| Westport, Massachusetts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Town — | |||
| View of the South Wattupa Pond at sunset | |||
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| Location in Bristol County in Massachusetts | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Massachusetts | ||
| County | Bristol | ||
| Settled | 1670 | ||
| Incorporated | 1787 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | Open town meeting | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 64.4 sq mi (166.8 km2) | ||
| • Land | 50.1 sq mi (129.6 km2) | ||
| • Water | 14.3 sq mi (37.1 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 50 ft (15 m) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 15,532 | ||
| • Density | 310.0/sq mi (120.0/km2) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP code | 02790 | ||
| Area code(s) | 508 / 774 | ||
| FIPS code | 25-77570 | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0618287 | ||
| Website | http://www.westport-ma.com | ||
Westport is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,532 at the 2010 census.[1]
The village of North Westport lies in the town.
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Westport, so named because it was the westernmost port in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was first settled in 1670 as a part of the town of Dartmouth by members of the Sisson family. The river, and the land around it, was called "Coaksett" in the original deed; the name now spelled "Acoaxet" lives on in the southwestern community along the western branch of the Westport River. Like many areas in the region, Westport was affected by invading Wampanoags during King Philip's War. Several small mills were built along the Westport River, and in 1787, the town, along with the town of New Bedford, seceded from Dartmouth.
There were several cotton mills along the river, the largest of which was at the junction of the river with Lake Noquochoke on the Dartmouth town line. The Macomber turnip traces its ancestry to turnips sowed in Westport shortly after 1876. During the Second World War, a coastal defense installation was raised on Gooseberry Island. The town is now mostly residential, with a large farming community. Horseneck Beach State Reservation, located to the north and west of Gooseberry Island, is a popular summer destination for many in the area.[2]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 64.4 square miles (167 km2), of which 50.1 square miles (130 km2) is land and 14.3 square miles (37 km2), or 22.27%, is water. The majority of that water area is from the Watuppa Ponds along the border with Fall River, as well as Westport Harbor, where the two branches of the Westport River meet before emptying into Buzzards Bay. Westport is bordered by Fall River to the northwest and west, Dartmouth to the east, Buzzards Bay to the south, and Little Compton and Tiverton, Rhode Island, to the west. Westport is the southwesternmost town of Bristol County.
There are several unofficial localities within town; the most prominent of these are Acoaxet, Head of Westport, South Westport, Westport Point, and Westport Factory. Acoaxet is unique among them, in that because of the west branch of the Westport River, it is inaccessible by land except by passing through neighboring Little Compton, Rhode Island. Westport is approximately 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and approximately 60 miles (97 km) south of Boston.
Winter: Season effects begin in early December and end in mid March with snowy conditions. The snowiest times of the winter season in Westport are in January and February. Day temperatures: Highs in the 30's. Night temperatures: Lows in the 20's. The coldest time of the year in Westport occurs in January, during which residents can see a week-long stretch of temperatures in the 10's and can even hit 0 degrees (F) at night (rare). Spring: Seasonal effects of spring begin in the end of March and end in mid-May, with mostly rain in March and April and sun/rain in May. Day temperatures: Highs in the high 50's/ 60's. Night temperatures: Lows in the high 40's/ 50's. Summer: Seasonal effects begin in the end of May and end in mid-September, with mostly sunny conditions. Most rain comes at night, but there can be a few rain days. Hurricanes/ tropical storms usually hit or come close to Westport during late August and September. Day temperatures: Highs in the 80's. Nigh temperatures: Lows in the 60's and 70's. The hottest time of the year in Westport occurs in mid-July when residents can usually see one random day of high temperatures at or near 100 degrees (F) and get a one-week stretch of temperatures in the low 90's. Fall/ Autumn: Seasonal effects begin in the end of September and end in the end of November with mostly sunny crisp, cool days. Day temperatures: Highs in the 50's. Night temperatures: Lows in the high 30's and 40's.
Hurricanes: Tropical systems usually hit Westport or come close to Westport in the end of August and the entire month of September. The last tropical system to hit Westport was Tropical Storm Irene on Sunday, August 28, 2011, which hit the town at about 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) and brought mostly wind which knocked down many trees and tree branches. The storm also did huge damage to Westport's East Beach and East Beach Road, as the powerful waves ripped apart the entire street. Tropical Storm Irene, which had previously been a category 3 hurricane, then downgraded to a category 2 when hitting the Carolinas and Virginia, and hit New Jersey as a category 1, was downgraded by only 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h) to a tropical storm before hitting Westport.
Other natural disasters: Usually hurricanes are the only natural disasters to affect Westport. A tornado has never been spotted in Westport, but in the early parts of summer, some tornadoes have touched down in other parts of Massachusetts. A major earthquake has never been felt in Westport, but about every five years a very weak earthquake may be felt or sometimes not felt at all.
The town is accessible via Interstate 195, U.S. Route 6, and Massachusetts Route 177, which has its eastern terminus at its intersection at Route 6. Massachusetts Route 88, the longest state highway in Massachusetts to be entirely located within one town, serves as an access from I-195 to Horseneck Beach State Reservation via Exit 10.
There is bus service along Route 6 provided by the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA). During the summer, service is extended to Horseneck Beach. Regional bus service can be reached in Fall River, and regional rail service can be reached in Providence. Recently plans have been in the works to bring commuter rail service to Fall River; however, the plans have not yet been finalized. The nearest airport is New Bedford Regional Airport, 8 miles (13 km) away. National airline service can be reached at T. F. Green Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island, 36 miles (58 km) away.
