Overview
This newsletter chronicles the long history of public skating in Newport, tracing the creation, locations, maintenance challenges, and community traditions surrounding the town’s outdoor rinks from the 1880s to recent restorations. It highlights key personalities, events, and infrastructure changes that sustained skating as a central winter activity.
The document also profiles modern community efforts—fundraising, volunteer roles, and museum exhibits—while offering practical guidance on metal detecting as a related local-historical pastime and listing upcoming Historical Society events.
You can read the online version of the newsletter here.
This quarterly newsletter is generally published in January, April, July and October.
Main Points
- Newport Common Evolved from swampy land bought in 1821 into a landscaped civic space (trees planted 1866; improvements begun 1891; Civil War monument dedicated 1912).
- First skating rink (1883–84) A 40’×80’ rink near the depot was financed by Franklin Pierce Rowell and G. W. Britton for $1,000, built by Arthur W. Clark and Frank Latimer, and opened with band entertainment and a skating exhibition.
- Rink locations over time Outdoor rinks shifted among Depot Square, the “syndicate” area (1895), Bela Cutting/Billy Van field (site of today’s Shaw’s), Meadow Road playground, and the Town Common; Newport also had an indoor roller-skating rink.
- Ice-making process & risks Earlier skating used the “Horseshoe” natural pond with drowning risk; building a public rink required banking, rolling a base, and continuous spraying (about 14 hours), with very cold temperatures needed and high upkeep costs.
- Outing Club & Winter Carnival use (1917–1920s) By 1917 the rink on the Common was used for Winter Carnival and evening skating under lights; in 1919 it moved to Bela Cutting/Billy Van field due to limited water on the Common, with frequent flooding and added infrastructure, later moving to Meadow Road playground.
- Water access changes In 1926 the town water system was extended to the playground to ease flooding; the rink returned to the Common in the mid-1930s and was moved again in the 1950s to access river water using a strainer to avoid sewage effects.
- Rink management & volunteers Care shifted from “rink tenders”/town employees to Recreation Department management by the 1970s; in 1993 rotating teams (“Ice Kings”)—about 30 men—supported rink upkeep.
- Recent disruptions & restoration fundraising Low Gilman Pond reservoir levels caused abandonment of the Common rink in 2016 and 2026; residents and PJ Lovely helped raise $72,000 toward restoring the annual ice rink.
The following is a slideshow to support an article in the Mill Town Messenger
Word Search Puzzle for July 2026 Newsletter
Can you find the hidden words from this month’s articles? Words can be found horizontally, vertically, or diagonally (forward only, to keep it fun and accessible for all readers!).
Hidden Word List
- ARTIFACT (Found in the metal detecting article)
- BOOTH (The 1930 Information Booth on the Common)
- BUCKLE (A common local metal detecting find)
- CARNIVAL (The famous Winter Carnival committee)
- CHENEY (William Cheney, who sold the Common land in 1821)
- COMMON (The heart of downtown Newport)
- GREENUP (PJ’s record-setting 630 bags of trash collected)
- ICEKINGS (The dedicated 1990s rink-tending teams)
- ICERINK (The legendary town skating rink)
- LIONS (The local club PJ Lovely served for years)
- LOVELY (In honor of PJ Lovely’s incredible community impact)
- OXEN (Oxen shoes uncovered by local history hunters)
- PERKINSPOND (The site of PJ’s new home project)
- PINPOINTER (A handy handheld tool for detecting)
- ROWELL (Franklin Pierce Rowell, who financed the 1883 rink)
- SALTHILL (The local pub mentioned for a “Snake Bite” toast
Check out our Events Calendar to keep informed of upcoming events!
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