The Snow Town Riot 1831
The Snow Town race riot lasted from September 21-24, 1831, resulting in five deaths and property damage. Concerned by the level and duration of civil unrest, the Providence Town Council offered a reward for information leading to the conviction of responsible parties. The Snow Town Riot was the catalyst in the transition of the town into a city creating a city government with strong police powers. Prior to the riot, in the absence of a police force, the militia had to be called in during serious matters.
From the Diary of William J. Brown, a black citizen of Providence who witnessed the event:
The next visitation in Olney street was made by two crews of sailors, one white and the other colored, consequently a fight was the order of the day, in which the blacks were the conquerors, and drove the whites out of the street. The white sailors not relishing this kind of treatment, doubled their forces the next night and paid Olney street another visit, and had a general time of knock- ing down and dragging out. This mob conduct last- ed for nearly a week. They greatly discomforted the saloon keepers, drinking their liquors, smashing up the decanters and other furniture. One of their number was shot dead by a bar tender, which so enraged them that they began to tear down houses, threatening to destroy every house occupied by colored people. Their destructive work extended through Olney street, Gaspee street and a place called the Hollow, neither of which bore a very good reputation. They warned the better class of colored people to move out and then went on with their work of destruction, call- ing on men of like principles, from other towns, to help, promising to share with them in the plunder, or take their pay from the banks. Governor Arnold hearing of this ordered out the military, thinking that their presence would quell the mob. They were not so easily frightened, and continued their work of ruin until the governor was compelled to order his men to fire. This had the desired effect ; broke up the riot and dispersed the mob ; but Olney street had fallen to rise no more as a place of resort for rum shops, sai- lors and lewd women.
Eyewitness account of Snow Town Riot by John A.C. Randall in a letter to his father:
Last Wednesday night, some disturbance taking place in Olney’s Lane, a sailor, a young promising fellow, 2d mate of the Ann & Hope, who was in search of the cook of the ship with two or three others, was shot dead from a house occupied by negroes, and the rest wounded. The alarm spread rapidly, and a large company assembled, and tore down the house and one or two other small ones, occupied by negroes. The next night, the moon shining bright, an immense multitude gathered in the Lane, and began to show signs of tearing down more houses. The Governor, Sheriff and all the watchmen were on the spot ready to prevent it, if they could. The first who commenced, were immediately seized by the Sheriff and watchmen, who succeeded in holding only two of them, after hard fighting; the mob then burst forward, and drove all the watchmen off, and commenced pulling down all the bad houses in the Lane. They stationed sentinels, and went to work as busy as bees, first pulling down the chimney, and then with a fire hook and plenty of axes and iron bars tearing down the buildings and pulling them into the streets. The air was so still, and the weather so pleasant that Elisha tells me he could hear them talk when he was at the mill. The whole street was full of spectators, a great many of whom were cheering the mob every time a house fell. About 11 o’clock the Governor ordered out the 1st Infantry, and they marched up the Lane, but the mob stopped work and surrounded them, throwing stones at them, hissing and hooting, &c. Several of them were badly wounded by the stones, and they had to retreat. As soon as they were gone, they began work again, and leveled 8 or 9 buildings with the ground. They then marched over to Snowtown, and tore down two or three houses there, breaking windows in others. It was then near 4 in the morning, and they dispersed.
Source: http://library.brown.edu/omeka/exhibits/show/africanamericanprovidence/SnowTown/
