More than 40 buildings on 500 acres: a village unto itself.
On the grounds of two adjoining 19th century farms, the Ladd School once spanned more than 500 acres, having grown from a small enclave of simple cottages to a sprawling campus of more than 40 buildings fulfilling all the needs of a self-contained community.
From offices to dormitories, schools and hospitals, a power plant, and even a fire station, the institution was a village unto itself thriving on the soil upon which it was built as much as it did on the sweat and tears of nearly 5,000 Rhode Islanders who, for over a span of 86 years, lived, worked and died there in virtual exile.
Drawn from official reports, institutional letters, and records no one was meant to read again, House Dogs in the Turnips resurrects the voice of Dr. Joseph H. Ladd as a posthumous memoir written in the aftermath of a murder accusation that brought his career to an end.
Maybe we'll email you.