Bicknell joined the Rhode Island Society of the
Sons of the American Revolution in 1896 and was the founder of the National Society of the Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims and
Order of the Founders and Patriots of America (1898). He re-established and was the president of the
American Institute of Instruction, and was president of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction and the National Educational Association. He was the president of the New England Publishing Company. In 1914, wanting to have a town named for him, he offered a 1,000-volume library to any town in
Utah that would adopt his name. Two towns vied for the prize, Grayson and Thurber; the two towns compromised, and in 1916 Thurber changed its name to
Bicknell, and Grayson took the name of
Blanding, the maiden name of Bicknell's wife. The towns then split the library with 500 books to each. Bicknell and his wife, Amelia, donated $500 to the Rehoboth Antiquarian Society in Rehoboth to establish the Blanding Public Library in memory of Amelia's parents, Christopher and Chloe Blanding. In addition to education, he was also active in civic activities and the church. He served as commissioner from Rhode Island to the Universal Exposition at
Vienna, Austria. He helped establish the
U.S. Postal Code system as a member of the 1878 Postal Congress. He served as president in over thirty associations and organizations and was a member in over one hundred. He was president of the International Sunday School Union, the Massachusetts Congregational Sunday School Union, the Chautauqua Teachers' Reading Union, and the New England Sunday School Association. Thomas W. Bicknell died in
Providence, Rhode Island on October 6, 1925. ==Writings==