It's hard to find someone who isn't affected by a good love story, especially a sad and true one. It can be hard to learn about love lost, but it's important to remember that these sorts of stories aren't reserved for fictional worlds, and that often, people who think they are meant to be just don't end up together. Rhode Island has its fair share of these kinds of tales, many attached to locations that you can visit to bring the story to life all the more. One of these locations is Hannah Robinson Tower and the accompanying rock, in South Kingstown.
The Tower is an impressive 40 feet tall and was built in 1938 in honor of its namesake Hannah.
Hannah Robinson was born in 1746 to a well-known member of the Narragansett community and grew up quite wealthy.
With not much being required of Hannah due to her wealth, she spent much of her time sitting on the rock that still resides by the tower and watching her town from above.
When Hannah attended finishing school, she fell deeply in love with her dancing and French teacher Pierre Simon, a relationship that her father condemned as inappropriate.
To the shock of almost no one, her fathers disapproval did little to keep Hannah away from Pierre and the two ran away to Providence to elope.
The couple quickly had nine children, but lived in great poverty as Hannah's father cut off the pair for defying him.
Once Pierre realized he wouldn't be getting in on the family fortune, he made it clear that the money was far more important to him than Hannah was and started cheating on her, eventually disappearing on her fully.
Left alone with nine children to care for and no income, Hannah quickly grew ill, and though she was allowed back into the family after revealing the name of the person to help her elope, she was sadly too far gone.
While being brought back to her Fathers home, Hannah asked to stop at the rock she used to sit on a youth and look out as she once did, it was the last time she ever did. Tragically, Hannah passed at the young age of 27 due to her poor health. Over 150 years later, the tower was built to honor her.
Are you curious to visit this rock and climb to the top of the tower? Now that you know some of the history behind it, you can pay the proper homage to this beautiful space.
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