Get Your Holidays On! Cranston Historical Society Open Houses. Tree Lighting. TODAY

The Cranston Historical Society will host two Holiday Open Houses TODAY, Sunday, December 1st. They will be at the Joy Homestead and Sprague Mansion. The events, which are free to the public, will feature period decorations, and refreshments.

From 11am to 1pm, the Joy Homestead, at 156 Scituate Ave., will be open to the public.

The Joy Homestead, also known as the Job Joy House, is a historic house on Old Scituate Avenue in Cranston. This 2+1⁄2-story gambrel-roof wood-framed house was built between 1764 and 1778. It was occupied by members of the Joy family until 1884, and was acquired by the Cranston Historical Society in 1959. It was a stopping point on the first day’s march in 1781 of the French Army troops marching from Providence to Virginia during the Revolutionary War. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Then, from 3 pm to 5 pm, the Sprague Mansion, at 1351 Cranston St., will be open. Special guests will include Cranston Mayor Kenneth Hopkins, Secretary of State Gregg Amore, and city officials.

Mayor Hopkins will bring greetings from the city at 4 pm, and at 4:30 pm there will be the outdoor tree lighting.

The Governor William Sprague Mansion is an historic mansion and museum at 1351 Cranston Street in Cranston. The house was the birthplace of Governor William Sprague III and his nephew, Governor William Sprague IV. The Spragues were founders of the Sprague Print Works in 1808, which later became the Cranston Print Works. Three generations of Spragues lives in the house. The house was built around 1790. It was expanded in 1864 to add a wide hall and wide, winding staircase, for the purpose of entertaining his social contacts from financial, political, and social circles. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.