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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Howard Times (Howard, R.I.) 1885-190?

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About Howard Times (Howard, R.I.) 1885-190?

The Sockanosset School for Boys and the Oaklawn School for Girls were departments of the State Reform School under the Rhode Island Board of State Charities and Corrections. Both institutions were located in the village of Howard, R.I. in the town of Cranston, R.I. and part of the “state farm” that included an almshouse, a prison, and an asylum.

Built on the site of two agricultural farms, the plans for a “state farm” reflected Rhode Island’s adoption of some of the then-current thinking about social services. The selection of a pastoral site far from the urban centers reflected the prevailing belief that many of the nineteenth-century’s social ills derived from the chaos of urban, industrial environments.

The Sockanossett School for Boys “cottages” were built between 1881-1895, using the labor of the boys themselves. Vocational skills were encouraged. There was a machine shop, a carpenter shop, a mason shop, and a blacksmith shop, and importantly, a printing shop. The Howard Times debuted volume 1, no. 1 on February 14, 1885, with a motto that read: “Be Not Overcome of Evil, but Overcome Evil with Good.”

While the newspaper was clearly an instrument for the Board of State Charities and Corrections—a main feature of the first page of the first issue are excerpts of glowing New Year’s letters from the incarcerated boys to the Superintendent James A. Eastman—there were also opportunities for the incarcerated boys to have some voice.

Under the masthead, the purpose for the paper was explained in the first issue. It read:

“There are some bright boys in the Sockanosset School, who have something to say, and something to do, for themselves–that is, for their own improvement–for each other; for the inmates of the neighboring institutions; and for the public at large. The Times will afford them an opportunity both to say and to do–for through its columns they may communicate their thoughts; may impart whatever information they can gather, upon all subjects of interest; and may offer such suggestions, as are prompted by their own experience.”

The newspaper had a rocky first month in February 1885. They issued four editions of vol. 1, no. 1. There was some change in the composition of each edition, but the main difference seems to be the circulation count on the front page. The first edition listed none, the second edition listed a circulation of 1,000, the third a circulation of 12,000, and the fourth a circulation of 1,200. These were all issued before March 14, when the second issue came out.

Provided By: Rhode Island Digital Newspaper Project

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Howard Times (Howard, R.I.) 1885-190?

Dates of Publication

  • 1885-190?

Created / Published

  • Howard, R.I. : Sockanosset School

Headings

  • -  Cranston (R.I.)--Newspapers
  • -  United States--Rhode Island--Providence--Howard

Notes

  • -  Biweekly, May 2, 1885-
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (Feb. 14, 1885)-

Medium

  • v.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn92064114

OCLC Number

  • 26044345

ISSN Number

  • 2998-1530

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Howard Times Howard, R.I. -190?. (Howard, RI), Jan. 1 1885. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn92064114/.

APA citation style:

(1885, January 1) Howard Times Howard, R.I. -190?. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn92064114/.

MLA citation style:

Howard Times Howard, R.I. -190?. (Howard, RI) 1 Jan. 1885. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn92064114/.