Little remains of historic Dr. Peter Turner house in EG

The Dr. Peter Turner house at 21 Courthouse Lane is another East Greenwich house that has seen more than its share of history.

A large Colonial-style house, it was built in October 1774 by house carpenter John Shaw, who lived there for five years before selling it to Charles Greene in May 1779. Charles Greene, a first cousin of Gen. Nathanael Greene, was a merchant, who traveled extensively, making several voyages to Canton, China as part owner of the ships and cargoes. In February 1783, Charles and his wife, Phebe, sold this house to Dr. Peter Turner, and moved to the Dr. Eldredge House at 28 Division St.

Doctor Turner, a native of Newport, had served as the surgeon for Nathanael Greene’s brigade during the Revolutionary War. Doctor Turner met his wife, Elizabeth Child, through his friendship with Gen. James Mitchell Varnum, whose wife, Martha “Patty” Child, was Elizabeth’s sister. The two couples lived diagonally across Peirce Street from each other.

While Doctor Turner was well respected by officers and soldiers during the war, his “rough and ready” personality was a bit off putting for the ladies in East Greenwich, at least until they learned that he also had a kind and gentle side. As there were no medical schools at that time, the tradition was for young men to study medicine with an established doctor. Turner himself had studied with his uncle, Dr. Jabez Campbell, in Newport. A number of young doctors also learned their medicine from Turner, including his three sons and two nephews as well as Dr. Thomas Tillinghast of Frenchtown.

When Doctor Turner died at his home in 1822, he was buried in his large oak grove, which was located along what are now Marion Street and upper Melrose and Montrose streets. His grave, along with those of his wife and a son who died at the age of 11, and five graves from William Gorton Bowen’s family cemetery, were located in what is now the middle of the street, directly in front of 17 Marion St., which was my family’s home for more than 45 years. These cemeteries were moved in 1850, when Marion Street was constructed. The Turner graves and markers were moved to Island Cemetery in Newport, and the Bowen graves and markers were moved to the East Greenwich Cemetery. When I wrote an article in “Rhode Island Roots” in 2009 about this discovery, the state actually assigned historic cemetery numbers to these two small former cemeteries, but I declined the honor of having the signs go up in front of my home.

After Doctor Turner died, his home on Courthouse Lane was sold at public auction to his nephew, Dr. William Turner of Newport, who in October 1826 sold it to Mary Spencer. In February 1851, Daniel H. and Susannah P. Greene sold the house, but I have never been able to learn how they came into possession of the property. There is no clear link between them and Mary Spencer, who was the last identifiable previous owner of record. However, in 1851, the Greenes did transfer the house to Franklin Greene, as trustee for Susannah P. Greene. After the death of Susannah, Franklin Greene transferred the house back to Daniel H. Greene in September 1851, and Daniel Greene continued to live there for more than 30 years, when he sold it in May 1883 to Silas Weaver.

In September 1893, the Weavers sold it to Sarah Gertrude Bowen, the wife of William Shaw Bowen of East Greenwich, who was the brother of the five Bowens buried in the Bowen Cemetery mentioned above. The Bowen family owned the house until 1947.

Since 1947, a number of families have owned the home, including the Hitte, Spencer, Stephens, Morrissey, Scott, Wilkinson, Balkcom and Bodington families.

However the history of the house isn’t quite finished, as in the early 1990s, an oil truck pulled up to the house, and because the fuel cap wouldn’t turn, the driver got a monkey wrench out of the truck, and after quite an effort, removed the fuel cap, and began to pump more than 200 gallons of fuel oil into the basement of the house, which several years earlier had converted to natural gas heat. The truck, which was at the wrong address, then left and several hours later, the gas furnace, surrounded by the 200 gallons of fuel oil on the floor, turned on, and ignited the oil with a terrific whoosh. The historic house was in flames but, fortunately, the family wasn’t home and the East Greenwich Fire District got the fire out fairly quickly and efficiently, but the damage was extensive. Today, except for the heavy original wood beams, very little remains of the 1774 house, but it’s a miracle that the house still stands at all.

Bruce MacGunnigle, a local historian, has lived in East Greenwich for more than 45 years, and served for 30 years on the Historic District Commission and as Main Street coordinator. He can be reached at greenwich1677@gmail.com or editorial@neindependent.com.