In the 1820s, the neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island, that free Blacks, poor whites and immigrants can afford is named Hard Scrabble, also home to saloons and brothels.

On October 17, 1824, a street fight breaks out when a Black man refuses to yield to a group of passing white men.

The following evening, a mob of at least 40 but as many a couple hundred white men armed with axes and clubs attack the neighborhood. As thousands of people — including police — watch, they completely demolish at least 20 buildings, including homes.

Only two men will be found guilty of rioting, and their sentences are overturned on technicalities.

Many former Hard Scrabble residents relocate in the nearby Snow Town neighborhood, which will be the site of another riot in seven years.