http://www.rinhs.org Providing Ecosystem Science and Information Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:35:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 http://www.rinhs.org/what-we-do/bioblitz/bioblitz_05/comment-page-1/#comment-27202 dgregg Wed, 10 Aug 2011 19:19:44 +0000 http://odonata.edc.uri.edu/what-we-do/bioblitz/bioblitz_05/#comment-27202 Thanks for your question about Mount Hope. Although we're not a history organization (natural history is about animals and plants, not human history) I happen to know that the amusement park at Mt. Hope was in business in the late 19th century. It was a destination for working people in Fall River when Fall River was jammed with immigrant mill workers. There were cottages to rent, a carousel, and other attractions and steamers put in at a pier to disembark visitors from Fall River. The park was bankrupt in the early 20th century when Mr. Rudolf Haffenreffer became interested in it. Haffenreffer was from a brewing family in Roxbury, Mass., and when he grew up he went into the same business in Fall River. By around 1905 he owned most of the breweries and beer business in the city. He probably viewed the amusement park both as a business to buy cheap and turn around for a profit but also as a market for his beer. He bought it, but never reopened it or sold it. He ended up buying more and more adjoining land and redoing buildings on it to improve it as both a working farm and as a summer home/country estate for himself and his family. Upon his death, some of it was sold, the rest was donated to Brown University. You should be able to find a book on the history of the estate and especially his interest in native american artifacts called "Passionate Hobby." I know that the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society in Kingston sells it, as does the Haffenreffer Museum that is still associated with Brown. Thanks for your question about Mount Hope. Although we’re not a history organization (natural history is about animals and plants, not human history) I happen to know that the amusement park at Mt. Hope was in business in the late 19th century. It was a destination for working people in Fall River when Fall River was jammed with immigrant mill workers. There were cottages to rent, a carousel, and other attractions and steamers put in at a pier to disembark visitors from Fall River. The park was bankrupt in the early 20th century when Mr. Rudolf Haffenreffer became interested in it. Haffenreffer was from a brewing family in Roxbury, Mass., and when he grew up he went into the same business in Fall River. By around 1905 he owned most of the breweries and beer business in the city. He probably viewed the amusement park both as a business to buy cheap and turn around for a profit but also as a market for his beer. He bought it, but never reopened it or sold it. He ended up buying more and more adjoining land and redoing buildings on it to improve it as both a working farm and as a summer home/country estate for himself and his family. Upon his death, some of it was sold, the rest was donated to Brown University. You should be able to find a book on the history of the estate and especially his interest in native american artifacts called “Passionate Hobby.” I know that the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society in Kingston sells it, as does the Haffenreffer Museum that is still associated with Brown.

]]> http://www.rinhs.org/what-we-do/bioblitz/bioblitz_05/comment-page-1/#comment-26243 John Card Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:51:43 +0000 http://odonata.edc.uri.edu/what-we-do/bioblitz/bioblitz_05/#comment-26243 Do you have any more information concerning the Amusement Park that existed on Mount Hope in about 1900? Do you have any more information concerning the Amusement Park that existed on Mount Hope in about 1900?

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