What to See in Cumberland - Top Sights and Attractions

Temple in Cumberland, Rhode Island. Providence Zen Center is the Head Temple of the Americas for the Kwan Um School of Zen and the first Zen center established by Seungsahn in the United States in October 1972. The PZC offers residential training where students and teachers live together under one roof, which was one of the hallmarks of Seung Sahn's philosophy concerning Zen practice in his organization. Practice at the center, and at Diamond Hill Zen Monastery, which shares the PZC property, includes sitting meditation, prostrations, and chanting.

The Providence Zen Center was originally located in Providence, Rhode Island, but in 1979 the center relocated to its current 50-acre site in Cumberland. One of the center's centerpiece landmarks is the Peace Pagoda, a towering 65-foot (20 m) high pagoda located at the front of the center grounds. PZC also serves as the U.S. headquarters for the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism.^[1]

The Luke Jillson House, also known as the Fisk House, is a historic house in Cumberland, Rhode Island. The wood-frame house is an excellent local example of Georgian style. Although a common date given for its construction is 1752, it was more likely built c. 1776 or in 1792, based on stylistic evidence.

The house is two and one-half stories tall with a flank gable roof and two interior brick chimneys, reflecting a central hall plan. The entrance, centered in a five-bay facade, has fluted pilasters supporting a cushion frieze surmounted by a modillion-trimmed cornice and pediment. A four-story, square, Italianate tower, constructed in the 19th century and connecting to a long, one-story addition, is attached to the rear elevation.

The dwelling is noted primarily for its architecture, which attests to the reputed affluence and prominence of Luke Jillson, about whom little is known. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.^[4]

The Lewis Tower House is an historic house in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

Built c. 1825, it is a Federal style house that is two-and-one-half-stories with a flank gable roof and an L-plan. The house is set into a small hill and has a one-and-one half-story, gabled ell at the rear. An original, two-story, hip-roof veranda extends across the front; its second story level continues along the side and ell. The veranda roof slope is integral with those of the main house and ell. There is a central entrance on each story in the five-bay facade beneath the veranda; the second-story entrance has sidelights and decorative trim. The house was probably standing when Lewis Tower purchased a 19-acre farmstead here from Philip Thomas in 1833.

The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.^[5]

The Whipple–Jenckes House is a historic American Colonial house at the corner of Diamond Hill Road and Fairhaven Road in Cumberland, Rhode Island. The house was built around the year 1750, enlarged slightly in 1780, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

The house is a very simple one-and-one-half-story, center-chimney cottage set behind stone walls on a large lot at the corner of Diamond Hill Road and Fairhaven Road. The asymmetrical, four-bay facade and slightly offset chimney testify that it was originally built as a half house and then later extended around 1780. The house served as the center of a small farm and cottage industries throughout most of its history. An earlier house on the site is said to have been a blockhouse during King Philip's War 1675–1677.

The Whipple–Jenckes House was constructed by Samuel Whipple beginning about 1750 when he inherited this property from his father, William Whipple, a direct descendant of John Whipple, one of the area's earliest settlers in the 1600s. At that time, the property also contained an earlier house, which is sometimes referred to in deeds as "Samuel Whipple’s old house" and in secondary sources as a "blockhouse". Its construction date is not known, but it stood immediately northeast of the present house well into the nineteenth century. Diamond Hill Road was one of the area's first primary north-south roads and is described in early deeds as the road between Providence, Rhode Island and Franklin, Massachusetts.^[7]

The Burlingame–Noon House is a historic house built around 1800 in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

The structure was originally a simple, one-and-one-half-story, five-room-plan, centre-chimney Federal style cottage, constructed in the first decades of the 19th century. In the middle of the century, it was enlarged into a two-and-one half-story, flank-gable Greek Revival house. It has panelled corner pilasters and a trabeated central entrance with sidelights and pilasters in a five-bay facade. The house has had few changes since the mid-nineteenth century and is notable for its architecture, including original Federal-period interior trim, which reflects transformations and adaptation in Cumberland's early history.

The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.^[8]