Rhode Island's Most Unusual Attractions

Rhode Island's history goes back to before there was a United States and while it is the smallest of the 50 states in size, it is big in history. All kinds of history. Take some time for a vacation in Rhode Island and while you are here, take some time to see some of the more unusual attractions. You could meet up with a ghost or two, see a man eating tree root or a delicate piece of American History. Every vacations needs something a bit different, and these unusual attractions will fill the bill.

Belcourt Castle
657 Bellevue Ave.
Newport, Rhode Island 02840
Phone: 1.401.846.0669
Fax: 1.401.846.5345

Belcourt Castle is haunted, or so they say. If you really want to get spooked, go near the chairs in the Gothic Ballroom. Try and touch them and your hand will get cold. Try and sit in one, and it may toss you out. Just as if someone or something was already sitting in it. And don't be surprised if you hear an empty suit of armor screaming in pain. See if you can get here for one of the Ghost Sightings Tours.

The Apple Tree That Ate Roger Williams
John Brown House Museum
52 Power Street
Providence, Rhode Island 02906
401-273-7507

The story goes that Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, was eaten by the root of an apple tree. After he died that is. Roger Williams was buried in an unmarked grave on his property. When one of his decedents order the body exhumed to be placed in a memorial, all that was left was a few pieces of bone and the root of an apple tree, in the shape of a human body. The bones are now in a monument just a few blocks away from the museum that has the tree root on display. Does everyone believe the story? No, of course not, but the root does look a bit convincing. Just think of the people who ate the apples from that tree.

Florence Nighentgale's Nurses Cap
Westerly Hospital,
25 Wells Street,
Westerly, Rhode Island
(401) 596-6000

One would think that an artifact like this would have gotten lost in the shuffle, but it is here and open to the public for free. It is right in the lobby of the hospital and when you see it you get a prospective of just how far nursing has come over the years. It is representative of a long gone era and a different way of doing things.