Autumn reflections along the Ten Mile River will add a new element to our first walk of this season. Bring your camera. The East Providence Conservation Commission along with the Providence County Hiking Club and the Ten Mile River Watershed Council have been asked by the East Providence Historical Society to lead guided hikes of the grounds at Hunts Mills to coincide with their monthly open house.

The hike will begin at 1:30 and last approximately an hour. This is an easy and relaxed paced hike that is good for beginners and kids. The hike follows the shore of the Ten Mile River for a bit and winds through the old fire department training grounds.

The master gardener’s program will be held in the garden from 2:30 to 3pm. This month’s theme will be “Putting the Garden to Bed”.

The John Hunt House, home of the East Providence Historical Society and a museum of East Providence history, will remain open until 3:30 pm. For October through December, the Hunt House exhibit will feature: “All Quiet on the Rappahannock Tonight: the Civil War letters of Lt. Peter Hunt -1861-1864” – more details below.

Reservations are not required. The hike and house tour are free. Optional donations are welcomed by the Historical Society. Dogs on leash are welcomed on the walk.

Questions? Contact Ernie Germani at egermani@cityofeastprov.com or 401-435-7703 x6 You can learn more at EP Conservation Commission website: http://www.eastprovidenceri.net/Conservation or EP Conservation Commission Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/epconservation?fref=ts

Directions: Hunts Mills is located on Hunts Mills Road, East Providence. From I-195, take MA Exit 1 for Route 114A. Turn left and follow north. Bear left to continue on 114A past the Grist Mill Restaurant and continue straight at the intersection with Route 44. After crossing state line, take first left onto Hunts Mills Road. Parking area is ahead adjacent to the John Hunt House.

Google Maps Link:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/41°49’41.1%22N+71°20’45.3%22W/@41.828081,-71.3470193,18z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d41.828081!4d-71.345925

“All Quiet on the Rappahannock Tonight: the Civil War letters of Lt. Peter Hunt -1861-1864”.

Peter Hunt, of the Hunt family of Hunt’s Mills was born in 1843 at Hearthstone House, sister house of the John Hunt House. His father Daniel and Uncle Allin ran the mills together and the families went back and forth across the 10 Mile River via footbridge. When death suddenly took his father, his mother moved the family to Warren and then to Benefit Street in Providence. At 18, Peter insisted upon joining the RI Artillery, although the family offered to pay for a substitute. Peter wrote home every Sunday evening (when not in battle) from Oct 1861 – May 1864, 171 letters which his mother carefully saved. There are two branches of his family still in RI and they have loaned family artifacts for this exhibit to celebrate the publishing of the letters in book form after 152 years.

Photo by Alex Kemp