No structures in Rhode Island pre-date King Philip's War. Massachusetts, however, does have a handful that survived the devastation. One of these survivors is shown in today's photo. This parsonage, built in 1662 by the Reverend James Keith, a Scottish immigrant to the newly formed Duxborough Plantation (later called Old Bridgewater, and now West Bridgewater) also served as a garrison during King Philip's War. It is, in fact, the oldest parsonage and garrison left standing in the US.
A bit of drama played out in this house in September 1676. After Philip was killed near the war's end, colonial officials of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies debated the fate of his wife and son. They turned to scripture for the solution, and Reverend Keith pointed them to Deuteronomy 24:16: "Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin." Ministers Samuel Arnold and John Cotton argued that scripture did not apply if the crimes in question were committed by "notorious traitors, rebels, and murderers, especially of such as have bin (sic) principal leaders and actors in such horrid villainies." Reverend Keith held fast, however, and apparently won the argument. The last known record of the son of King Philip comes from a letter written by John Cotton on March 20, 1677 in which he writes, "Philip's boy goes now to be sold."
Post processing started with a classic filter in Topaz B&W FX. I adjusted color sensitivity sliders followed by adaptive exposure, regions, contrast, boost black, boost white, and protect highlights. Noise reduction in Neat Image was applied just to the sky. A levels adjustment and a brightness/contrast adjustment were applied in PSE and a sepia photo filter is the top layer.
Nice composition. I've never been to New England, so your shots are very educational for me, coming from the midwest. I also hope to learn a little about editing. I only use Iphoto, so my options are limited. Never shot in RAW and I'm nervous to try. Which I'm sure is crazy, but that's why I'm doing this project to learn and build my confidence. I look forward to more great photos from you Ron. Thanks!
