

Weird Since 1636
I recently visited Providence, Rhode Island, which has been “weird since 1636,” according to my grandson’s T-shirt. Providence was founded in 1636 by renegade preacher Roger Williams, who was forced to flee Massachusetts because of religious persecution. Williams purchased land from the Narragansett Indians and started a new settlement with a policy of religious and political freedom.
My favorite travel book, Atlas Obscura, includes one entry for Rhode Island. It seems Rog