1445 Wampanoag Trl # 201 Riverside, RI 02915-1019 | (401) 433-0044 | info@RIHeritageHallofFame.org
Joseph Samuels and his brother Leon had a vision of building a merchandising venture that would appeal to customers from all walks of life. By the mid-twentieth century, they had realized their dream by becoming two of the most innovative entrepreneurs in the country. Joseph and his brother Leon Samuels were born to James and
Joseph Davol, a native of Warren, traced his ancestry to William Davol who settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony around 1640. After early schooling in Warren, Joseph moved with his parents to Brooklyn, New York where he attended high school. At the age of sixteen he entered the employ of a wholesale dry goods business
William Francis Sayles, 1824-1894, was a prominent Pawtucket, Rhode Island industrialist who founded the W.F. & F.C. Sayles Company, reputedly the world’s largest bleachery for cotton textile cloth, located in Saylesville on the Moshassuck River. Sayles and his brother Frederick, the first mayor of Pawtucket, also owned the Lorraine Mill on Mineral Spring Avenue, a
Samuel Slater, 1768-1835, an English-born textile operative and inventor, has been called the “Father of American Manufacturing”. He migrated to Rhode Island from Derbyshire in 1789, and, in concert with Rhode Island investors and craftsman, built and activated spinning frames at Pawtucket Falls that were modeled on those of English inventor Richard Arkwright. On December
Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, 1848-1938, was a world-renowned Bristol boatbuilder who teamed with his blind brother John Brown Herreshoff to build a series of world famous racing yachts that dominated the America’s Cup competition from 1893 through 1934. “Captain Nat” and his Herreshoff Manufacturing Company also built luxury yachts, cruising sailboats, and America’s first torpedo boat
Martin Chase organized the first discount merchandise store in the United States (Ann & Hope), which revolutionized American retail. The Mass Merchandising Foundation honored him for setting in motion the tide of low-margin retailing, which greatly extended the purchasing power of the American consumer. Mr. Chase was also active in community and philanthropic affairs.