Frederick C. Williamson was State Director of the RI Department of Community Affairs and Rhode Island’s Historic Preservation officer. He was instrumental in the listing of many of the state’s historic buildings and sites on the National Register of Historic Places. He was born on September 20, 1915, in Lowell, MA, and moved to Rhode Island at 14. In 1941, he left the jewelry business in Providence to work as a civilian employee for the United States Navy at Quonset Point Naval Air Station where during 27 years he rose to the position of Supervisory Management Analyst and head of the Management Planning Branch of the Quonset Point Supply Department that provided logistic support to fleet units, dependent air stations and production line support to the Naval Air Rework Facility. In that position, he designed and implemented new and improved operating systems to support local and global fleet operations and coordinated several special project assignments.
The Navy recognized his outstanding performance by awarding him the Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 1954, in addition to his many other awards and letters during his service. While working for the Navy, he furthered his education through specialized courses at Brown University, the University of Rhode Island, and the University of California, Berkeley. In 1969, he accepted a cabinet-level appointment from Rhode Island Governor Frank Licht to serve as director of the newly created Department of Community Affairs (DCA). He assumed his new responsibilities by reorganizing and consolidating disparate government units into a cohesive divisional structure. The positive results were felt by individuals who benefit from DCA’s community planning, housing, government assistance, human services, elderly affairs, energy, home heating assistance, and other programs. Municipal and state agencies worked closely with his staff on programs and services vital to the social and economic well-being of Rhode Island. In 1970, he was appointed the State of Rhode Island Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), a position he held across political party lines until his passing in 2010, making him the nation’s longest-serving SHPO.
He had been the chairman of the Rhode Island Historical Commission since 1995. Among his many historic preservation awards are the prestigious Louise DuPont Crowninshield Award, presented in 1998 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and, in 2006, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO). As the elected president of NCSHPO in 1977, he helped incorporate the organization, establishing a dues structure, an executive director, staff, and an office in Washington, DC. He was the founder and first president of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Park Trust, which preserves lands nationwide for national parks. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In 1982, he was an invited participating team member of the Historic Preservation Study Team that visited China for two weeks on behalf of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, Inc. He was a founding Trustee of the National Center for Preservation Law. He served on the White House-appointed National Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. He was a Trustee of the Providence Preservation Society, Heritage Foundation of Rhode Island, and the Saratoga Museum Foundation Inc.
He was Past Chairman of the Rhode Island Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, Past Chairman of the Rhode Island Committee on Discrimination in Housing, Past President of the Urban League of Rhode Island, Past member Board of Directors Providence Branch of NAACP, Past Vice Chairman of Citizens United for Fair Housing and founding member of the Scitamard Players Theatrical Group, New England prize-winning drama group of Providence. He was a columnist and newsman for the Providence Chronicle, a weekly African American newspaper, and one of the editors of the Quonset Scout, the Naval Air Station Newspaper.
He was Chairman of the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation, the Providence Human Relations Commission, and the Governor’s Justice Commission (LEAA). In addition to being the Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance and Management Committee of the Rhode Island Group Health Association (RIGHA) and was named a “national treasure” by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He received Honorary Doctorate Degrees from Our Lady of Providence Seminary, Warwick, Bryant College, Smithfield, and Salve Regina University, Newport. He died on October 3, 2010, at the age of 95.
In 1981, he was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.
For additional reading:
The Journal of Heritage Stewardship, National Park Service Volume4 Number1, Winter 2007.