Off-the-beaten-path gems await visitors

CULTURAL TREASURES: Loren Spears is executive director of the Tomaquag Museum in Exeter, the state's only Native American museum, which features artifacts of local tribes. One of the most visible is a birch-tree-crafted canoe, and Spears is a descendent of its makers. / PBN PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO
CULTURAL TREASURES: Loren Spears is executive director of the Tomaquag Museum in Exeter, the state's only Native American museum, which features artifacts of local tribes. One of the most visible is a birch-tree-crafted canoe, and Spears is a descendent of its makers. / PBN PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

What do visitors to Rhode Island want to see, to keep them coming back again? Unique attractions, experiences that are authentic, and unusual destinations and activities.

Along with the restaurants and the popular beaches, visitors want something out of the ordinary.

Rhode Island has unique, “under-the-radar” destinations in abundance, according to the state’s tourism and marketing advisers, who are actively trying to help promote their stories.

One of those recently contacted by the R.I. Commerce Corp. is the Tomaquag Museum, the state’s only Native American museum. Its visibility rose dramatically in April, after it was named among 10 national recipients of the 2016 National Medal for Museum and Library Service.

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The museum, located in Exeter, includes several thousand Native American artifacts that reflect the culture of the Narragansetts and Niantics, descendants of the indigenous people of Rhode Island. The museum is an independent nonprofit, founded in 1958, and initially contained the collection of an anthropologist. It has since expanded to include several thousand artifacts, including deerskin ceremonial clothing, hand-stamped baskets made of ash, and wampum jewelry, according to Executive Director Loren Spears.

The small museum, in a rural setting, is open six days a week, as well as by appointment. Spears, who recently met with Commerce RI officials, said she’s thrilled the state is interested in promoting more “road-less-traveled” destinations.

“There is a whole movement in cultural and ecological tourism,” Spears said. “Native culture ties in very nicely with that. Indigenous culture is intrinsically connected to the environment. People also want an authentic experience. Our museum gives you that.”

Newport’s oceanfront mansions, one of the state’s most popular tourist attractions, can draw up to 900,000 people a year, according to Evan Smith, president and CEO of Discover Newport.

By comparison, some of the smaller sites and attractions in the state may see just a few hundred a year, but they are worth visiting.

“Do they have an interesting story? Sure they do,” he said.

Sometimes-overlooked cultural destinations in Newport include the National Museum of American Illustration, which says it has the largest collection of illustration art in the world and displays works from artists such as N.C. Wyeth, Maxfield Parrish and Norman Rockwell.

The Naval War College Museum, also in Newport, has a collection that is of interest to military enthusiasts and history buffs. It is often overlooked because of its location on the U.S. Navy property, but it is open to the public, Smith said.

The museum includes exhibits on naval warfare as well as the naval heritage of Narragansett Bay, from Colonial times to the present. Visitors are required to submit information for background checks at least five days prior to visiting, according to its website.

Other Newport museums and cultural destinations below the radar of most visitors include the Museum of Newport Irish History, which opened in June 2011, and which includes information on the impact of Irish immigrants in Newport County, from the 1600s to the present.

The Seaman’s Church Institute of Newport, which provides rental lodging to fishermen and boaters, also has a chapel that historically was where many fishermen prayed before heading out to sea.

The Armory of the Artillery Company of Newport operates a seasonal museum with limited hours, which features historical documents, artifacts and a collection of canons, including a 3-pound bronze cannon forged by Paul Revere.

Discover Newport is trying to promote some of these “hidden treasures” by grouping information for tourists based on their interests.

Many of the smaller museums have unusual hours, limited marketing and may not be in visible locations, he noted, so they need to be promoted in a specific way.

“The way we approach it is we are looking for, for lack of a better word, ‘silos’ of what people like to do,” he said. So people interested in architecture or gardening or culinary tours may get recommendations from tourism-council staff based on those.

“We’re trying to speak to people based on their interests,” explained Smith.

For smaller museums, which operate on limited budgets, the attention coming from the state’s ongoing $5 million tourism campaign is welcome.

Spears recently spoke with an advertising representative who informed her that the museum would qualify for its discounted, nonprofit rate of $1,250. “I laughed. Our entire marketing budget might not be that,” she said. “It’s a challenge.” •

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