Rooms List
Rooms
Every room in this building is tied to the documented record — named for the individuals who lived, worked, or passed through these walls between 1796 and 1957.
Sunderland Room
Named for Frederick E. Sunderland, the final jailkeeper of Kent County. A former Chief of Police of East Greenwich, he was appointed in 1928 and served until the jail closed in 1957. He and his wife Martha—”Mom” to the prisoners—lived in the building and were the last to oversee its original function. Fred was 81 years old when he locked the doors for the last
time.
— Room Type
King room
— Floor
Second floor
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Burns Room
Named for Charles Burns, held for burglary in the 1890s and described by the Boston Globe in 1901 as the most difficult prisoner in twenty years of Everlin Smith’s service. He was stubborn, contrary, and ungovernable when Everlin was absent—yet even Burns submitted to her authority. His reputation as the jail’s worst inmate made him a fixture of its recorded history.
— Room Type
Guest Suite 1
— Floor
Second floor
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McCaughey Room
Named for William “Tug” McCaughey, a member of the notorious “wire gang” who was held at this jail in 1901. McCaughey implicated the gang in the nationally sensational murder of 24-year-old socialite May Fosburgh in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The victim’s mother traveled to East Greenwich to interview him in his cell. The case made headlines across the country.
— Room Type
Guest Suite 3
— Floor
Second floor
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Congdon Room
Named for George Congdon, a convicted murderer held at the Kent County Jail during Everlin Smith’s tenure. Congdon shot a man named Wilcox at Oakland Beach and was convicted before being transferred to Cranston state prison. His case was among the most serious to pass through these cells.
— Room Type
King Guestroom
— Floor
Second floor
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Carr Room
Named for Isaiah Carr, a murderer confined at the Kent County Jail in 1880—the very first year of Everlin Smith’s tenure as jailkeeper. Carr had shot and killed his nephew Caleb Carr in the village of Summit in Coventry. He strangled himself in his cell with his pocket handkerchief. Everlin discovered his body at 7:30 in the morning while serving breakfast.
— Room Type
Guest Suite 2
— Floor
First floor
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Boulanger Room
Named for Bernard Boulanger, a 19-year-old prisoner who staged the jail’s most audacious escape attempt in 1950. After hoarding pepper for weeks, he threw it into the eyes of 68-year-old matron Martha Sunderland on bean night, locked her in a cell, and fled. He was recaptured at gunpoint within minutes. The Providence Journal noted that many wondered why anyone would want to escape Martha’s cooking.
— Room Type
King Guestroom
— Floor
Second floor
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Liberty Room
The term ‘Liberties of the Gaol Yard’ appears in early state records referring to the legally defined boundaries surrounding the jail. In October 1795, a committee was appointed to “fix the Bounds” of these Liberties. This name honors the formal language used in the building’s founding documents.
— Room Type
King Guestroom
— Floor
Second floor
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