Editor’s note: This letter was sent to the Tiverton Town Council earlier this month, and shared in its entirety with the Sakonnet Times:

Another crime against the preservation of town history has been committed in Tiverton. Residents and concerned citizens are expressing their shock and outrage at the recent demolition of the historic Abraham Brown home (aka The Lafayette House) that once stood on Main Road. No wonder people are upset when, without warning, this iconic structure was leveled without regard for its historic significance and without notification to the local and state historic preservations groups who could have advocated for a different outcome. The damage is done and the history lost. So, what is next?

It is distressing that no one in the town thought to check whether or not the home was in fact listed on the historic preservation list or any historic registry. While that is a failure at the town level, the falsification of a permit application by Mr. Rose should result in some action on the part of the town. Is there a consequence for failing to be truthful on a permit application? Is there perhaps a fine to be levied or some other action the town takes in these situations? If not, then everything indicates there should be. Mr. Rose had to know the history of the house.

It would not be unreasonable for Mr. Rose to be fined for his failure to answer truthfully on the permit application. Maybe there is no precedent or process for that, but his deception allowed this to happen without proper notification of those who might have sought to document the house where it stood (outside and in, as much as possible) or preserve some parts of it as those interested preservationists who were mentioned in the Sakonnet Times and again in a more recent Newport Daily News article hoped to do. Tiverton is making state news at this point and not in a favorable light.

According to the same article, the Town’s Historic Preservation Advisory Board proposed tightening historic protections for historic buildings, but changes at the town level never took effect. That Advisory Board suggested increasing the demolition delay for historic buildings to six months and requiring town officials to notify them about pending applications. That does not seem unreasonable given Tiverton’s rich history and the number of historic structures meriting protection and still standing.

In order to salvage something from this travesty, in addition to setting consequences for those found falsifying information and establishing appropriate notification procedures for historic buildings, I believe the town should petition the state to erect an historic marker indicating the significance of the location where this historic structure stood. It could detail that Marquis de Lafayette stayed there during the Battle of Rhode Island and also provide

the relevant dates of construction and other noteworthy details in an attempt to amend in some small way the tragic loss of this part of Tiverton’s history.

It was a failure on the part of the town official who did not check if the property was listed or not. It is an unsettling curiosity that a clerk changed information on the original permit and then changed it back. But that aside, what steps will the council take now to put better protections in place as already requested and to petition the appropriate state agency regarding the historic marker that should be erected at the site? It is hoped that the council’s swift action will mean greater protection, and at a minimum, the council will adopt a procedure that is followed faithfully to protect the remaining historic properties in our town. We do have the Osborn-Bennet Historic District on Main Road as well as a number of other historic structures in our community. These have been identified. We should be strident in our efforts to preserve and protect these valuable assets from demolition and from damaging land use policies that threaten their existence.

Thank you for your consideration and your attention to these concerns.

Gayle Lawrence

Tiverton