Rhode Island Town 21: Glocester: 7/22/2020

Hi Everyone, it's Aoife! Today we will be exploring Glocester. Our first place we had planned to stop at was Lightning Ridge Farm, but unfortunately when we got there there was a sign on the door saying that they were closed. We had checked their website and Facebook page before heading out, and according to the hours they listed, it should have been open.  Oh well.  Hope the owners and staff at Lightning Ridge are ok. It would probably be best to call ahead if you would like to visit this place.

We continued on our way to the next place on our trip to Glocester: The Town Pound. Now, if you don’t know what a Town Pound is, it is a tall stone enclosure  where stray animals would be kept. They are not used anymore and are part of New England’s history as many towns have them. My mother loves visiting places like this, but  I personally didn’t like the Town Pound because it looked like the animals would be crowded into it and would not be comfortable in that cage of rocks on the side of the road. Another reason that I didn’t like the Town Pound was that my mom was trying to get through the gate even though it was very clear that it wouldn’t open. It was very embarrassing because we were getting strange looks from the people driving by. She told my sister and I after we had gotten back in the car that there used to be a geocache in there and the gate used to be open for people to go in. However, the rocks seem to have settled and now the gate doesn’t open. 

Glocester Town Pound

Glocester Town Pound

After the Town Pound we went to this cute little one room schoolhouse. This schoolhouse was called the Evans Schoolhouse and was built in 1867. It has two doors - one for girls and one for boys, which I think is kind of funny and I don’t understand why girls and boys needed separate doors. We left a painted rock at this one room schoolhouse. 

After we went to the one room schoolhouse we tried to go to the Brown & Hopkins Store which is one of the oldest continuously operating general stores in the country, but sadly we hadn’t checked the website for this store and we learned that it is closed on Wednesdays.  We will go back to visit this store when we tour the neighboring town of Burrillville.

​We walked across a bridge to the other side of the street to read a plaque. The plaque is in memory of an elephant named Little Betty who was part of a show that traveled from the Carolinas to Maine in the 1800’s. Sadly, she was shot and killed by some men in the Glocester village of Chepachet on May 15, 1826.

Dowtown Chepachet

Brown & Hopkins Country Store

Closed on Wednesdays

Memorial for Betty the elephant

After walking around downtown Chepachet we went to Pulaski State Park.  At Pulaski State Park there was a lake that you could swim in, but that day we didn’t feel like going for a swim. We walked along the water to find a geocache near the end of the lake. ​  We have gone on hikes at Pulaski Park in the past, and there are some really nice trails there. 

Swimming area at Pulaski Park

Peck Pond, Pulaski Park

Frog!!!

On our way home from visiting Glocester we made two more stops. First, we drove down Tourtellot Hill Road to go to a farm stand that is called “The Farm”.  They had fresh vegetables and beautiful flowers for sale. We bought a zucchini and some cherry tomatoes, and Tarynn ate all of the tomatoes in the car before we even got home!  

The Farm: Glocester, RI

Lovely farm stand

Fresh vegetables!

Beautiful flowers

Farm dog

Sweet tomatoes

Next we rode by the Oreo Cookie Cows at Harmony Meadows Farm on Cooper Hill Road. The actual name of these cows is the Belted Galloway Cows, but because of their coloring they look like Oreos. ​​

Baby cow at Harmony Meadows farm

Belted Galloways, aka Oreo cookie cows

We went home for awhile and ate dinner at home, but then got in the car and drove back to Glocester to go to an Atwater-Donnelly Concert on the lawn of the Chepachet Union Church as part of the Glocester Summer Concert Series. Atwater-Donnelly is a folk music duo who specializes in American and Celtic folk music, and both Aubrey Atwater and Elwood Donnelly sing and play many instruments. The Atwater Donnellys have been our good friends for a long time and hearing them perform was a very nice ending to our trip to Glocester. ​

Chepachet Union Church

Atwater-Donnelly

Enjoying the music

Other places we've enjoyed in Glocester: 

• Steer Hill Farm Conservation Area - A Glocester Land Trust property, Steer Hill has several beautiful hiking trails 
• Sprague Farm -  This is my favorite hiking area in Glocester.  I love the old stone walls and foundations that you come across as you hike these beautiful trails.  Sprague Farm is also a Glocester Land Trust Property.
• Heritage Park - Pretty and easy trails, and there is exercise equipment along the way. This is a great place to take kids for a hike, and I've brought Girl Scout troops here to introduce them to geocaching. 
• George Washington Campground - We've tent camped here and hiked here.  Bowdish Reservoir is beautiful and is great for swimming, and the trails are lovely as well.  The North South Trail passes right through George Washington Campground. 
• Cady's Tavern - Great food and friendly service, Cady's is a cozy place in the winter.  In the summer, they also have outside seating, but it can get crowded with motorcycles, especially on the weekends. Cady's also has live music on certain nights. Most interesting of all, this historic tavern is said to be haunted. 
• Harmony Library - Super friendly librarians and a pretty garden make this a very pleasant place to visit.