significant events, places and people in the city’s history.

The first marker went up at Sprague Mansion on Cranston Street last year. It features the historic village of Spragueville, which had its heyday in the mid-1800s and took the name of former Gov. William Sprague, who founded a textile empire there.

St. Mary’s Cemetery, Cranston Print Works and Joy Homestead on Scituate Avenue are among the other locations on the walking tours. Twelve markers in all are planned.

The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island. Working with generous and visionary donors, the Foundation raised $38 million and awarded $43 million in grants to organizations addressing the state’s most pressing issues and needs of diverse communities in 2017. Through leadership, fundraising and grantmaking activities, often in partnership with individuals and organizations, the Foundation is helping Rhode Island reach its true potential. For more information, visit rifoundation.org.