Rehoboth, Massachusetts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rehoboth, Massachusetts | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Bristol County |
| Settled | 1636 |
| Incorporated | 1645 |
| Government | |
| - Type | Open town meeting |
| Area | |
| - Town | 46.8 sq mi (121.1 km²) |
| - Land | 46.5 sq mi (120.4 km²) |
| - Water | 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km²) |
| Elevation | 50 ft (15 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Town | 10,172 |
| - Density | 218.8/sq mi (84.5/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 02769 |
| Area code(s) | 508 / 774 |
| Website: http://www.town.rehoboth.ma.us/ | |
Rehoboth is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,172 at the 2000 census.
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[edit] History
Rehoboth, named for the Biblical place, is among the earlier incorporated towns in Massachusetts, having been incorporated in 1645. Among its founding families was the Rehoboth Carpenter Family. When it was first granted as part of the Plymouth colony, the town of Rehoboth included all of Seekonk, Massachusetts and East Providence, Rhode Island, and parts of the nearby communities of Attleboro, North Attleborough, Swansea and Somerset in Massachusetts, and Barrington, Bristol, Warren, Pawtucket, Cumberland, and Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Through the years, due to cedings of land and incorporations of the neighboring communities, Rehoboth has taken its present shape. The town was and still is a site of crossroads which help to serve Taunton, Providence, Fall River and points to the north.
It is the site of Anawan Rock, where Captain Benjamin Church surrounded and captured Anawan, a Wampanoag sachem and advisor to King Philip, and his men, effectively ending the campaigns in Southeastern Massachusetts of King Philip's War. The Wampanoags had taken this position above Squannakonk Swamp to hide from the colonists. (Although a desolate place at the time, the rock itself is not far off of modern-day Route 44.)
Rehoboth also has a claim to one of the birthplaces of public education in North America. Upon incorporation, the Newman Church in modern-day East Providence elected to support a teacher for the congregation's children. Because of the lack of separation between church and state at the time, Rehoboth claims one of the earliest known education systems in America. One of the town's landmarks is also education related; the Hornbine School located in the southeast corner of town was built in 1845 as one of the town's nine one-room schoolhouses.
Today Rehoboth is mostly a suburban community, with small historic sites dotting the landscape. Although it is an increasingly suburban, bedroom community, many townspeople still like to consider Rehoboth a rural community.
[edit] Geography and transportation
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 121.1 km² (46.8 mi²). 120.4 km² (46.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (0.60%) is water. Much of the land is hilly and swampy, with most of its brooks and swamps feeding into the Palmer River, which empties out into Narragansett Bay to the south. The town has a small state forest in the northeast corner, and two small conservation areas: Borden Conservation Area near the center of town and Rehoboth Conservation Area along the Palmer River in the south.
Rehoboth shares its entire western border with Seekonk. It is also bordered by Attleboro and Norton to the north, Taunton and Dighton to the east, and Swansea to the south and southeast. Rehoboth's localities are: Four Corners, Hornbine, Kingmans Corner, North Rehoboth, Pecks Corner, Perrys Corner, Perryville, Rehoboth Village and South Rehoboth. The town is located 11 miles east of Providence, Rhode Island and 50 miles southeast of Boston.
The town does not have many major routes. The longest state routes through town, U.S. Route 44 and Route 118, intersect near the center of town. Route 6 and Interstate 195 run though the southwest corner of town for approximately 0.7 and 1.5 miles, respectively. Exit 2 off of I-195 ("Route 136/Warren, R.I.-Newport, R.I.") is located just south of the interstate's passing into Swansea, and can be reached by Kingsley Way (which also leads into Rte. 136).
Rehoboth is a part of the Greater Attleboro-Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA), which provides bus service to towns in central Bristol and Plymouth Counties. The nearest rail service is in Attleboro, where there are two stops on the MBTA's Providence line. The nearest local airport is in Taunton; the nearest national airport is T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island, less than 20 miles away; and the nearest international airport is Logan International Airport in Boston, 53 miles away.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 10,172 people, 3,523 households, and 2,871 families residing in the town. The population density was 84.5/km² (218.8/mi²). There were 3,597 housing units at an average density of 29.9/km² (77.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.70% White, 0.35% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.50% of the population.
There were 3,523 households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.8% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.5% were non-families. 14.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $65,373, and the median income for a family was $71,992. Males had a median income of $45,557 versus $32,445 for females. The per capita income for the town was $26,467. About 2.1% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Government, services, and education
The town is part of the Fourth Bristol state representative district, including Seekonk and parts of Swansea and Norton. In the state senate, the town is part of the Bristol and Norfolk district, which includes part of the city of Attleboro and all or part of the towns of Dover, Foxborough, Mansfield, Medfield, Norton, Seekonk, Sharon and Walpole. Rehoboth is patrolled by Troop D (Southeast District), 4th Barracks (located in Middleborough) of the Massachusetts State Police. On the national level, the town is part of Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district, which is represented by Jim McGovern. The state's senior (Class I) Senator, re-elected in 2006, is Ted Kennedy, and the state's junior (Class II) Senator, up for re-election in 2008, is John Kerry.
The town is governed by an open town meeting run by a board of selectmen. The town has a central police and fire station, as well as branch fire stations in North and South Rehoboth. The Blanding Library is located in the Goff Memorial Hall, also near the center of town.
Rehoboth's educational system can be traced back to the earliest days of the town (see "History" for more details). Today, it shares the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District, formed in 1958 and expanded to include all schools in 1987, with its neighbor to the east. The high school, Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School, is located just across the town line in North Dighton. The town has two schools, the D. L. Beckwith Middle School and the Palmer River Elementary School, both located on Winthrop Street (Rte. 44).
Rehoboth has no direct affiliations with any regional vocational schools; the closest are in Taunton and Fall River. Students can, however, attend Bristol County Agricultural High School in Dighton. The town is also home to one private school, the Cedar Brook Seventh-day Adventist School, which is a K-8 school.
[edit] Trivia
Rehoboth was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records for the town with the most golf courses in the United States. Today there are six: Rehoboth, Crestwood, Sun Valley, Pine Valley, Hidden Hollow and Middlebrook.
