Rhode Island Postal Cards - Fist Day of Issue

Settling of Rhode Island by Roger Williams in 1636
Designed by David Blossom - Scott #UX112
Issued on June 26, 1986 in Providence, RI
Rhode Island Town Cancels (by RIPS)

The Pawtucket Post Office Cumberland Branch was opened in 1958 and remains open and in operation.

Cumberland was originally purchased by the Plymouth Colony as a part of the Rehoboth land deal. It was later transferred to Rhode Island.

One of the more interesting pieces of early Rhode Island folklore is of 10 early settlers that were involved in a fight with the Narragansetts in this area and that one of them fled the fight promising to return, but never did. The man's name was Abbott and many local roads are named after the man and the event; one such is Abbot Run Valley Road. There is also a tomb on the grounds of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Valley known as "Nine Men's Misery."

The area is also the site of the only large deposit of Cumberlandite. Cumberlandite is a mineral ore that is high in iron and titanium and during the Revolutionary War it was used in the manufacture of cannon. Since the mineral is unique to Rhode Island, it was made the "State Rock."

The earliest known settler in the area was William Blackstone who arrived in 1635.

Pawtucket Cumberland Branch Post Office