New Weekly Guide Connects History Lovers to Rhode Island’s   Rich History, Historic Sites, and Events

PROVIDENCE, RI  – The History List today announced the launch of a weekly guide that lists upcoming history events in Rhode Island. Participating institutions include the Rhode Island Historical Society, the Newport Historical Society, Coggeshall Farm Museum, Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, and several others organizations in the state.  Rhode Island is only the second state in the nation to have such a weekly statewide publication.

“Rhode Island has so many great historic sites and events,” said Lee Wright, founder of The History List and publisher of the free guide.  “One of the biggest challenges organizations have, regardless of size, is getting information about their events in front of the right audience.  Now historical societies, historic sites, museums, and Rhode Island institutions can reach beyond their own membership base to connect with others interested in history.” The “Guide to History Events in Rhode Island” is delivered free by e‐mail every Thursday and includes 10 days of walks, talks, festivals, reenactments, exhibits, and more.  Individuals can subscribe at TheHistoryList.com/subscribe. “We’ve found The History List to be very intuitive for adding our many programs throughout the state” said Rachel Brask Hutchinson, program outreach manager for the Rhode Island Historical Society. “It reduces the work required to fill in content for an event, especially repeating tours or annual events, meaning we can reach history lovers faster and more consistently than ever.”

“The History List helps us attract new visitors and guests from across Rhode Island as well tourists,” said Elizabeth Sulock, Manager of Public Outreach and Living History for the Newport Historical Society.  “It’s also something’s that easy to manage and update. We enter our event and exhibit information once and it appears on the site and in the weekly e‐mail automatically.”

Organizations interested in participating can sign up at TheHistoryList.com/start.  There is no cost to add organizations and their history‐related events.

The “Guide to History Events in Rhode Island” was started following an inquiry from major history institutions in the state.  Rhode Island becomes only the second state after Massachusetts to have a weekly guide to history events.  In the past, a state historical society or other statewide organization would have to dedicate staff time to compile events, edit the content into a newsletter, and manage distribution.  Given budgets and staffing at history organizations across the country today, that’s not realistic.  With The History List platform, organizations enter their own events, ongoing exhibits, and recurring walks, and these are automatically included in the weekly mailing.

About The History List

Called “A pioneer on the web for historical institutions,” The History List is the event promotion platform built from the ground up to meet the needs of history organizations, including historical societies, history museums, and historic houses and sites. Started in the Boston area in 2011, today The History List is the largest list of history‐related events in New England, and continues to grow nationally.  Organizations have dedicated pages for their events; widgets to help them manage their list of events on their own websites; and new weekly guides to reach beyond their own membership base.  The History List is also the creator of the award‐winning annual campaign, “Make this holiday historic!” and History Camp.  www.TheHistoryList.com.

About the Rhode Island Historical Society

Founded in 1822, the RIHS is the fourth‐oldest historical society in the United States and is Rhode Island’s largest and oldest historical organization, as well as its only Smithsonian Affiliate. In Providence, the RIHS owns and operates the John Brown House Museum, a designated National Historic Landmark, built in 1788; the Aldrich House, built in 1822 and used for administration and public programs; and the Mary Elizabeth Robinson Research Center, where archival, book and image collections are housed. In Woonsocket, the RIHS manages the Museum of Work and Culture, a community museum examining the industrial history of northern Rhode Island and of the workers and settlers, especially French‐Canadians, who made it one of the state’s most distinctive areas. www.rihs.org

About the Newport Historical Society

Since 1854, the Newport Historical Society has collected and preserved the artifacts, photographs, documents, publications, and genealogical records that relate to the history of Newport County, to make these materials readily available for both research and enjoyment, and to act as a resource center for the education of the public about the history of Newport County, so that knowledge of the past may contribute to a fuller understanding of the present. For more information please visit www.NewportHistory.org.

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