Medium sized shopping center.

"The establishment of the Howard Reservation, which includes the Boys Training School, was Rhode Island’s first attempt to provide statewide social services through publicly supported and administered institutions.

In 1866, a state Board of Charities and Corrections was established for the purpose of consolidating into one “state farm” a house of correction, a state asylum for the incurably insane, and a state almshouse. The two-fold goal was to raise standards for the indigent while at the same time lifting this burden from the local towns and cities.

There was a machine shop, a carpenter shop, a printing shop, a mason shop and a blacksmith shop where the boys learned useful trades. The boys also helped construct their own environment, so the elements that compose the structures themselves reflect the philosophy that created and guided the school throughout its history. The bricks, stone and mortar, as well as the woodwork, bear silent testimony to the benefits of honest labor (or hold the ghosts of the past). "
-Art In Ruins, http://www.artinru...velop/sockanosset/

From what I understand, this used to be a very popular exploration spot for Rhode Island locals while I was still a baby. I vaguely remember the original site from as young as 8 or so, and around age 11, I remember asking my dad to take me to the abandoned site to poke around, which he didn't do.