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

Crop field

Crop field

Providence Public Library

Image of rows of crops growing in a field, with houses and power lines seen in the background. Original box label reads "Gov. Sander Corn, 1917"

Crop field

Crop field

Providence Public Library

Image of rows of crops growing in a field, with a fence and trees seen in the background. Original box label reads "Gov. Sander Corn, 1917"

Crop field

Crop field

Providence Public Library

Image of vegetables growing in a field.

Crop field

Crop field

Providence Public Library

Image of rows of crops growing in a field, with a fence and trees seen in the background. Original box label reads "Gov. Sander Corn, 1917"

Crop field

Crop field

Providence Public Library

Image of rows of crops growing in a field, with houses and power lines seen in the background. Original box label reads "Gov. Sander Corn, 1917"

Crop field

Crop field

Providence Public Library

Image of vegetables growing in a field.

Crop field

Crop field

Providence Public Library

Image of vegetables growing in a field. A house is seen in the background.

Cows under a tree

Cows under a tree

Providence Public Library

Image of a small herd of cows standing in the shade of a tree in their pasture. A stone wall runs along the edge of the field. Original box label read "Dia.Hill", believed to be Diamond Hill, Cumberland.

Cows in a field

Cows in a field

Providence Public Library

Image of a herd of cows in a field by a pond.

Cows

Cows

Providence Public Library

Image shows cows standing in a rocky plot of land. Mountains are visible behind the trees in the background.

Cows

Cows

Providence Public Library

Image shows cows grazing in a pasture. Fences run over hills in the background.

Cows

Cows

Providence Public Library

Image shows cows resting under trees on a hill.

Cows

Cows

Providence Public Library

Image shows three cows standing in a field next to a stream. A stone wall runs in the background.

Cow

Cow

Providence Public Library

Image shows a cow standing in a field.

Country road

Country road

Providence Public Library

Image down the length of a dirt road with two people walking in the distance. Bare trees and stone walls line both sides of the road.

Country road

Country road

Providence Public Library

Image of a dirt road with an open field and thick brush and trees lining both sides. Original box label reads "Diamond H [label torn off]", possibly Diamond Hill, Cumberland.

Country road

Country road

Providence Public Library

Image of a narrow dirt road lined by stone walls, with fields on the other side. A house is seen in the distance. Original box label read "Exeter, 1914".

Country road

Country road

Providence Public Library

Image of a dirt road with thick brush and trees lining both sides. Original box label reads "Diamond H [label torn off]", possibly Diamond Hill, Cumberland.

Country road

Country road

Providence Public Library

Image of a narrow dirt road lined by stone walls, with fields on the other side. A house is seen in the distance. Original box label read "Exeter, 1914".

Cottage

Cottage

Providence Public Library

Image of a small cottage covered in ivy on a hill. Other buildings and structures, including a barn, are seen nearby. Original box label read "Diamond H., Fog Mill, Reservoir", believed to be Cumberland, Rhode Island.

Cornstalk piles

Cornstalk piles

Providence Public Library

Image of a field of corn bundled into piles in the field. Trees are seen at the edge of the field in the distance. Original box label reads "Diamond H [label torn off]", possibly Diamond Hill, Cumberland.

Cooke monument

Cooke monument

Providence Public Library

Image of a stone obelisk style monument for Nicholas Cooke, former governor of Rhode Island.

Construction site

Construction site

Providence Public Library

Image shows the building of a metal frame to a building on a construction site. Workers are visible on the metal beams.

Construction and houses along street

Construction and houses along street

Providence Public Library

Image of a plot of land under construction, with two people standing at the site, seen next to a house along an empty street. Original box label read "Billboards, '16".

Construction and billboards along street

Image of workers building a structure along the side of the street, between billboards and houses. Original box label read "Billboards, '16".

Comstock Spring

Comstock Spring

Providence Public Library

Image shows a natural spring among rock formations. A plant grows in the foreground. VM013_FIC0650 is a reproduction in the Rhode Island Photograph Collection.

Colonel William Prescott statue

Colonel William Prescott statue

Providence Public Library

Image of the statue of Colonel William Prescott at the base of the Bunker Hill Memorial in Charlestown, Massachusetts. A man is sitting on a bench in the background.

Colonel William Prescott statue

Colonel William Prescott statue

Providence Public Library

Image of Colonel William Prescott at the Bunker Hill Monument. A man is sitting on the bench behind the statue at the base of the monument.

Cobblestone street

Cobblestone street

Providence Public Library

Image shows trolley tracks running on a cobblestone brick street. People stand on the street corner in the background, only their lower half is visible.