fb-pixel1830s shoes found in historic R.I. building - The Boston Globe Skip to main content
NEWPORT, R.I.

1830s shoes found in historic R.I. building

A pair of nearly two-centuries-old shoes has been discovered under the floorboards of a historic building in Newport. The Newport Daily News reported that the shoes were discovered during a renovation of the Colony House, the fourth oldest state house still standing in the United States. They found the brown leather men’s shoes hidden away when they removed some floorboards as they looked for a route to install fiber optic cables. Experts have dated the shoes to around the 1830s and believe they were left there during a renovation in the 1840s. Ruth Taylor, executive director of the Newport Historical Society, said it was a custom to leave old shoes in houses when they were built as a way to bring good luck.