FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	now through October 22, 2004
FOR PHOTOGRAPHY CONTACT	Resident Manager, Smith’s Castle 401-294-3521
FOR SPEAKER INFO CONTACT	Anita Rafael, P.O. Box 1042, Newport RI 02840 401-846-5391 email anitarafael@netzero.com
DATE / TIME / PLACE	Friday, October 22, 2004 6:30 pm 55 Richard Smith Drive, North Kingstown, RI 02852 outdoors, weather permitting
TICKETS	$8 or $5 for members (Membership $25, Family $40)
PROGAM CALENDAR & DRIVING DIRECTIONS	Smith’s Castle website www.smithscastle.org

The art of gravestone rubbing is among the more controversial topics whenever the subject of cemetery conservation arises. Many localities, says Rafael, have passed ordinances prohibiting the act of placing a paper against a tombstone and rubbing it with a crayon to take an image of the carved design, claiming that it damages the aging and weathered slates. Rafael uses a faux headstone depicting a winged cherub’s head to show how a rubbing can be done to minimize the risk of harm to the stone. In all cases, Rafael emphasizes, it is important to have permission to visit private burial grounds and to know the local and state laws that apply to public cemeteries.

Later in the evening, Rafael will talk about some of the origins and old traditions of Halloween and will tell of some of the beliefs in ghosts and witches of the native tribes in southern Rhode Island. Rafael says, "This is the perfect spot to be telling ghost stories after dark – there are so many classic tales of spirits, even vampires in this part of New England, that it’s fun to keep the speculation going as to which of these stories may or may not have some truth to them." Long after society in general put aside their fears of vampires, for example, folks in southern Rhode Island in particular clung to their superstitions about the causes and effects of vampirism. A few good ghost tales from the area were even published in the late 1800s such as the story of Cuddymonk’s Ghost recorded by noted author of colonial life, Alice Morse Earle in her book "In Old Narragansett" printed in 1898. Of South County, Earle wrote: "It was a community of many superstitions, to which the folk-customs of the feast days of the English Church, the evil communications of witch-seeking Puritan neighbors, the voodooism of the Negro slaves and the pow wows of the native red men, all added a share and infinite variety." [sic]

In past years, Rafael has presented other lectures at Smith Castle about Rhode Island history. This event of one of many planned for fall at the site. For a complete calendar of ongoing activities at Smith’s Castle visit the website at smithscastle.org or call 401-294-3521.

Anita Rafael has authored and co-edited several small publications, a museum guide book and articles on Rhode Island history and tourism. She has also been a partner and volunteer in heritage tourism projects for the National Park Service, Preserve America, The Providence Preservation Society, The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, The Rhode Island Hospitality Association and The Rhode Island Historical Society, in addition to being a former guide for the Preservation Society of Newport County and the Newport Historical Society. She has made guest appearances on A & E Channel, The Travel Channel, on PBS, on British TV, and on many local TV stations. Since 1999, she has been a contributing writer and contributing editor of Newport Life Magazine. Among her most favorite projects, is researching the history of one of America's oldest taverns - Newport's venerable White Horse Tavern, est. 1673. Her Curator's Fireside Talks at the 17th century pub are a perennial highlight for patrons. Additonally, Rafael is the creator and founder of Newport On Foot Guided Tours. Since 1990, she has organized walking tours of the historic colonial district of Newport with a special emphasis on local preservation efforts. Walks, custom tours and speaking programs about Newport cover many topics including colonial life and times, the era of the Gilded Age, and Newport today. Newport On Foot has been featured in Islands Magazine, Destinations Magazine, The L.A. Times Sunday Travel Section, and the Providence Journal. In 1999, the company was chosen as an Editor's Pick, in YANKEE Magazine's 1999 Travel Guide to New England. Anita Rafael, a graduate of the University of Connecticut in history and art, has been a Newport resident since 1978. (401) 846-5391 or email anitarafael@netzero.com

Smith's Castle in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, is an award-winning historic site, providing an opportunity for adults and children to experience nearly four centuries of Rhode Island history. Docents in period clothing provide interpretive tours of the house -- June, July, and August: Thursday through Monday -- May, September, and October: Friday through Sunday. An admission of $5 for adults and $1 for children 6-12 is charged to tour the house. There is no charge to visit the gardens and grounds. Children under 6 & Members are admitted free.

Around 1637, Richard Smith, an original settler of Taunton in Plymouth Colony, established a trading post at Cocumscussoc and, according to Roger Williams, "Put up...the first English house..." It is thought to have been a grand house that was, possibly, fortified: thus the name Smith's Castle.     Smith continued to increase his holdings, and Cocum-scussoc soon became a center of social, political, and religious activities. Smith died in 1666 leaving the property to his son, Richard Smith, Jr. The house was burned in 1676 during the King Philip's War.     By 1678, Smith, Jr. had built a new home with front rooms flanking a large stone fireplace, a kitchen lean-to at the back, and a massive two-story, gabled porch on the front. When he died childless in 1692, he bequeathed Cocumscussoc to his nephew Captain Lodowick Updike and Lodowick's wife Abigail Newton Updike. Lodowick and Abigail were first cousins and grandchildren of the elder Richard Smith.     The Updike family developed Cocumscussoc into one of the great plantations of 18th-century New England. At its height, it encompassed more than 3,000 acres, and was divided into five farms worked by tenant farmers, indentured servants, and slaves.     In 1948, a group of concerned citizens established the Cocumscussoc Association, which purchased the house in order to preserve and assure its use for public education. Because of their foresight, Smith's Castle remains today a Rhode Island and American treasure. The Cocumscussoc Association is the corporate entity that owns, maintains, and interprets the history of Smith's Castle on behalf of the people of Rhode Island. Smith's Castle teaches the history of Rhode Island's development through three eras: Native American days, early colonial days, and the plantation era.

In 1948, a group of concerned citizens established the Cocumscussoc Association, which purchased the house in order to preserve and assure its use for public education. Because of their foresight, Smith's Castle remains today a Rhode Island and American treasure. The Cocumscussoc Association is the corporate entity that owns, maintains, and interprets the history of Smith's Castle on behalf of the people of Rhode Island. Smith's Castle teaches the history of Rhode Island's development through three eras: Native American days, early colonial days, and the plantation era.