Illustration by Allie Runnion of RISD

Wander around New England long enough, and sooner or later you trip on a story that’s so bizarre you will feel compelled to pass it along to your children and grandchildren while seated near a crackling fire. (Though, with this gem, we suggest a flashlight pressed up against your chin for better effect.)

We’re about to share the story known as the root that ate Roger Williams.

That’s right -- that Roger Williams. The beloved founder of Providence, Rhode Island. A proponent of the separation of church and state, and a staunch believer of religious freedom. A leader who believed that having his portrait painted would be too vain. A forefather, who strangely, was never described physically.

“Roger is a mysterious shadow that tremendously impacted what we do to this very day, but no one knows what he looks like,” says John McNiff, park ranger at the Roger Williams National Memorial in Providence.

Back in Roger’s day, Providence wasn’t the bustling city it is today. It was a minor town compared to then-burgeoning Newport. And when people passed away, they were buried in family plots on their own land, including Williams himself, who died at age 80 in 1683.

The story goes that a man named Nathaniel Packard claimed to have seen the bones of Roger Williams when Packard was still a boy (around 1740). William’s remains were disturbed when another body was being buried nearby. That was an important event, because it marked an intersection into the grave shafts, which years later helped pinpoint Williams’ gravesite.

Meanwhile years passed and Providence flourished. Family lands that once belonged to the area’s original settlers had been carved up and sold, and by 1860, a group of citizens led by a descendant of Williams decided to dedicate a memorial in his honor. They set out to exhume the body, and to move the remains to Prospect Park, which overlooks the city of Providence and has expansive views even today.

“The remains of the foundation of Williams’ house were still intact, so they knew where to look” said McNiff. “When scraped off the top soil to see where the family graves were, they noticed several different shafts, including one that had been intersected by another.”

But when they dug down, they didn’t find much. A nearby apple tree had gotten there first.

What Zachariah Allen, early president of the Rhode Island Historical Society (RIHS) excavated in 1860 was no longer Roger Williams, but instead, a tree root -- which remarkably, was in the shape of a man. There is a long spine, a crook in the hips, a split where it followed the thighs, a bend at the knees and it continues to ankles followed by two feet that are pointed outward.

Apple trees seek out carbon, and one wound its root into the gravesite of Roger Williams, leaving only bits of bone fragments and some “greasy earth” behind. The legend goes that the tree itself had consumed the remains of beloved Roger Williams.

“It’s almost an urban legend, but it’s really true,” says McNiff.

Though, it wouldn’t be a legend without some discrepancy. Other skeletons and artifacts were discovered within blocks of this grave, and without a headstone or marker, could they have missed the grave site entirely? Or it is possible that Williams had already been moved to another location? Like any good story, an element of mystery remains.

(It’s okay to turn your flashlights off now.)

While the Rhode Island Historical Society has been in possession of the root since 1860, current deputy director for collections, Kirsten Hammerstrom says, with the exception of temporary displays and prearranged appointments, to her knowledge, it has not been on exhibit.

But all that changed this fall, when the curators of the John Brown House Museum decided to dust off the Williams root, and set it out for display. Mounted, in its more recent history, on a macabre coffin-like case, the root is now one of the first things visitors are shown when they take a guided tour of the house.

But long before its current celebrity spot in the museum, the story was passed among Rhode Islanders, and the Williams root had its fans.

Holly Polhemus, a fourth-grade teacher at Vartan Gregorian Elementary School, has been teaching her students about local Rhode Island history and Roger Williams for more than a decade, which included a field trip so the kids could see the Williams’ root for themselves.

“When the students first see the root in person, they absolutely can’t believe it. They’re apprehensive, a little fearful and excited,” says Polhemus. “And they’re quiet. It takes them aback. They’re very aware of what they’re looking at and are wide-eyed.”

Back in her classroom Polhemus celebrates with her students by baking Rhode Island-shaped sugar cookies, while parents bring in apple cider, apple juice, apples and apple pies.

“The kids will say, “I ate an apple and I thought of Roger Williams.’ It’s all so tangible. It’s captivating. This is a story that touches all ages and sparks the imagination.” says Polhemus.

We wholeheartedly agree. So go cure that morbid curiosity your harboring and see the root for yourself. We know you want to.

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John Brown House Museum
52 Power Street
Providence, RI 02906
401-273-7507
www.rihs.org/Museums.html
January through March: Tours begin at 10:30 am, 12:00 noon, 1:30 pm and 3:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays only.
April 3 to December:
Tuesdays through Fridays Tours begin at 1:30 pm and 3:00 pm
Saturdays: Tours begin at 10:30 am, 12:00 noon, 1:30 pm and 3:00 pm
Tickets: Adults, $8; Seniors and Students, $6; children 7-17, $4;
RIHS Members, FREE

And just down the street is the Roger Williams National Memorial.

Roger Williams National Memorial
282 North Main Street
Providence RI, 02903
(401) 521-7266
www.nps.gov/rowi
Open daily, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; closed January 1, Thanksgiving, and December 25.
Admission to the Memorial and all educational programs are free.