The oldest operating courthouse in Rhode Island might not be what people expect, as it is not the Florence K. Murray Judicial Complex or the Frank J. Licht Judicial Complex. Instead, the title goes to the Kent County Courthouse in East Greenwich, constructed in 1804 and still used for probate court. The building now serves as the East Greenwich Town Hall, with the former prisoner cells in the basement being a reminder of its past use.
On the other hand, Newport’s Old Colony House, built in 1739, is considered the state’s oldest non-working courthouse with a rich history of notable cases. The building served as Rhode Island’s State House and witnessed the Thomas Dorr trial in 1844, a significant event in the fight for expanded suffrage in the state.
The article also explores the history of the court system in Rhode Island from the early days of rotating town meetings in private homes to the establishment of an independent judiciary in 1842. It highlights particular trials such as the first documented one in 1638 in Portsmouth and the notorious case of Thomas Cornell in 1673.
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