Arthur Steere
Encyclopedia
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
politician and prominent businessman and landowner.
Biography
Arthur W. Steere (known as "A.W.") was born in Glocester, Rhode IslandGlocester, Rhode Island
Glocester is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 9,746 as of the 2010 census. The villages of Chepachet and Harmony are in Glocester. Putnam Pike Glocester is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 9,746 as of the 2010...
on September 3, 1865 to Seth Hunt Steere and Lucy L. Smith. Steere was a direct descendant of Rhode Island founder, Roger Williams
Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...
, William Wickenden
William Wickenden
William Wickenden was an early Anglo-American Baptist minister, co-founder Providence, Rhode Island, and signer of the Providence Compact. Wickenden Street in Providence marks where he originally settled in the seventeenth century and is named in his honor.-Immigration to New England:Wickenden...
, General William West, and Pilgrim George Soule
George Soule
George Soule was a signer of the Mayflower Compact, and one of the original 102 Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620.-Biography:...
. As a youth he worked on his family's farm in Glocester and then went to Scituate, Rhode Island
Scituate, Rhode Island
Scituate is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 10,329 at the 2010 census.-History:Scituate was first settled in 1710 by emigrants from Scituate, Massachusetts...
where he engaged in the teaming business for three years. In 1889 Steere inherited a bequest from his relative Henry J. Steere
Henry J. Steere
Henry Jonah Steere was a prominent American philanthropist and industrialist from Rhode Island.-Childhood:Henry J. Steere was born in Providence, Rhode Island on April 11, 1830 to Alice Smith and Jonah Steere , a manufacturer, saddler and harness maker. Henry was their only surviving child...
, a prominent manufacturer, upon the latter's death. In 1892, Steere married into the Brayton family when he married Sarah Janet Brayton (daughter of David and Phebe Brayton), who died the following year. Next, Steere married Mamie Farrar (daughter of Miles and Annie (Allen) Farrar) in 1894. They had five children together: Seth, Arthur, Nelson, Nettie and Henry.
Eventually, Arthur Steere became the owner of over one thousand acres (4 km²) of property in the Rhode Island towns of Johnston
Johnston, Rhode Island
Johnston is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 28,769 at the 2010 census. Johnston is the site of the Clemence Irons House a stone-ender museum and the only landfill in Rhode Island...
, Burrillville
Burrillville, Rhode Island
Burrillville is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. It was incorporated as an independent municipality on November 17, 1806 when the Rhode Island General Assembly authorized the residents of then North Glocester to elect its own officers. The population was 15,955 at the 2010...
, Foster
Foster, Rhode Island
Foster is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, in the United States. The population was 4,606 at the 2010 census.- History :Foster was originally settled in the 17th century by British colonists as a farming community...
, Scituate
Scituate, Rhode Island
Scituate is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 10,329 at the 2010 census.-History:Scituate was first settled in 1710 by emigrants from Scituate, Massachusetts...
, Smithfield
Smithfield, Rhode Island
Smithfield is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. It includes the historic villages of Esmond, Georgiaville, Mountaindale, Hanton City, Stillwater and Greenville...
, and Gloucester
Glocester, Rhode Island
Glocester is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 9,746 as of the 2010 census. The villages of Chepachet and Harmony are in Glocester. Putnam Pike Glocester is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 9,746 as of the 2010...
, making him one of the state's largest landowners. Steere sold hundred of acres to the state of Rhode Island for the creation of the Scituate Reservoir
Scituate Reservoir
The Scituate Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in the state of Rhode Island. It has an aggregate capacity of and a surface area of 5.3 square miles...
in the 1920s. He owned various businesses on this land, including lumber yards, which produced railroad ties and telegraph poles, and also dairy farms, fruit orchards, refrigeration
Refrigeration
Refrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
facilities, and a teaming business that first paved the majority of the roads in northern Rhode Island. Steere had over one hundred and fifty employees at the turn of the century. Senator Steere was a lifelong progressive Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, and in 1907 he was elected to the Rhode Island Senate
Rhode Island Senate
The Rhode Island Senate is the upper house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Rhode Island. It is composed of 38 Senators, each of whom is elected to a two-year term. Rhode Island is one of the 14 states where its upper house serves at a two-year...
representing Greenville, Rhode Island
Greenville, Rhode Island
Greenville is a village and census-designated place in the town of Smithfield in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 8,626 at the 2000 census...
. As a senator, Steere was extremely active in property issues, serving on the property committee. Steere was also a member of the Freemasons of Greenville
Greenville, Rhode Island
Greenville is a village and census-designated place in the town of Smithfield in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 8,626 at the 2000 census...
and Scituate
Scituate, Rhode Island
Scituate is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 10,329 at the 2010 census.-History:Scituate was first settled in 1710 by emigrants from Scituate, Massachusetts...
and an attendant of Greenville's Free Will Baptist Church. After Steere died in January 1943, his sons Seth Hunt Steere and Henry J. Steere took over the bulk of his businesses and landholdings. Steere Orchards on Austin Avenue in Greenville is still owned by his descendants and is the largest orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
in Rhode Island. Steere was buried at Harmony Chapel Cemetery in Glocester.