Stone Records Building

The little stone building next to us was the records repository for the state Supreme and Superior Courts. It was built in 1857 by an act of RI General Assembly and it was intended to be fireproof. In fact, it was one of the first fireproof buildings in Rhode Island! It cost $3000 to build. In 1900 the court records were transferred to the new court house in West Kingston. The building then fell into disuse. In 1954 the building became the Little Rest Museum where it housed historical items and documents from local townspeople. When the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society (now called the South County History Center) organized in 1958 and moved into the old Kingston jail across the street, the museum transferred its artifacts to them. Little Rest Museum then became Little Rest Archives where it archived local genealogy and history records. The archive lasted into the 1970s and the building is now used by the Library.