As the mills waxed prosperous, there was a demand for better transportation to connect the mills of western Warwick with the seaports and major cities. As a result, the early 1800s ushered in the “turnpike era,” which greatly facilitated bringing raw materials to and finished products from the mills along the Pawtuxet River. A turnpike (whether its surface was hard enough to turn the point of a pike or not) was a roadway controlled by a corporation that could legally charge tolls for profits and upkeep.

Christopher and William Rhodes of Pawtuxet were quick to realize the advantages of a road that would connect their textile mills to Providence and New London. Obadiah Brown, a shareholder in the Warwick Manufacturing Company in Centerville, joined the Rhodes brothers and several others in obtaining a charter in 1816 to establish a toll road, which was later the New London Turnpike. By 1821 the road was completed and stagecoaches were operating on a regular basis.

J. Earl Clauson, in These Plantations, tells us that the New London Turnpike was 49 miles long. He relates that “going out of Providence the first tollgate was at the Gorton Arnold stand in Warwick. The second was at Westcott’s, below Natick….” Thanks to some of the old timers who were interviewed by Clauson, we learn that “toll charges at whole gates were 12½ cents for a chaise, six cents for a man on horseback, six cents for a horse and wagon.” In addition, “A pair of horses paid ten cents. Cattle, sheep and hogs were taxed one cent per head. A ‘chariot,’ as private coaches were called, paid 30 cents, and the stage coach 20 cents.” While the New London Turnpike did provide a shorter route from Providence to New London, it was a financial failure.

The “turnpike era,” although prosperous at first, did not last very long. It was only a short time before the railroad provided services that could not be equaled. The railroad not only could move large quantities of goods easily, it could take them to terminals in various parts of the United States. The story of the railroads will be featured next week.

Railroads and immigration

While Elijah Ormsbee of Rhode Island built a successful steam engine to power a boat on Narragansett Bay as early as 1796, it was not until 1837 that steam-powered locomotives brought trains through Rhode Island. In 1832 work began on the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad, known as the Stonington Railroad, and passengers were able to travel on it by 1837. From the very beginning of its existence, the Stonington Railroad made some significant changes. Its route closely followed the old colonial artery, the Post Road, and it rendered the New London Turnpike, which had become a major artery of trade, practically obsolete. Apponaug, because of its location on the Post Road, was given new life and its textile industry became even more prosperous.

In addition to the change in Apponaug’s textile industry, the railroad brought in a tide of immigration that altered the old fabric of the village and brought in unimaginable changes. Prior to the coming of the railroad, Warwick had been almost totally inhabited by British-Protestant stock. In the 1830s, demand for labor to build the roads witnessed large numbers of Irish Catholics immigrating to Rhode Island. Old prejudices surfaced and a period of culture shock engulfed Apponaug. The Irish were encamped at Sweet Meadow Brook, adjacent to the railroad tracks in Apponaug. Local archaeologist William S. Fowler found a number of artifacts in the upper six inches of soil in the excavated area that indicate the railroad gangs were here. They found white clay pipe fragments common in the early 19th century, a copper Roman Catholic religious medal dated 1830, an iron spoon, part of a china egg and scattered pieces of coal, some cut nails, a strap hinge and a copper wire door hook. From this Fowler concludes, “The workmen may have lived in huts; kept a few chickens; and worked small garden patches to help provide them with food….”

When the railroad was completed, many of the Irish remained in Warwick to work in the mills. Many of them went to the western section, and by the late 19th century became a dominant force in areas such as Crompton, Centreville, Clyde and Phenix.