Tiverton Things to Do Tips by Pawtuxet

You don't need a restaurant

Here is a guy who knows how to enjoy Tiverton. He brought his own cooler and lunch..and found this magnificent little spot in the middle of the lawn surrounded by historic stone walls...and just off the main street. He was cool, comfy and not far from everything else he came here to do. Smart man.

Explore..shop...enjoy the architecture

Tiverton's little business district is small, but rich in interesting shops and merchandise. You need to do some walking to explore things that are found behind the main street shops in order to get a real "Tiverton experience".
There is a terrific gift shop/home goods store that I love to poke around in. Vintage linens, ironstone dishware, and a sampling of books, furniture, paper weights, and whatever ... should amuse you.
The zoning must be very strict here because every business is housed in a picture perfect building with appropriate signage. A National Historic District, they are doing an excellent job of retaining their heritage and atmosphere.

Slurpin an ice cream cone

My husband sat on the old stone wall at Gray's ice cream stand. The setting is so beautiful, but you can't capture it in one photo. The historical society property is just over the stone wall. They have beautiful grounds and out buildings, so folks sit around enjoying the view as well as their ice cream.
At Gray's the crowd collects under the trees to eat their ice cream and watch the cows on the other side of the fence. There is a black one behind the "ice creamers" here. Sort of an interesting juxtaposition, huh?

Entering the Antique Field

There is a $6.50 entrance fee (with newspaper coupon.. $7 without the coupon) to attend the Antique show. You can go in and out as we did at lunch time.
Dealers pack into these UHaul trucks or their private vans...not too much sleep when they are getting set up for a show.
Karen found a fantastic vintage watering can for her garden.

Go to the Antique Show in July and August

We are just back from the 4th of July antiques show and sale in Tiverton. There are some very special items to be found here. You enter the grounds where the sale is staged behind the buildings on the main street. The show is held in a little shaded municipal park.
There is a small building where several of the dealers display rather special items..usually fine art and upscale furniture which wouldn't do well outside on the lawns.
One of my favorites is the couple who display on the porch. Early hand stitched quilts caught my eye on this trip. These folks travel with a 14 year old Golden Retreiver in their van. I like to visit him too.

Always a nice day to combine the show with stops in local shops and the ice cream store. Oh! Don't forget the many produce stands along the roadways...as well as some terrific garden shops.

Blacksmith's finest....vintage 1700's - 1800's

This is one of my favorite dealer's booths. They deal in primarily early iron ware. We bought several items so we could cook in our fireplace and in the brick oven we had restored in our 1770 house. These folks always seem to find the nicest pieces of early iron ware.