Last updated: March 15, 2024
Place
Hahn Memorial
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
Roger Williams National Memorial
Significance:
Site where Roger Williams settled Providence in 1636
Amenities
8 listed
Accessible Sites, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Information, Information Kiosk/Bulletin Board, Parking - Auto, Picnic Table, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Wheelchair Accessible
In 1636, Roger Williams settled Providence on this site. Attracted by a freshwater spring, next to a large saltwater cove and a naturally terraced hillside, Roger built his home directly across the street from where the Hahn Memorial is today.
In 1933, Judge Jerome Hahn gifted the site to the city of Providence, in honor of his father, Issac Hahn, the first Jewish person elected to a public office in Providence. He stated that “the spring, where in 1636 Roger Williams landed, was and is one of the truly hallowed spots on this continent.” Judge Hahn donated the park in an act of “gratitude to the people of Rhode Island who honored him as well as his father with offices of public trust” as well as an “homage to the spirit of Roger Williams who first in this hemisphere transformed liberty from a private luxury into a commodity available to all.”
In 1933, Judge Jerome Hahn gifted the site to the city of Providence, in honor of his father, Issac Hahn, the first Jewish person elected to a public office in Providence. He stated that “the spring, where in 1636 Roger Williams landed, was and is one of the truly hallowed spots on this continent.” Judge Hahn donated the park in an act of “gratitude to the people of Rhode Island who honored him as well as his father with offices of public trust” as well as an “homage to the spirit of Roger Williams who first in this hemisphere transformed liberty from a private luxury into a commodity available to all.”