Anne Hutchinson Memorial offers a uniquely raw glance into her life in Rhode Island

Let's take a look back at the beginning of our state.

Similar to the memorial site of the Battle of Rhode Island, the Anne Hutchinson Memorial in Portsmouth takes a little exploring to get to. But, it offers a uniquely raw glance into her life in Rhode Island.

The memorial is located in the back of Founders’ Brook Park in Portsmouth, aptly named for Hutchinson’s role in the founding of Rhode Island. She moved to Portsmouth shortly after the land was purchased from local native tribes. The brook in the area where the memorial lies is supposedly where Hutchinson fetched drinking water and washed clothes. In general, the area is said to have been a center of life in colonial Portsmouth, with the army training facilities close by.

An herb garden dedicated to Hutchinson and Mary Dyer is located in the back of the area under a hanging tree. Dyer was a Quaker who was hanged in the colony of Massachusetts, which did not boast freedom of religion at the time, for entering the state amid personal and statewide bans on Quakers from doing so. Her husband, William, signed the original Portsmouth Compact in 1638 after he and Mary, along with the Hutchinsons, were expelled from Massachusetts and moved to Rhode Island. They found solace there among fellow Quaker Roger Williams and within the generally free colony. Although the colony of Rhode Island offered freedom of religion, it did not offer freedom from religion, as atheism was outlawed.

Stone benches at the memorial site further commemorate Hutchinson. One reads “I am in the hands of the eternal Jehovah my savior,” a line she is said to have proclaimed at her trial. Likewise, another bench features two quotes from Hutchinson: “I think the soule to be nothing but light” and “Is there one standard for men and another for women?”

Another bench in the area more so reflects Portsmouth history, rather than Hutchinson. It pays tribute to the founding of the town back in 1638 with a copy of the Portsmouth Compact engraved a plaque on the side of a rock.

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This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: What's Great Off 138: Anne Hutchinson Memorial in Portsmouth