James N. Arnold image collection

This collection contains over 1100 glass plate negatives and 201 print photographs created by and/or collected by James N. Arnold. Arnold's professional work as a historian and writer began in earnest in the 1880s. Arnold traveled throughout Rhode Island collecting and transcribing local church records, pension rolls, burial records and town papers. The images in the collection depict scenes across Rhode Island including beaches, farms and landscapes as well as activities and community events such as ice skating, parades, football games and community gardens.
This collection is part of Providence Public Library Digital Collections, hosted by Providence Public Library.

Items in this collection

Ice on trees

Ice on trees

Providence Public Library

Image of a road through trees, with frost on the ground. The iced tree branches are bent downward. Original box label reads "Snow & Ice, '01"

Ice on trees

Ice on trees

Providence Public Library

Image of trees in a park, with frost on the ground. The iced tree branches are bent downward.

Ice on trees

Ice on trees

Providence Public Library

Image of trees in a park, with frost on the ground. The iced tree branches are bent downward. Original box label reads "Snow & Ice, '01"

Houses and field

Houses and field

Providence Public Library

Image of houses, seen behind a small field surrounded by a wire fence.

Houses

Houses

Providence Public Library

Image shows a large house with clapboard siding. A building with large windows is attached to the house.

Houses

Houses

Providence Public Library

Image shows a three story house with clapboard siding. Vines grow on the exterior of the house. A large rock with plaque is in the front yard. Other houses are visible in the background.

Houses

Houses

Providence Public Library

Image shows a two story house with a large three story addition. Tall plants grow next to a cellar door on the side of the house.

Houses

Houses

Providence Public Library

Image shows a three story house with clapboard siding. Vines grow on the exterior of the house. A large rock with plaque is in the front yard. Other houses are visible in the background.

Houses

Houses

Providence Public Library

Image shows a three story house with clapboard siding. Vines grow on the exterior of the house. A large rock with plaque is in the front yard. Other houses are visible in the background.

House with windmill

House with windmill

Providence Public Library

Image shows a small one story house with clapboard siding. A tall fir tree grows next to the house. A windmill is visible on a hill behind the house.

House with side garden

House with side garden

Providence Public Library

Image shows a two story house built on a slight hill. A wooden staircase with gate leads to a latticed arch. Flowers grows on the hill within stone wall flower beds. Original box label reads "Gov Garden [ill.], 1917" Possibly a contestant in the 1916 Governor's Garden Prize. Due to original box label, it's assumed the garden was part of the 1916 Governor Beeckman's Garden Prize for Mill Villages. Three prizes were awarded: best vegetable garden, best flower garden and greatest improvement in general appearance of mill village.

House with side garden

House with side garden

Providence Public Library

Image shows a two story house built on a slight hill. A wooden staircase with gate leads to a latticed arch. Flowers grows on the hill within stone wall flower beds. Original box label reads "Gov Garden [ill.], 1917" Due to original box label, it's assumed the garden was part of the 1916 Governor Beeckman's Garden Prize for Mill Villages. Three prizes were awarded: best vegetable garden, best flower garden and greatest improvement in general appearance of mill village.

House with side garden

House with side garden

Providence Public Library

Image shows a two story house built on a slight hill. A wooden staircase with gate leads to a latticed arch. Flowers grows on the hill within stone wall flower beds. Original box label reads "Gov Garden [ill.], 1917" Due to original box label, it's assumed the garden was part of the 1916 Governor Beeckman's Garden Prize for Mill Villages. Three prizes were awarded: best vegetable garden, best flower garden and greatest improvement in general appearance of mill village.

House with side garden

House with side garden

Providence Public Library

Image shows a two story house built on a slight hill. A wooden staircase with gate leads to a latticed arch. Flowers grows on the hill within stone wall flower beds. Original box label reads "Gov Garden [ill.], 1917" Due to original box label, it's assumed the garden was part of the 1916 Governor Beeckman's Garden Prize for Mill Villages. Three prizes were awarded: best vegetable garden, best flower garden and greatest improvement in general appearance of mill village.

House with side garden

House with side garden

Providence Public Library

Image shows a two story house with front and back screened in porches. flowers cover the small hill at the side of the house leading to the street. Original box label reads "Gov Garden [ill.], 1917" Due to original box label, it's assumed the garden was part of the 1916 Governor Beeckman's Garden Prize for Mill Villages. Three prizes were awarded: best vegetable garden, best flower garden and greatest improvement in general appearance of mill village.

House with side garden

House with side garden

Providence Public Library

Image shows a two story house built on a slight hill. A wooden staircase with gate leads to a latticed arch. Flowers grows on the hill within stone wall flower beds. Original box label reads "Gov Garden [ill.], 1917" Due to original box label, it's assumed the garden was part of the 1916 Governor Beeckman's Garden Prize for Mill Villages. Three prizes were awarded: best vegetable garden, best flower garden and greatest improvement in general appearance of mill village.

House with porch

House with porch

Providence Public Library

Image shows a two story house with a wrap around porch. A woman stands in the yard and leans against the porch railing. A man is seated on the porch with his feet in the yard.

House with porch

House with porch

Providence Public Library

Image shows two people on the steps of a front porch. A man stands in the yard at the foot of the stairs. Laundry hangs on a clothesline on hung above the porch.

House with porch

House with porch

Providence Public Library

Image shows a man and woman sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch of a two story house. A hammock is hung between posts on the porch.

House with porch

House with porch

Providence Public Library

Image shows a man and woman sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch of a two story house. A second man sits near a hammock on the porch with his stocking feet in the front yard.

House with garden

House with garden

Providence Public Library

Image of a house with gardens in front, along the street.

House with garden

House with garden

Providence Public Library

Image shows a large two story house with a gambrel roof. A large garden with a picket fence is on the left.

House with garden

House with garden

Providence Public Library

Image shows a two story house with a garden growing in it's back and side yard.

House with gambrel roof

House with gambrel roof

Providence Public Library

Image shows a two story house with gambrel roof. The house has a small front porch and a bay window on its side. There is damage to the glass plate resulting in partial loss of the image.

House with front porch

House with front porch

Providence Public Library

Three quarter image of a house with a large front porch. A young tree is in the forefront of the image.

House with fence

House with fence

Providence Public Library

Image featuring a house with a columned front porch. In front of the house is a fence with two stone posts.

House on a hill

House on a hill

Providence Public Library

Image of a house on the side of a hill, seen from across a field with trees scattered across it. Original box label reads "Diamond H [label torn off]", possibly Diamond Hill, Cumberland.

House obscured by tree

House obscured by tree

Providence Public Library

Image of the front of a house that is mostly obscured by a tree. The front porch is visible, as is a portion of the right side of the house.

House in snow

House in snow

Providence Public Library

Image shows snow laying on the bare branches of small trees. A house is visible behind the trees. Snow covers the ground. Original box label reads "C. T[ill.] Garden, 1917"

House behind stone walls

House behind stone walls

Providence Public Library

Image of an old wooden house on top of a hill, seen from across a field bordered by stone walls. Original box label reads "Diamond H [label torn off]", possibly Diamond Hill, Cumberland.