From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Scituate, Rhode Island
Scituate, Rhode Island
Scituate, Rhode Island West led an armed anti-federalist mob of farmers into
Providence to protest the U.S. Constitution.[3] In 1791 the
— Town — U.S. Supreme Court decided its first case, West v. Barnes,
regarding a farm in Scituate.
Location of Scituate in Providence County, Rhode Island
Coordinates: 41°47′7″N 71°36′36″W / 41.78528°N 71.61°W /
41.78528; -71.61Coordinates: 41°47′7″N 71°36′36″W /
41.78528°N 71.61°W / 41.78528; -71.61
Country United States
State Rhode Island
County Providence
Incorporated 1731
Area
• Total 54.8 sq mi (141.9 km2)
• Land 48.7 sq mi (126.1 km2)
• Water 6.1 sq mi (15.8 km2)
Elevation 440 ft (134 m)
Population (2010)
• Total 10,329
• Density 212.1/sq mi (81.9/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
DST)
• Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 02815, 02857
Area code(s) 401
FIPS code 44-64220[1]
GNIS feature ID 1220077[2]
Stephen Hopkins, signer of the Declaration of Independence
Website Town of Scituate
Scituate (pronounced /ˈsɪtʃuːɨt/) is a town in Providence Scituate was once made up of a multitude of small vil-
County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was lages, including North Scituate, Hope, Ashland, Clayville,
10,329 at the 2010 census. Elmdale, Fiskeville, Glenn Rock, Harrisdale, Jackson,
Kent, Ponaganset, Potterville, Richmond, Rockland,
Saundersville, and South Scituate. Foster was incorporat-
History ed as a separate town in 1781, taking the western half of
Scituate was first settled in 1710 by emigrants from Sci- Scituate.
tuate, Massachusetts. The original spelling of the town’s In 1915, the Rhode Island General Assembly voted to
name was "Satuit", a native Indian word meaning "cold take 14,800 acres (60 km2) of land in Scituate (38% of
brook" or "cold river." The town was a part of Providence the town) to create a reservoir to supply fresh water
until 1731. to greater Providence. This project resulted in the con-
demnation of "1,195 buildings, including 375 houses, sev-
Scituate’s first town meeting was held at the Angell Tav- en schools, six churches, six mills, thirty dairy farms,
ern in South Scituate, with Stephen Hopkins elected as eleven ice houses, post offices, and an electric railway
the first moderator and Joseph Brown as clerk. Stephen system, the Providence and Danielson Railway system".
Hopkins later became a governor of Rhode Island and was (2) The hamlets of Kent, Richmond, Rockland, South Sc-
a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His brother, ituate, Ashland, Saundersville, Ponaganset and parts of
Esek Hopkins, was Commander in Chief of the Continen- North Scituate and Clayville disappeared forever.
tal Navy beginning in 1776. In 1788 Scituate representa- Scituate has played an important role in many of the
tive, militia general and Supreme Court Justice William United States wars. During the Revolutionary War, 76
cannons were forged at the Hope Furnace in the village of
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Scituate, Rhode Island
Hope in southern Scituate. During World War II, a Federal The original treatment plant was state-of-the-art at
Communications Commission Signals Intelligence Divi- the time of its construction. The plant was considered to
sion facility on Darby Road on Chopmist Hill (41°49′11″N be among the most technologically advanced of its day,
71°38′43″W / 41.8198°N 71.6453°W / 41.8198; -71.6453) in- and for many years the filtration system was the only
tercepted German HF communications. Because of this, plant of its type in New England. As demand continued to
in 1946, the Chopmist Hill area was considered as a can- grow, the treatment plant underwent major expansions
didate for the location of the headquarters of the United and renovations in the 1940s and again in the ’60s. Today,
Nations.[4] the plant has a maximum treatment capacity of 144 mil-
lion US gallons (550,000 m3) of water per day and still re-
Proposed Town of Westconnaug mains the largest treatment facility in New England.[6]
In February 2008 Rhode Island State Representative Ni-
cholas Gorham proposed legislation to create a super Politics
town of rural communities including Scituate. Other
towns that would be included in his proposed town of In the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, Scituate was the
"Westconnaug" are West Greenwich, Exeter, Foster, Glo- only town in Rhode Island to vote for John McCain,
cester, and the western part of Coventry.[5] 51%–47% over Barack Obama.[7]
Geography Demographics
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 10,324 people,
has a total area of 54.8 square miles (141.9 km²), of which, 3,780 households, and 2,929 families residing in the town.
