A volunteer at The Elms decorates one of more than a dozen large trees for a past Christmas at the Newport Mansions. The Elms, The Breakers and Marble House will be decked out in yuletide finery for visitors beginning Nov. 17.

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL / BOB THAYER

PROVIDENCE

John Brown House, 52 Power St. 273-7507; www.rihs.org. Hear the stories of Rhode Island’s history as told through the lives of the inhabitants of this “most magnificent mansion,” built in 1788. Tue-Fri 1-4 pm, with guided tours at 1:30, 3 pm; Sat 10 am-4 pm, with guided tours at 10:30 am, noon, 1:30, 3 pm. $8, 62+/students $6, children 7-17 $4.

John Carter Brown Library, MacMillan Reading Room, Brown University’s College Green, George and Brown streets. 863-2725; www.jcbl.org. Jamestown Matters, exhibit created to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown settlement in Virginia. Includes maps and illustrated materials that show the reasons the English invested in colonization in North America and some typical interactions between Europeans and Native Americans. Ends Sat. Mon-Fri 8:30 am-5 pm, Sat 9 am-noon. Free.

First Baptist Church in America, 75 North Main St. 454-3418. The oldest Baptist church in America was established by Roger Williams in 1638. Mon-Fri 10 am-noon and 1-3 pm, Sat 10 am-1 pm; guided ($2) and self-guided ($1) tours. Guided tours every Sun immediately after the worship service, 11 am. Groups by appointment only; ample parking and child care on Sun.

Hamilton House, 276 Angell St., Providence. 831-1800. Special exhibit: SCRAPBOOK — Rhode Island History Exhibit, Oct. 3-30. Multimedia project focuses on bringing young and old together to gain a deeper respect and understanding of each other. Opening reception Oct. 4, 6-8 pm. Daily 9 am-3 pm.

Governor Stephen Hopkins House, 15 Hopkins St. 421-0694; www.stephenhopkins.org. Built in 1707, home of former Rhode Island governor. Guided tours Wed-Sat 1-4 pm, through Oct. 31 or by appointment. Donations.

Rhode Island State House, 82 Smith St. 222-2357. World’s fourth-largest self-supported marble dome. Contains the original Rhode Island Charter of 1663, historic portrait of George Washington by Rhode Island native Gilbert Stuart, and other state treasures. Self-guided tours Mon-Fri 8:30 am-4:30 pm; guided tours Mon-Fri 9 am-noon (must be booked at least a week in advance). Free.

Roger Williams National Memorial, 282 North Main St. 521-7266; www.nps.gov/rowi. 4½-acre park on the site of the original Providence settlement. Exhibits, information, group programs by request. Daily 9 am-4:30 pm. Free.

BLACKSTONE VALLEY

Slater Mill Historic Site, 67 Roosevelt Ave., Pawtucket. 725-8638; www.slatermill.org. Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in America. Tue-Sun 10 am-5 pm, through September; Tue-Sun 10 am-5 pm through September; Tue-Sun 10 am-3 pm through October. $9, 65+ $8, ages 6-12 $7, younger children free.

• Oct. 7. National Spinning and Weaving Week Celebration.

• Oct. 18, Nov. 15. Candlelight Tea and Tour.

• Oct. 25. Slater Mill Wine Tasting and Auction.

• Oct. 27. Mysterious Mill Walk.

EAST BAY

Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum, 101 Ferry Rd., Route 114, Bristol. 253-2707; www.blithewold.org. 45-room mansion overlooking 33 acres of landscaped grounds, with gardens, bamboo grove and a 90-foot giant sequoia; views of Narragansett Bay from paths and 10-acre lawn. Summer exhibit: Having a Ball!, a celebration of the 1917 Debutante Season of Augustine Van Wickle, including a re-creation of the ballroom, photographs, clothing, more. Self-guided mansion and garden tours Wed-Sun 10 am-4 pm; $10, seniors/full-time students $8, free for visitors 16 and younger accompanied by an adult. Grounds and gardens open daily 10 am-5 pm; admission charged. Special program: September Days — A Kaleidoscope of Color, grounds feature flowers, fruits, nuts and berries, through September, ; with guided tours Sat-Sun 1 pm. . Special exhibit: From Observation to Illustration, works by members of the GNSI-NE, through Oct. 6.

Linden Place, 500 Hope St., Bristol. 253-0390. 1810 Federal-style mansion, home of the DeWolf/Colt family; featured in the film The Great Gatsby with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. Guided tours Thu-Sat 10 am-4 pm, Sun and selected holidays noon-4 pm. $6, seniors $5, children 11 and younger $4, children 5 and younger/members free.

