Richmond, RI

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Richmond, Rhode Island: The Town of Richmond, originally a part of Charlestown, was incorporated August 18, 1747. A large portion of the town was included in the Shannock Purchase, a tract of vacant land sold by the Commissioners of the General Assembly to a company of purchasers in 1709.

Richmond is still a rural area. In fact, about 60 percent of the town is undeveloped woodland. It is still dotted with villages like Shannock, Kenyon, Hope Valley and Hillsdale, however, many of the mills that once activated these villages are now closed. One major exception is the Old Grist Mill in Usquepaugh. The late C.D. Kenyon began producing corn meal in three-pound boxes in 1910. Today the mill is still a grist mill in the true Early American sense–”the flavor of an old time industry remains”–and is still in high production, producing Johnnycake meal. Johnny cakes, whose named was derived from “journey cakes” because they were originally taken by sea captains on long voyages, are made from locally grown flint corn. The corn is ground into a meal, and and then cooked into a small flapjack type cake.

Arcadia is a quaint village popular for Arcadia State Park, which has over 13,800 acres of fishing and hiking for family as well as numerous dirt paths into Exeter woods. There is also the state-operated Fish Cultural Station in Arcadia where the primary focus has been to introduce such species as Northern Pike and Atlantic Shad to New England waters.