Apponaug’s churches foster a spirit of community
In addition to the Warwick Central Baptist Church and St. Barnabas
Episcopal Church, Apponaug also has a Catholic Church in the immediate
vicinity on Post Road and the Apponaug Pentacostal Church at the
corner of Oak and Prospect Streets. As St. Barnabas’ Rector
Emeritus, the Reverend Howard C. Olsen, has indicated, the churches
and the community have worked together in many areas.
Apponaug City Park
While many of the projects of church and community deal with helping
people in need in a variety of ways, there are also some physical
changes that have benefited the old village. One of the most recent
projects undertaken by St. Barnabas’ Church and the community
has been the creation of Apponaug City Park. Thanks to the efforts
of Father Olsen and the late Dorothy Mayor, an abandoned gas station,
which had become an eyesore in Apponaug, was donated by the Sun
Oil Company. The gas station has been removed and one of Apponaug's
liabilities has become an asset.
With three churches in the vicinity, the park is a natural spot
for wedding pictures as well as a pleasant place to sit and relax.
Through a diligent and determined effort, the old watering trough,
used by horses at Apponaug Four Corners in the 19th century, has
found a home in the park.
An Apponaug Renaissance
For a number of years in the mid-2oth century, the concept of having
wedding pictures taken in Apponaug would have been greeted with
derision as the area had lost much of its charm through neglect
and a lack of enthusiasm. One historian from West Warwick, in praising
the renaissance that has taken place in Apponaug, noted that, at
one time, residents of Arctic felt ashamed of the deterioration
that had befallen that village. “But,” she noted, “we
always said that at least we were not as bad as Apponaug. Now, we
look to Apponaug for inspiration for what can be done.” She
went on to say that Dorothy Mayor, with her determination, has given
inspiration to community groups throughout the area.
The changes in Apponaug today stem from the work of people like
Dorothy Mayor, the members of the Apponaug Improvement Association,
a sympathetic city administration and the churches.
Parks and Monuments
Once the efforts of Apponaug activists such as Dorothy Mayor and
Father Olsen took hold, the pride in the community grew. The beautiful
restoration of City Hall, the tremendous work done in preserving
and enhancing the 19th century houses along Post Road, the city
project at the library and the municipal parking lot have done a
great deal toward attracting new business ventures to Apponaug and
have created a desire for more of the same. The small attractive
park between the library and the Kentish artillery (Warwick Museum)
contains two monuments. One erected in 1990, is dedicated to the
memory of the Apponaug Volunteer Fire Department which protected
the village from 1872 until 1972. A most recent monument at this
small park is dedicated to the 3rd R. I. Heavy Artillery Regiment,
which served with distinction during the Civil War.
The impact of the churches
The churches, especially, have given the village a definite heritage,
as they are visible monuments to the people who lived and worked
in Apponaug. In addition to continuing the concept of religious
freedom upon which Rhode Island was founded, the churches also reflect
the ethnic backgrounds and the moral fiber of the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries.
Throughout Warwick's rapid growth and change, St. Barnabas' Church,
the Warwick Central Baptist Church and St. Catharine’s Catholic
Church have been a positive and dynamic force in the community.
A reflection of the times
While the Warwick Central Baptist Church depicts the struggle of
the Baptist community in the early nineteenth century and St. Barnabas
Church the late nineteenth century movement, St. Catharine’s
gives the community a sense of the struggle of the immigrants who
came to work in Warwick. They came with different standards and
religious beliefs and at times met with severe prejudice and economic
difficulties. The struggle to claim their place in Rhode Island
can be seen in the fight to worship in their own fashion in a church
they could call their own.
Much of the history of Apponaug from the building of the railroad,
the rise of the textile industry, and the political life of the
community can be seen through the history of St. Catharine’s
parish. Today, the problems and prejudices that once divided the
community have given way to a new spirit of cooperation.
A Call for a Catholic Church in Apponaug
In the 1830s, at about the same time that the Reverend Benjamin
Phelon began preaching in the Warwick Central Baptist Church, the
Stonington Railroad was being built and large numbers of Irish Catholics
were hired to do the work. These laborers were encamped at Sweet's
Meadow, near the present day railroad bridge in Apponaug. Archeologist
William S. Fowler, in his report on Sweet-Meadow Brook, tells us
that the Stonington Railroad, completed in 1837, was under construction
for "several years prior to this...by hand-shovel and wheelbarrow
labor, and it is likely that the terrace site beside fresh spring
water would have been as attractive then for a camp as in earlier
days....” when the Indians were there.
The early Irish laborers
Fragments of a clay pipe, a copper, Roman Catholic religious medal
dated 1830, an iron spoon, a handmade copper wire door hook, hand-wrought
nails and other materials that probably came from the railroad gang
have been found. This has led Fowler to conclude that "The
workmen may have lived in huts; kept a few chickens; and worked
small garden patches to help provide them with food.".
Upon completion of the project, many elected to remain in Warwick
to work at the mills that were beginning to flourish here.
Michael Carroll of Crompton
During the very early period there were no Catholic Churches in
the vicinity and many of the workers in Apponaug and other Warwick
villages walked ten miles to Providence for Sunday Mass, often carrying
their children. Michael Carroll, an Irish mill worker in Clyde,
then a part of Warwick, asked that the bishop send a priest to the
Pawtuxet Valley. Carroll's request was honored and the Reverend
James Fitton was allowed to celebrate Mass in Carroll's home in
Clyde.
“Mister” on horseback
The Rev. Fitton covered a very large territory, which included Connecticut,
part of southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In the early 19th
century, priests such as Fitton were still referred to as "Mister"
and traveled on horseback. There was very little control over their
movements and itinerary. They often preached where and when they
pleased and could not be depended upon on a regular basis. On more
than one occasion, Irish Catholics from all the villages met at
Mike Carroll's house only to find Father Fitton couldn't fulfill
his commitment. Many of the Irish concluded that if there were a
church established, a regular priest might be assigned to the area.
This was, however, at the period when the "Know-Nothing"
Movement was very strong and was violently anti-Catholic. Bigotry
ran rampant and it was impossible for Catholics to purchase land
in Apponaug or other sections in Warwick.
St. Mary’s Church in Crompton
Eventually, Paul and Mary Doran, English Catholics, were able to
purchase land in Crompton, one of the villages of western Warwick,
and in 1844, St. Mary's Church was built. This old wooden church
still stands today. It is the oldest wooden Catholic Church in Rhode
Island. The anti-Catholic, anti-Irish feelings were so strong at
the time that there was a constant threat against the church and
its parishioners. It was not until many years later that the number
of immigrants was so large that the church was able to function
as it should.
For awhile, the influx of the French Canadians saw some turmoil
in the western Warwick area. The newcomers spoke little or no English
and, eventually, separate masses were held for the Irish parishioners
in the morning and for the French in the afternoon.
Masses in the Town Hall
Any hope for a Catholic Church in Apponaug, however, still seemed
far in the future and many of the Irish Catholic workers found they
had to either walk to Providence or to Crompton to attend Mass.
By the Civil War; however, the increase in industry had resulted
in even more Irish working in the Oriental Print Works in Apponaug.
By that time, there were enough Catholics in the village of Apponaug
that Rev. William Halligan came from East Greenwich twice a month
to offer Mass at the old Town Hall. Very often, the Town Hall also
played host to the Episcopalians who, at that time, had no church
of their own.
The first Catholic Church in Apponaug
By 1873, the Catholics were numerous enough to call for the construction
of a small 24' x 60' gable-roofed building on Greenwich Ave. It
served as a "church and mission parish," administered
by priests from East Greenwich.