NEWPORT

Astors’ Beechwood, 580 Bellevue Ave., Newport. 846-3772; www.astorsbeechwood.com. Visitors are transported to 1891 as guests of Mrs. Astor, queen of American society. Actors portray aristocrats and domestic staff who escort guests through the house. Visitors can also hear some of the music of the period performed by the Astor daughters or Nellie Melba, or even stumble upon Cole Porter working on a new song. Theme tours include Victorian Servants’ Tours and Roarin’ Twenties Tours. Open daily; hours vary. $20, youth 6-17 $8; family (two adults, two-four children) $50, children 5 and younger free. Victorian Christmas Tours, Nov. 8-Dec. 30.

Belcourt Castle, 657 Bellevue Ave., Newport. 849-1566 days, 846-0669 evenings; www.belcourtcastle.com. Built in 1894 for Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, Belcourt Castle is the only Newport Mansion where the owners still live in residence and open their home for the public to enjoy a Richard Morris Hunt masterpiece. For fall guide: Open daily for guided tours, with special evening Ghost Tours and Candlelight Tours. Hours vary. $12, $8 seniors/college students; $7 children 13-17, $5 children 5-12. Evening tours not for children 7 and younger.

Green Animals Topiary Garden, 380 Cory’s Lane (off Route 114), Portsmouth. 847-1000. 80 pieces of topiary, including geometric figures, ornamental designs, 21 animals, birds; fruit and vegetable gardens, plant shop, picnic tables. Victorian toy museum in main residence. Self-guided garden tours daily 10 am-5 pm, through Nov 16. $11, children 6-17 $4.

Historic Fort Adams, Harrison Avenue, Newport. 841-0707; www.fortadams.org. Explore the engineered tunnel system and climb the bastions for sweeping views of Narragansett Bay at the largest coastal fortification in the United States. Guided tours on the hour daily from 10 am-4 pm, through October. $10, children 6-17 $5, children 5 and under free, family rate (2 adults and up to 4 children) $25.

International Yacht Restoration School, 449 Thames St., Newport. 848-5777; www.iyrs.org. Watch shipwrights at work restoring classic sail and power boats, see the 1885 schooner yacht Coronet or take a seminar, workshop or class. Open daily 10-5, through September. Free. Special program: Scholarship Party, Fri 6-9 pm, at a harbor-side tent at the Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina, 49 America’s Cup Ave. Cocktail reception, live music. $50 includes ticket to the Newport International Boat Show (37th annual) Thu-Sun. Benefit for the school.

Newport Mansions. 847-1000; www.newportmansions.org. Daily 10 am-5 pm; last tour admission at 5 pm, grounds close 6 pm, through Oct. 8. The Breakers opens at 9 am. Kingscote tours every half hour. Oct. 9-Nov. 16: last tour admission at 4 pm, grounds close at 5 pm. Chateau-sur-Mer and Kingscote close for the season. Admission: five properties $31, youth (6-17) $10; The Breakers plus one other property $23, youth (6-17) $6. The Breakers $16, youth (6-17) $4 kids; single properties $11, youth (6-17) $4.

• The Breakers, 44 Ochre Point Ave.

• Chateau-sur-Mer, 474 Bellevue Ave. Through Nov. 16.

• The Elms, Bellevue Avenue. Rooftop and Behind-the-Scenes Tour, daily on the hour, 10 am-4 pm. The Elms Lunch, Sat-Sun and holidays 10 am-4 pm.

• Kingscote, 253 Bellevue Ave. Tours every half hour. Through Oct. 9.

• Marble House, Bellevue Avenue.

• Rosecliff, 548 Bellevue Ave. Special exhibit: In Vogue: Newport and the American Fashion Press 1880-1920 through Nov. 16. $15 advance, $18 day of show.

• Sept. 27-29. Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival. Specialty wines provided by more than 130 wineries, food, celebrity wine experts and chefs. Auction of luxury goods and international wines; seminars and cooking demonstrations.

• Nov. 17-Jan. 1. Christmas at the Newport Mansions. A holiday celebration at The Breakers, The Elms and Marble, all decorated for the holidays with thousands of poinsettias, fresh flowers, evergreens, trees and wreaths and 19th century-style ornaments.

Redwood Library & Athenaeum, 50 Bellevue Ave., Newport. 847-0292; www.redwoodlibrary.org. America’s oldest lending library features antique furnishings and an art gallery with several works by Gilbert Stuart. Mon, Fri, Sat 9:30 am-5:30 pm; Tue-Thu 9:30 am-8 pm; Sun 1-5 pm. Tours weekdays, 10:30 am.

Rough Point, 680 Bellevue Ave., Newport. Home of Doris Duke, featuring an art collection of works by Renoir, Van Dyck and Gainsborough. 847-8344; www.newportrestoration.org. Special exhibit: The Look! Doris Duke’s Day and Evening Wear. Tue-Sat 9:45 am-3:45 pm, through Nov. 10. $25, children 12 and younger free. Advance reservations recommended due to limited tour size.

