Scituate, Rhode Island
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scituate is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 10,324 at the 2000 census. The town was home to the Lapham Institute in the nineteenth century and named after Scituate, Massachusetts.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 141.9 km² (54.8 mi²). 126.1 km² (48.7 mi²) of it is land and 15.8 km² (6.1 mi²) of it (11.15%) is water.
One of the most prominent features of the town is the Scituate Resevoir. The large resevoir spans across a large portion of Scituate and has forever changed the face of the town. During construction of the resevoir, numerous villages were flooded along the former banks of the Pawtuxet River. Some foundations of the old structures are still visible today during times of drought. The resevoir, and a large portion of land surrounding it is owned and maintained by the Providence Water Supply Board.
The main Scituate reservoir was formed by the construction of a dam across the Pawtuxet River at the former village of Kent. The dam, principally of earth, is about 3,200 feet long and 100 feet high. Water storage in the reservoir began on November 10, 1925. An aqueduct from the dam feeds the nearby treatment plant which was placed in operation on September 30, 1926.
The original treatment plant was state-of-the-art at the time of its construction. The plant was considered to be among the most technologically advanced of its day, and for many years the filtration system was the only plant of its type in New England. As demand continued to grow, the treatment plant underwent major expansions and renovations in the 1940's and again in the '60s. Today, the plant has a maximum treatment capacity of 144 million gallons of water per day and still remains the largest treatment facility in New England. Source: http://www.provwater.com/history.htm
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 10,324 people, 3,780 households, and 2,929 families residing in the town. The population density was 81.9/km² (212.1/mi²). There were 3,904 housing units at an average density of 31.0/km² (80.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.13% White, 0.29% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.
There were 3,780 households out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.3% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 18.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $60,788, and the median income for a family was $67,593. Males had a median income of $42,392 versus $30,703 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,092. About 2.0% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Noted people
- Esek Hopkins-Naval figure in Revolutionary War.
- Stephen Hopkins (politician)-Governor of Rhode Island, Signer of the Declaration of Independence
- William West-Revolutionary War General, Lt. Governor of Rhode Island, Chief Justice of Rhode Island.
- Arthur Steere-prominent Rhode Island businessman and politician
- James Burrill Angell- President of the University of Michigan, University of Vermont
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