Did You Know? Fun Facts About Cranston, RI.

This edition of "Did You Know?" will focus on a variety of facts about Cranston, RI. Cranston is the third largest city in the state with over 80,000 residents, and home to some well known landmarks like Garden City, the Governor Sprague Mansion, Mulligan's Island, and the ACI. The city also borders Roger Williams Park Zoo and Pawtuxet Village.

Historical Fact

Two of the oldest houses in the state are located in Cranston and both are stone enders. A stone ender house is a unique form of construction where one wall is built with mostly limestone and contains a large chimney and fireplace. The remaining three walls are made of wood.

The Thomas Fenner house was built in 1677 and is located a 43 Stony Acre Dr. in Cranston.

Below, we can see an old photo of the Fenner home next to a more modern day photo. Today, the home is owned by Thomas Fenner's 7 time great grandson.

To learn more about the history of the Thomas Fenner House, click here. The other stone ender in existence in Cranston is the Edward Seale House located in the Oaklawn neighborhood of Cranston. Pictured below, we see an older photo and a more modern photo of the home today.

The original house was built in 1670 and was burned down during the King Philip's War by Native Americans. The house was rebuilt in 1677 around the surviving stone wall and chimney.

Today, there are 14 stone enders in existence in all of RI. I wrote about two others in Lincoln in a previous blog and if you are a history enthusiast, you can click here to see a full list of all the other stone enders in the state.

Fun Fact #1

Aside from the Cranston Country Club and Mulligan's Island, Cranston has a third option for people who enjoy the game of golf. Top Golf is coming! If you travel on route 37 , you've

noticed all the construction going on in the area. This is part of the infrastructure redevelopment to help east traffic for the 68,000 square foot venue that will be located at 100 Sockanosset Cross Road. It's estimated that construction for Top Golf will be completed by the end of 2023.

Not So Fun Fact

Top Gulf may have indirectly caused some controversy with the Mulligan's Island location. News came out in mid 2020 that Mulligan's Island was under contract to be sold to Coastal Partners. Part of the reason for the sale was the due to Top Golf creating competition which

would hurt Mulligan's Island and potentially help put them out of business. Coastal Partners had plans to redevelop the area in order to bring a Costco facility to Cranston. They have met opposition from residents and local political leaders. To date, the Mulligan's Island plan has been rejected. Town officials are open to discussing other locations for a Costco, but that may not happen.

Interesting Fact

Superior Bakery in Cranston closed February 9. Robert Cicerone (the owner) has decided to retire. There are plans for them to reopen under new management. Time will tell if anything will change once they reopen.

Fun Fact #2

Cranston is the birthplace of some well known people. Olivia Culpo, former Miss USA and Miss Universe grew up in the Edgewood section of the city. Elizabeth Hasselbeck became famous for appearing on the second season of Survivor and then spent several years as a cohost of The View.

Real Estate Fact

The average sale price of a single family home in 2022 for the city of Cranston was $410,490.

If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in Cranston, contact me today!