Snake Den State Park History

 

DATE STATE ACQUIRED: October 10, 1969

Total ACREAGE: 744

PREVIOUS OWNERS: Steere Family : Dame Family

ORIGIN OF NAME: From the Dame Family

Snake Den State Park and Dame Farm is currently 744 acres of undeveloped State Park property situated between Route 6 and Greenville Avenue in Johnston. This property consists of valuable woodland and established open fields and pastureland. This is part of Dame Farm which will be one of the focal points in this park.

The State is currently working on drafting a new master plan of development for this park and hopes to begin some initial development in the next couple of years. One of the principal objectives of this park will be to maintain Dame Farm as an existing working farm so as to preserve a portion of Rhode Island’s rich but diminishing agricultural heritage.

Also, upon completion of Snake Den Park the State, hopes to accomplish several other objectives which include:

- Preserving valuable open space in the Providence Metropolitan Area.

- Establishing another State Park providing additional and alternative recreational opportunities to the general public and finally it is hoped that Snake Den State Park will relieve some of the public pressure off of the other major State Parks in the Providence Metropolitan Area.

The Division of Parks and Recreation on October 1, 1989 moved it’s staff to a 22 room historic farmhouse in Snake Den State Park. The offices are now located at the former Palazzi Farm, 2321 Hartford Avenue, Johnston, Rhode Island. The office includes those who plan educational and cultural programs for the parks, those who monitor recreation safety, and the top management for the Division’s far-flung holdings.

Little has been done to change the building. "The Palazzi family kept it in excellent condition, and we want to keep it as it is because it’s an historic building", says Chief William Hawkins. D.E.M. Planning says the building is believed to go back to the late 18th century, and the farm may have once belonged to Moses Brown. The State acquired the 120 acre farm in August from the Palazzi family who owned it from 1910. With the purchase, D.E.M. can expand and develop Snake Den Park. With 500 feet of frontage and cleared fields on Hartford Avenue, it is possible to develop the side of the park near the highway with an entrance and possibly picnic grounds and playing fields, while leaving the back of the park, surrounding historic Dame Farm, relatively untouched.