| One of
the most influential of all politicians in the early
nineteenth century was Christopher Rhodes who lived in
an imposing and beautiful home at 25 Post Road in the
Pawtuxet section of Warwick. In addition to his early
textile mills, much of his success was due to his
ability to recognize the need of adequate financing and
cooperation among industrialists.
Christopher Rhodes and his brother William were part of
the Turnpike Era. Christopher and his brother were quick
to realize the advantages of a road which would connect
their textile mills to Providence and New London.
Obadiah Brown, a shareholder in the Warwick
Manufacturing Company in Centreville, joined the Rhodes
brothers and several others in obtaining a charter in
1816 to establish a toll road which was later called the
New London Turnpike. By 1821, the road was completed and
stagecoaches were operating on a regular schedule.
Christopher Rhodes' active political life spanned half a
century. From 1828 to 1831, he was the state
representative for the town of Warwick and became well
known for his strong stand on prison reform and on
abolishing the whipping post and pillory as forms of
punishment. As a result he was appointed to the building
committee for the erection of a State Prison, which
stood at the northwest side of the Cove in Providence
until it was razed in 1921.
Rhodes'
political influence extended beyond his official
capacities to his business acquaintances and his family
members. The house at 25 Post Road was the scene of the
marriage of his daughter, Eliza, to John Russell
Bartlett and of his daughter, Sarah, to Henry Bowen
Anthony. Both sons-in-law became very powerful political
entities and played key roles in the state's
development. |
