Information in this timeline was compiled with reference to John Hutchins Cady’s “The Story of Shakespeare’s Head” (1949), PPS’s building history of Shakespeare’s Head (ca 1960s), the Providence Journal Archives, PPS’s own files, and Traci Picard’s Shakespeare’s Head Research Report (2024).  

Prior to colonial settlement in the 1630s and the establishment of the city of Providence, this site was stewarded and inhabited by the Narragansett people, descendants of aboriginal people who settled in this region more than 30,000 years ago and continue to live and work in Providence today.

Robert Coles, English, moves from Salem to Providence and becomes one of the city’s first settlers, receiving a narrow 5- to 6-acre lot that includes present-day Meeting Street and the site of Shakespeare’s Head; this site was part of the riverfront lands that were deeded to Roger Williams by the Narragansett Sachems. We do not have a record of where Coles’ home and outbuildings stood on his lot.

John Carter came to Providence to assist Sarah Goddard with the publication of Providence Gazette, established ca 1763 by Sarah’s son, William Goddard. Carter became the owner of the Gazette in 1768. The Gazette is the precursor to the Providence Journal.

That same year, Eve Burnon sold a lot of land including this site to John Crawford for “50 good Spanish milled dollars.” John Carter would acquire the land two years later in 1769:

“DISCHARGE: John Carter, printer, and Anne Carter his wife give for 111 L, one shilling, 7 pence lawful money to John updike, merchant,…. being part of the Estate which belonged to John Crawford and set off to Ann (Crawford) Updike whose land it now is….And I John Updike hereby acknolwedge full satisfaction for the within deed and hereby discharge the same from my demands.”

Shakespeare’s Head is constructed, serving as a printing office, shop, and home of John Carter, his wife, Amey, and their children. A sign displaying an image of William Shakespeare marked the shop’s location (printing press was in the basement level). In 1772, Carter was appointed postmaster of Providence by Benjamin Franklin when he was Postmaster General of the colonies, a position Carter held through 1792 (a corner of the house served as the post office). Carter had apprenticed with Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. John Carter and his family occupied the house from 1772 through at least 1814.

The Providence census shows that the Carter household contained eleven people total, and two were identified as Black. That year, John Carter noted that he paid Arthur Fenner “to cyder, and the remainder discounted on purchasing 2 Negroes” [Carter’s ledger, RIHS].  In 1770, Carter had accepted “a pair of shoes for a Negro wench” from Aaron Peck, and in 1773 he accepted the same from Ezra Healy. The names of the two enslaved women who lived in the house were Ingow and Fanny, mother and daughter.

Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission reports that in 1776, “people of African descent were 9.5% of the total population of the East Side of Providence…almost a quarter of all East Side families (101 of 431, or 23.4%) had people of color in their households, almost certainly working as enslaved, indentured, or free domestic servants.”

Records show that an enslaved man, Primus King (enslaved by Benjamin King) was a laborer working on the printing press in the house. 

Carter freed Ingow in 1789, and it appears that he legally freed Fanny at that time, but she continued on as an indentured servant (it was the custom at that time for girls to remain indentured until age 18, and boys until age 21).

The census shows that the Carter household contains one Black resident, most likely Fanny.  In the 1790s, the printing press moves out of the building.

Crawford Carter, son of John and Amey, resides in the house. From the period 1850-1867, he resides there with a number of boarders – some years, as many as 25. For some of this time, Crawford had an accounting business that operated out of Shakespeare’s Head. By the 1870s and 1880s, houses in the surrounding neighborhood were converted to tenement and boarding houses.

The heirs of John Carter sold the lot to Stephen O. Metcalf, who then quit claims the property to the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Company who used it as a dumping ground for some of the excavation materials during construction of railroad.

21 Meeting Street was purchased by James Stockard, who owned What Cheer Garage. Rooms were rented, some for artist’s studios but eventually became vacant.

In 1936, George F.A. Palmer photographed Shakespeare’s Head for the Historic American Buildings Survey. Floor plans and details of the property were also drawn for this survey — the schematic for the basement notes the location of a “probable slave pit,” a designation that is discussed in Traci Picard’s 2024 research report on Shakespeare’s Head.

The house was condemned by Providence building inspector and slated for demolition.  By that time, John Hutchins Cady reports, the house was “untenanted, its windows broken, and its doors swinging open for the entry of tramps and marauders.” A group formed to purchase it and make the necessary repairs: Shakespeare’s Head Association was incorporated that year for “the purpose of preserving historical and architectural antiquities in the City of Providence, including the acquisition, preservation and maintenance of the building located at 21 Meeting Street, known as Shakespeare’s Head, as well as other buildings of historical and architectural interest, and of carrying out a general program of activities requisite exclusively for the foregoing purposes.” Members include Henry Sharpe, Abby Burgess, Martha Day, John Hutchins Cady, Henry Hart, and John Wells. Restoration work was carried out by the group, who also raised funds for the project locally.