48.7 square miles (126.1 km²) of it is land and 6.1 square The population density was 212.1 people per square mile
miles (15.8 km²) of it (11.15%) is water. (81.9/km²). There were 3,904 housing units at an average
density of 80.2 per square mile (31.0/km²). The racial
Scituate Reservoir makeup of the town was 98.13% White, 0.29% African
American, 0.07% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.03% Pa-
One of the most prominent features of the town is the cific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 0.58% from two
Scituate Reservoir. The large reservoir spans a large por- or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75%
tion of Scituate and has forever changed the face of the of the population.
town. During construction of the reservoir, numerous There were 3,780 households out of which 36.2% had
villages were flooded along the former banks of the Paw- children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.3% were
tuxet River. Some foundations of the old structures are married couples living together, 7.5% had a female
still visible today during times of drought. The reservoir, householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were
and a large portion of land surrounding it is owned and non-families. 18.5% of all households were made up of in-
maintained by the Providence Water Supply Board. dividuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65
The main Scituate reservoir was formed by the con- years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72
struction of a dam across the Pawtuxet River at the for- and the average family size was 3.12.
mer village of Kent. The dam, principally of earth, is In the town the population was spread out with 25.5%
about 3,200 feet (980 m) long and 100 feet (30 m) high. under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to
Water storage in the reservoir began on November 10, 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of
1925. An aqueduct from the dam feeds the nearby treat- age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100
ment plant which was placed in operation on September females there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age
30, 1926. 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.
The Scituate Reservoir is the largest freshwater body The median income for a household in the town was
of water in the state of Rhode Island.[citation needed] It has $60,788, and the median income for a family was $67,593.
an aggregate capacity of 39 billion US gallons Males had a median income of $42,392 versus $30,703 for
(150,000,000 m3) and a surface area of 5.3 square miles females. The per capita income for the town was $28,092.
(13.7 km²). It and its six tributary reservoirs—which About 2.0% of families and 3.9% of the population were
make up a total surface area of 7.2 square miles below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age
(18.6 km²)—supply drinking water to more than 60 per- 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.
cent of the state population. The surrounding drainage
basin that provides water to the reservoir system covers
an area of about 94 square miles (243.5 km²), which in- Education
cludes most of the town of Scituate and parts of Foster, In 1839, the Smithville Seminary, a Freewill Baptist in-
Glocester, Johnston, and Cranston. The Scituate Reser- stitution was founded in North Scituate and existed on
voir is operated by Providence Water Supply Board. and off as an educational institution until it finally closed
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Scituate, Rhode Island
• Battey-Barden House
• Clayville Historic District
• Amos Cooke House (1812)
The Pentecostal Collegiate Institute in North Scituate, 1905.
in 1876. The Pentecostal Collegiate Institute then moved
to the former campus from Saratoga Springs, New York Hope Mill
in 1902. When PCI became Eastern Nazarene College and
left in 1919, William Holland purchased the property and • Double L Site, RI-958
moved his Watchman Industrial School and Camp there • Hope Village Historic District
in 1923. It was allegedly burned several times by the local • McGonagle Site, RI-1227
Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s and 1930s[8] and closed in 1938, • Millrace Site, RI-1039
although the summer camp operated until 1974. The • Moswansicut Pond Site, RI-960
Greek Revival buildings and campus are now the Scituate • Old Congregational Church (North Scituate, Rhode
Commons, an apartment complex on Institute Lane. Island) (1834)
• Rhode Island State Police Headquarters
• Smithville Seminary (1839)
Scituate Art Festival • Smithville-North Scituate
• Woonasquatucket River Site (RI-163)
Noted people
• Ezekiel Cornell—Delegate to the Continental
Congress
• Esek Hopkins—Naval figure in Revolutionary War.
• Stephen Hopkins—Governor of Rhode Island, Signer
of the Declaration of Independence
• Armand LaMontagne—prominent wood sculptor
• William West—Revolutionary War General, Lt.
Governor of Rhode Island, Chief Justice of Rhode
Island.
• Arthur Steere—prominent Rhode Island
Old Congregational Church (North Scituate, Rhode Island) businessman and politician
• James Burrill Angell—President of the University of
The Scituate Art Festival,[9] held every Columbus Day Michigan, University of Vermont
weekend since 1967, features over 300 artists and crafts- • Alice Howland—First librarian in Scituate; donated
people displaying and selling their artwork in the pic- the land that is now the Hope Recreational Park.
turesque New England village. Visitors number in the
200,000 to 350,000 range per festival. The Old Congrega-
tional Church grounds are used for part of the festival. See also
National Historic Places and References
Notable Sites in Scituate [1] ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census
Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved
• Andrews-Luther Farm (1768) 2008-01-31.
• Dexter Arnold Farmstead (1813)
3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Scituate, Rhode Island
[2] "US Board on Geographic Names". United States [5] Providence Journal 2008-02-09, Lawmaker proposes
Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. a super town made up of 5 towns and part of
http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. Coventry, by Lisa Vernon-Sparks
[3] The Vernon family and arms, by Harrison Ellery, [6] http://www.provwater.com/history.htm
with additions and corrections by Thomas Vernon [7] http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/
[4] BBC On This Day | 24 October 1945: United Nations county/#val=RIP00p3
Organisation is born [8] The Rhode Island Century
[9] Scituate Art Festival
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Categories:
• Populated places in Providence County, Rhode Island
• Towns in Rhode Island
• Scituate, Rhode Island
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