Touro Synagogue, 85 Touro St., Newport. 847-4794; www.tourosynagogue.org. America’s oldest synagogue and a National Historic Site. Tours begin every half hour, Sun 11 am-3 pm, Mon-Wed, Fri 1-3 pm (last tour begins at 2:30 pm). $5, 12 and younger free.

Samuel Whitehorne House, 416 Thames St., Newport. 847-2448. Example of the Federal period, circa 1811; furnished with Townsend and Goddard furniture, Chinese porcelain; silver by Newport silversmiths; home of the Doris Duke Collection of Newport Furniture; garden. Mon, Thu-Fri 11 am-4 pm; Sat-Sun 10 am-4 pm, and by appointment, through October. $10, children 6-16 $4.

SOUTH COUNTY

Casey Farm, 2325 Boston Neck Rd. (Route 1A), Saunderstown. 295-1030; www.historicnewengland.org. 18th-century homestead overlooking Narragansett Bay. Sat 11 am-5 pm, through Oct. 13. $4; $3 seniors, $2 children.

Carpenter’s Grist Mill, Moonstone Beach Road, South Kingstown (Perryville). 783-5483. Celebrating the Flint Corn Harvest, Oct. 28, 1-4 pm. Demonstration by millers operating the water-powered grist mill, grinding flint corn for jonnycakes. A demonstration of johnnycake griddling; jonnycakes and other products available for sale.

Casey Farm, 2325 Boston Neck Rd. (Route 1A), Saunderstown. 295-1030; www.historicnewengland.org. 18th-century homestead overlooking Narragansett Bay. Sat 11 am-5 pm, through Oct. 13. $4; $3 seniors, $2 children.

Kenyon’s Grist Mill, off Route 138, Richmond-South Kingstown line. 783-4054; 800-753-6966; kenyonsgristmill.com. 1886 operating historic grist mill. Tours by appointment or by chance.

Old Washington County Jail (Pettaquamscutt Historical Society), 2636 Kingstown Rd. (Route 138), Kingston. 783-1328. Period jail cells and schoolroom; exhibit of artifacts, including women’s hats and fans, toys, textiles and furniture from South County villages. Genealogy and local history research library. Mural by Ernest Hamlin Baker, The Economic Activities of the Narragansett. Tue, Thu, Sat 1-4 pm. $3 donation ages 12 and older.

Smith’s Castle, 55 Richard Smith Drive (off Route 1), North Kingstown. 294-3521; www.smithscastle.org. One of America’s oldest plantation houses (1678). Guided tours by costumed docents. Tours Fri-Sun noon, 1, 2 and 3 pm, through October. Large group tours and special reservations welcome by appointment. $5; $1 children 6-12; members free. Grounds free every day.

• Oct. 6-13. Benefit Art Exhibition and Sale of paintings by Susan Dwyer. Oct. 7, 12-13, noon-4 pm. Opening reception Oct. 6, 4-6 pm.

• Oct. 13. Colonial Harvest Festival. Noon-4 pm. Raindate Oct. 14.

Watson Farm, 455 North Rd., Jamestown. 423-0005; www.historicnewengland.org. Historic 265-acre working farm reflecting New England life since the 17th century. The farmhouse is part of a working farm and is not open to the public. Tue, Thu, Sun 1-5 pm , through Oct. 15. $4, seniors $3, students $2, children 6 and under/SPNEA members/Jamestown residents free.

WEST BAY

Cranston Public Library, 140 Sockanosset Cross Rd., Cranston. 781-2450. Special exhibit: Black Grays and Colored Giants: Black Baseball in Rhode Island, 1883-1949. Through Oct. 31. Mon-Thu 9 am-8 pm, Fri-Sat 9 am-5 pm.

MASSACHUSETTS

Battleship Cove, Exit 5 off Route 195 East, Fall River. (508) 678-1100; www.battleshipcove.org. World’s largest collection of historic naval ships. Five National Historic Landmarks. Massachusetts’ official veterans memorial for WWII and the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf wars. Daily 9 am-5 pm. $14, 63+/AAA $12, children 6-14 $8, children 6 and younger free. Free parking.

Fall River Historical Society, 451 Rock St., Fall River. (508) 679-1071; www.lizzieborden.org. 16 rooms with art and artifacts (including a Lizzie Borden exhibit) from Fall River’s past. Tue-Fri 9 am-4:30 pm, Sat-Sun 1-4 pm; tours on the hour from 9 am-3 pm, except noon, through September; Tue-Fri 9 am-4:30 pm through early November. $6, $4 for children 6-14, children 5 and younger free.