Dr. Thomas SEPE, President of CCRI,
graciously stepped in as speaker to replace Julie White who had another commitment. Dr. Sepe lives on campus in the house that was once part of the KNIGHT Estate. Although the house has been well maintained, the outbuildings have suffered from years of neglect. A commission has been established to research the historical significance of the property and to obtain funding to restore the buildings.
The following, taken from the hand-out given to those who attended the meeting, briefly explains who the Knights were and how they impacted Rhode Island economy:
"The Knights, one of Rhode Island's most prominent families during the 19th century, made their fortune in the textile industry. Their most well-known contribution was the Fruit of the Loom brand.
The Knight family entered the textile industry in `848 when they brought nearby Pontiac Mills. In 1873, another prominent Rhode Island family, the Spragues, met with financial ruin. Robert and Benjamin Brayton KNIGHT acquired the SPRAGUE's mills as well as this "mansion estate" in 1875.
According to the Warwick City Historian, the brothers converted the property into a model "gentleman's farm". The Knights operated this working farm until they deeded it and the surrounding acreage to the state for the birth of a community college in the 1960's."
On the twenty of so acres that comprise the estate, there is a cider mill, a two-story building constructed of stone and mortar, that housed horse-powered apple presses; a greenhouse with an attached potting shed and central heat; a water tower, which sits on its original stone foundation, on about 200 square feet of land (it was built to provide gravity-fed water from artesian wells); a two-story carriage house and barn that original carriages from the KNIGHT family; a corn crib that was used to store corn to feed the prized Ayrshire cattle and Morgan horses; box stalls and a tack room that housed the Knight's prized horses; and a hen house believed to have been built as a barn for pigs.
The house was built in 1835 by A.W. Sprague. When the Knights acquired the property Robert L. KNIGHT, one of the principals in the B.B. & Knight Company was the first occupant (1812 to 1912) and his sons, Webster Knight, occupied the residence from 1854 to 1933.
The estate are secluded from the campus by the road that leads to the main building. President SEPE is 100% behind the restoration and looks forward to the day when the public can be invited to share in the property's unique history and the beautiful surroundings reminiscent of a working farm, part of a gentleman's estate in the 19th century.
Taken from The Pawtuxet Valley Historian, Volume 18 , Issue 8.
LINKS: The Knight Campus - Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI)