North Providence, Rhode Island
Encyclopedia
North Providence is a town
in Providence County
, Rhode Island
, United States
. The population was 32,078 at the 2010 census
.
The town has the distinction of being the smallest by area (5.8 square miles) in the smallest state (1,214 square miles). Though at only 1.29 square miles (3.3 km²), the city of Central Falls is Rhode Island's smallest municipality. Warren
holds the title for smallest town (8.6 square miles) in the smallest county
(45 square miles) of the smallest state. Despite its small footprint, North Providence has the eighth-highest population of Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns, and the second-highest of the state's towns after Coventry
, Rhode Island's largest municipality by land area.
, the town has a total area of 5.8 square miles (15 km²), of which, 5.7 square miles (14.8 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (2.07%) is water.
Within the town, there are several villages and neighborhoods, such as Allendale, Centredale, Fruit Hill, Greystone, Louisquisset, Lymansville, Marieville, Woodville, and Geneva.
North Providence is bordered by Providence
to the south, Johnston
to the west, Smithfield
and Lincoln
to the north, and Pawtucket
to the east.
Established in 1636 and incorporated as a town in 1765, it originally included parts of what are today the cities of Providence
and Pawtucket
.
North Providence elected its first mayor in 1974. Since then, the town has been governed by a mayor and seven-member town council.
The town has had four elected mayors:
From 1974 - 1994: Salvatore Mancini
From 1994 - 1996: G. Richard Fossa
From 1996 - 2007: A. Ralph Mollis
From 2007–present: Charles Lombardi
Tax Collector: Claudette Mooney
The Centredale Manor Restoration Project Superfund Site
From at least 1921-1971, the Centredale Manor area of North Providence was contaminated by textile, chemical, and drum recycling industries that discarded toxic liquids and wastes into the surrounding soil and river (EPA 1999).
In 2000, the United States Environmental Protection Agency
declared a 9 acres (36,421.7 m²) area including parts of Centredale Manor and Brook Village, both affordable housing units for senior citizens, a superfund
site. The agency documented high levels of toxic chemicals like dioxin, VOCs
, and PCBs in fish as well as soil from the area. Because of this the area has been fenced off from the community with warning signs against eating contaminated fish, and is undergoing evaluation for clean-up.http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/nar1572.htmhttp://www.woonasquatucket.org/centredale.htm
Town Council Arrests
On May 4, 2010, three members of the North Providence Town Council were arrested by the FBI and charged in Federal Court with taking a $25,000 bribe so that a developer could build a supermarket in their town.
of 2000, there were 32,411 people, 14,351 households, and 8,538 families residing in the town. The population density
was 5,720.2 people per square mile (2,207.0/km²). There were 14,867 housing units at an average density of 2,623.9 per square mile (1,012.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 91.98% White, 2.65% African American
, 0.17% Native American, 1.85% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.58% from other races
, and 1.76% from two or more races. 3.85% of the population were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race.
There were 14,351 households out of which 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples
living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.5% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the town the population was spread out with 18.3% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 87.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $39,721, and the median income for a family was $51,655. Males had a median income of $36,624 versus $27,854 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $23,589. About 5.6% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.8% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.
New England town
The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other...
in Providence County
Providence County, Rhode Island
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 621,602 people, 239,936 households, and 152,839 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,504 people per square mile . There were 253,214 housing units at an average density of 613 per square mile...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 32,078 at the 2010 census
United States Census, 2010
The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census of the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the reference date used in enumerating individuals...
.
The town has the distinction of being the smallest by area (5.8 square miles) in the smallest state (1,214 square miles). Though at only 1.29 square miles (3.3 km²), the city of Central Falls is Rhode Island's smallest municipality. Warren
Warren, Rhode Island
Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 10,611 at the 2010 census.-History:Warren was the site of the Indian village of Sowams on the peninsula called Pokanoket , and was first explored by Europeans in 1621, by Edward Winslow and Stephen Hopkins...
holds the title for smallest town (8.6 square miles) in the smallest county
Bristol County, Rhode Island
The border with Bristol County, Massachusetts is rather unusual since the counties both share the same name. The only other instances in which two neighboring counties with the same name share a state border are Sabine County, Texas and Sabine Parish, Louisiana, Union Parish, Louisiana and Union...
(45 square miles) of the smallest state. Despite its small footprint, North Providence has the eighth-highest population of Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns, and the second-highest of the state's towns after Coventry
Coventry, Rhode Island
Coventry is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 35,014 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of . of it is land and of it is water...
, Rhode Island's largest municipality by land area.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 5.8 square miles (15 km²), of which, 5.7 square miles (14.8 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (2.07%) is water.
Within the town, there are several villages and neighborhoods, such as Allendale, Centredale, Fruit Hill, Greystone, Louisquisset, Lymansville, Marieville, Woodville, and Geneva.
North Providence is bordered by Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
to the south, Johnston
Johnston, Rhode Island
Johnston is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 28,769 at the 2010 census. Johnston is the site of the Clemence Irons House a stone-ender museum and the only landfill in Rhode Island...
to the west, Smithfield
Smithfield, Rhode Island
Smithfield is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. It includes the historic villages of Esmond, Georgiaville, Mountaindale, Hanton City, Stillwater and Greenville...
and Lincoln
Lincoln, Rhode Island
Lincoln is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 21,105 at the 2010 census. Lincoln is located in northeastern Rhode Island, north of Providence....
to the north, and Pawtucket
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 71,148 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state.-History:...
to the east.
History
Founding HistoryEstablished in 1636 and incorporated as a town in 1765, it originally included parts of what are today the cities of Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
and Pawtucket
Pawtucket
Pawtucket may refer to:* Pawtucket, Rhode Island* Pawtucket Falls , Lowell, Massachusetts* Pawtucket tribe* 2 ships named USS Pawtucket* Pawtucket Brewery, fictional brewery on the television series Family Guy...
.
North Providence elected its first mayor in 1974. Since then, the town has been governed by a mayor and seven-member town council.
The town has had four elected mayors:
From 1974 - 1994: Salvatore Mancini
From 1994 - 1996: G. Richard Fossa
From 1996 - 2007: A. Ralph Mollis
From 2007–present: Charles Lombardi
Tax Collector: Claudette Mooney
The Centredale Manor Restoration Project Superfund Site
From at least 1921-1971, the Centredale Manor area of North Providence was contaminated by textile, chemical, and drum recycling industries that discarded toxic liquids and wastes into the surrounding soil and river (EPA 1999).
In 2000, the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
declared a 9 acres (36,421.7 m²) area including parts of Centredale Manor and Brook Village, both affordable housing units for senior citizens, a superfund
Superfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
site. The agency documented high levels of toxic chemicals like dioxin, VOCs
Volatile organic compound
Volatile organic compounds are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary, room-temperature conditions. Their high vapor pressure results from a low boiling point, which causes large numbers of molecules to evaporate or sublimate from the liquid or solid form of the compound and...
, and PCBs in fish as well as soil from the area. Because of this the area has been fenced off from the community with warning signs against eating contaminated fish, and is undergoing evaluation for clean-up.http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/nar1572.htmhttp://www.woonasquatucket.org/centredale.htm
Town Council Arrests
On May 4, 2010, three members of the North Providence Town Council were arrested by the FBI and charged in Federal Court with taking a $25,000 bribe so that a developer could build a supermarket in their town.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 32,411 people, 14,351 households, and 8,538 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 5,720.2 people per square mile (2,207.0/km²). There were 14,867 housing units at an average density of 2,623.9 per square mile (1,012.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 91.98% White, 2.65% African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 0.17% Native American, 1.85% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.58% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.76% from two or more races. 3.85% of the population were Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
of any race.
There were 14,351 households out of which 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.5% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the town the population was spread out with 18.3% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 87.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $39,721, and the median income for a family was $51,655. Males had a median income of $36,624 versus $27,854 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $23,589. About 5.6% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.8% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people from North Providence
- Ernie DiGregorioErnie DiGregorioErnest DiGregorio is a retired American National Basketball Association player.DiGregorio played on the 1968 Rhode Island champions at North Providence High School....
, former NBANational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
player - Jim GilchristJim GilchristJames "Jim" Walter Gilchrist, Jr. is the American co-founder and president of the Minuteman Project, an activist group whose aim is to prevent illegal immigration across the United States's southern border.-Early life:...
, founder of the controversial Minuteman Project - Danielle LacourseDanielle LacourseDanielle Lacourse is a Miss USA first runner up from North Providence, Rhode Island who competed in the Miss USA 2007 pageant.....
, Miss Rhode Island USAMiss Rhode Island USAThe Miss Rhode Island USA competition is the beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state Rhode Island in the Miss USA pageant....
2007, first runner-up at Miss USA 2007Miss USA 2007Miss USA 2007, the 56th Miss USA pageant, was held in Hollywood, California, on March 23, 2007, after two weeks of events and preliminary competition. The winner of the pageant was Rachel Smith, of Tennessee.... - Zellio ToppazziniZellio ToppazziniZellio Louis Peter Toppazzini was a professional ice hockey player who played 123 games in the National Hockey League. He played with the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, and Chicago Black Hawks...
, NHL - AHL hockey player, Rhode Island RedsProvidence RedsThe Providence Reds were a hockey team that played in the Canadian-American Hockey League between 1926–1936 and the American Hockey League from 1936 to 1977, the last season of which they played as the Rhode Island Reds. The team won the Calder Cup in 1938, 1940, 1949, and 1956...
Player of the Century, Providence CollegeProvidence CollegeProvidence College is a private, coeducational, Catholic university located about two miles west of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, the state's capital city. With a 2010–2011 enrollment of 3,850 undergraduate students and 735 graduate students, the College specializes in academic...
Head Coach - Bob Giammarco, former Providence radio talk show host and elected official in Cranston