Property conveyed to Shakespeare’s Head Association (SHA). By the spring, work had begun to restore the property.  Restoration proceeded slowly over the years as funds became available.

SHA also contacts RI Federation of Garden Clubs seeking advice on restoring the grounds. James Graham Plan commissioned and executed the terraced garden in the colonial revival style, preserving the Carters’ original stone walls.

The was SHA given permission by the city to rent rooms in Shakespeare’s Head on a commercial, not residential, basis; heating and plumbing were installed in the 1940s.

The first tenants under the SHA were the Girl Scouts, followed by the Rhode Island chapter of the American Institute of Architects in the northwest second-story room. In 1943, the Junior League of Rhode Island rented space on the second story as well.

SHA board meeting notes relate that there were plans to make Shakespeare’s Head into a museum of printing arts, but that idea foundered, so the decision was made to continue renting space out to civic groups.

In March, SHA board meeting notes relate that the board wanted to be relieved of their responsibilities: discussed a transfer to PPS and Junior League, a private sale, or turning Shakespeare’s Head into a house museum.  One board member recommended selling it and giving the proceeds to the RI Foundation to support preservation and heritage projects.  By this point, the board hadn’t held a meeting or collected dues in three years and the building was in need of repairs estimated to cost $50,000 to $100,000. In April, SHA board meeting notes state, “The Preservation Society views seemed to be more towards the selling of the property and using the income according to the original Articles of Incorporation of the Shakespeare’s Head Association. The Junior League saw a possibility of bringing the building up to the safety and fire codes and using it as their headquarters, renting out the unneeded space to help maintain the building, provided they could finance the undertaking.” The idea was then proposed that both organizations would take the building over together.  At this time, tenants include PPS, Revolving Fund, Junior League, Common Cause, Federation of Garden Clubs and three artist’s studios.

PPS and the Junior League agreed to take over the building.

Ownership of Shakespeare’s Head transfers from SHA to PPS and the Junior League. PPS and Junior League take on repairs of the building and occupy most of the building, with PPS on the second and third floors and the Revolving Fund on the ground floor). Over the next decade, PPS installs a new kitchen and bathroom on the second floor, new mechanicals and updates the exterior landscaping.

Lydia Jastram redesigned garden, benches, in 1986.

In the 2010s, Shakespeare’s Head became home to a number of artist studios.

Renovations were undertaken at Shakespeare’s Head in 2012, according to Peter Borgemeister, including:

• Replacement of rotted sills and studs on the east and rear sides 
• Re-coating the wood-shingle roof with a mixture of linseed oil and preservative
• Stripping the damaged paint from the exterior, repairing clapboards, and repainting with an alkyd (oil-base) primer followed by two coats of acrylic paint.

PPS purchases the Old Brick Schoolhouse across the street at 24 Meeting Street from the city for $391,500. PPS also becomes the sole member of the SHA, per their agreement with the Junior League of RI as the Junior League had wanted to withdraw from ownership for several years.

PPS engages a consultant to write a report on the future use of Shakespeare’s Head and the Brick Schoolhouse and the report recommends that PPS retain the Schoolhouse and consider selling Shakespeare’s Head out of concern that ownership and stewardship will continue to distract PPS from fulfilling its mission.

Dissolution of the SHA: PPS acquires 24 Meeting Street, becoming sole owner.

PPS commissions a Cultural Landscape Report of the garden to address concerns about accessibility, site safety, and maintenance, as well as future stewardship. 

PPS convenes a Shakespeare’s Head Study Committee to provide recommendations on the future of the property; the Study Committee recommends “that it is in the best interest of Shakespeare’s Head and of PPS to sell the building to a peer non-profit organization” with an easement held by Preserve Rhode Island.

PPS’s Board of Trustees votes to authorize the sale of Shakespeare’s Head.

PPS issues a Request for Proposals for the purchase of Shakespeare’s Head. Learning that the building’s first owner, John Carter, enslaved two people in the house, PPS pauses the sale to investigate the building’s connection to histories of slavery and emancipation during the 18th and 19th centuries. With grants from the 1772 Foundation and the Rhode Island Foundation, a research report is commissioned and delivered. Historian Traci Picard adds substantially to what is known about the people who lived and worked in Shakespeare’s Head in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, finding evidence that three enslaved people — Ingow, Fanny and Primus King — occupied the house in the 18^th century. PPS revised the RFP, including this new research, receives four proposals and selects the Civis Foundation’s proposal.

Shakespeare’s Head is purchased from PPS by the Civis Foundation for $750,000 for operation by the Center for Reflective History, a new nonprofit organization established this year to uncover, preserve, and explore the social histories associated with the building over two and a half centuries. The property will be renovated with a projected public opening in 2027.