BristolStatehouse.org
Title
The Bristol Statehouse Foundation
Description
The Bristol County Statehouse/Courthouse was constructed in 1816 as one of 5 locations for meetings of the Rhode Island House of Representatives and Senate. This use continued until 1854 when the General Assembly decided to meet only in Providence or Newport. The building continued as the seat of the Bristol County Court which presided over cases in the building into the 1980s. From then until it was purchased by the non-profit Bristol Statehouse Foundation in 1997, the building was largely abandoned with only one room on the first floor still housing the office of the Bristol County Sheriff.
The Bristol Statehouse Foundation was organized in 1997 to acquire, restore and reuse the Statehouse building, located at 240 High St. on the Bristol Common. The building and site (200' by 200') was purchased for $1.00 from the state, but the decayed condition has necessitated the expenditure of $1.4 million to bring it up to code and into new uses. It is currently at that level, though additional work is needed to insure the accuracy and completeness of the restoration/preservation project.
The Foundation is a citizens group formed to preserve the building, restore its structure and provide new uses that will ensure its vitality well into this new century.
Contact
- Adams Design Group, Ltd.
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- Bristol RI
- US 02809
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- +1.4012531140