On the state level, Westport is located in the Eighth Bristol state representative district, which includes parts of Fall River. The town is represented by Senator Joan M. Menard (D-Fall River), Assistant Majority Leader in the state senate in the First Bristol and Plymouth district, which also includes Fall River, Freetown, Rochester, Somerset and Swansea. On the national level, the town is part of Massachusetts's 4th congressional district, which is represented by Barney Frank. The state's senior (Class II) Senator, re-elected in 2008, is John Kerry. The other Senator is Scott Brown, elected in 2010. Westport is patrolled by the 3rd (Dartmouth) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police.
Westport is governed by an open town meeting, led by a board of selectmen. There is a central police department located directly south of the Town Hall in Central Village. Westport has a Full Time Fire Department, along with call firefighters, the town has two fire stations located in the north and south of town. The Fire Department also staffs 2 Advanced Life Support Ambulances 24 hours a day. There are four post offices for the town's two ZIP codes; The main post office on Route 6, a smaller branch near the Head of Westport, and the branch in Central Village serve the zipcode 02790, while 02791 (Westport Point) is served by the Central Village station and at the point itself. The town's library is located next to Westport Elementary School and Westport Middle School, directly west of the Head of Westport.
Westport has its own school system. There are four schools: Alice A. Macomber School, in the north of town, provides pre-school (pre-kindergarten) and kindergarten classes; Westport Elementary, near the Head of Westport, serves grades 1-4; Westport Middle, next to Westport Elementary, serves grades 5-8; and Westport High School, which serves grades 9-12. Westport High is unique in that it sometimes refers to it's arts and music departments as a separate "academy". Students who graduate from Westport with enough credits in certain fields of study will earn special academy certificates, in addition to their high school diplomas. This was modelled after University-style degrees. Their team name is the Westport Wildcats who have won multiple championships in the Mayflower League. The Wildcats are one of the very few teams in the Mayflower League who have won multiple championships in every sport. Their mascot is the Wildcat, and their colors are brown and white (a legacy of when Westport was in a different league that used Ivy League colors - Westport using Brown University's brown and white). The school is a member of the Mayflower League, and competes against smaller schools in the region.
Westport High School is also home to the only daily high school newspaper in the country, The Villager. Produced by the students of the high school, the publication is ranked as one of the best high school papers in the country and is often entered in competitions with college newspapers throughout the U.S.
In addition to their schools, high school students may choose to attend Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School in Fall River or Bristol County Agricultural High School in Dighton, free of charge. They may also choose Bishop Stang High School in Dartmouth or Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River which includes a yearly fee of between $5,000 and $10,000. Juniors and Seniors may opt to take college classes at UMass Dartmouth in Dartmouth or Bristol Community College in Fall River to earn both high school and college credits. Internships and independent study are offered as well.
There is one private school in the town, Montessori School of the Angels which serves grades 1-8, located in the Westport Factory neighborhood. It was formerly known as Saint Joseph's Montessori, and was located in Fall River; the school building itself was formerly the Saint George's School, which closed due to lack of funding and declining attendance. Several students also attend private and charter schools in Fall River and Dartmouth, including Bishop Connolly High School and Bishop Stang High School.
Westport is a huge basketball and baseball town. Westport has multiple sports offered at Westport High School. The school's Westport Wildcats have won many awards and trophies in the past fifty plus years. Westport High School has boys basketball, girls basketball, field hockey, boys soccer, boys golf, girls volleyball, baseball, softball, and tennis (boys and girls). While Westport does not have their own football team, students from WHS can go to Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River to play football, girls soccer, boys lacrosse, and track (boys and girls). All teams usually have a successful season every year, and play to win. These teams travel locally for the most part around Southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and also a few cities up near Boston. Allen Levrault gratuated from Westport High School in 1995. Levrault was a professional baseball player in the MLB from years 1996 to 2004.
Westport Middle School also has school sports teams such as boys and girls soccer, field hockey, boys basketball, girls basketball, baseball and softball. These teams travel around Southeastern Massachusetts, no farther than Bridgewater, MA which is a few miles south of Boston.
The town also has their own organized sports program, the Westport Youth Athletics Association (WYAA) which serves sports from as soon as even three years old, all the way up until 8th grade. The WYAA's goal is to give kids the chance to play any sport they want no matter what athletic standers they meet. The WYAA offers boys basketball, girls basketball, soccer, baseball and softball. Go to wyaa.net to get more information.
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1850 | 2,795 | — |
| 1860 | 2,707 | −3.1% |
| 1870 | 2,724 | +0.6% |
| 1880 | 2,894 | +6.2% |
| 1890 | 2,599 | −10.2% |
| 1900 | 2,890 | +11.2% |
| 1910 | 2,928 | +1.3% |
| 1920 | 3,115 | +6.4% |
| 1930 | 4,408 | +41.5% |
| 1940 | 4,134 | −6.2% |
| 1950 | 4,989 | +20.7% |
| 1960 | 6,641 | +33.1% |
| 1970 | 9,791 | +47.4% |
| 1980 | 13,763 | +40.6% |
| 1990 | 13,852 | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 14,183 | +2.4% |
| 2010 | 15,532 | +9.5% |
Source: United States Census records and Population Estimates Program data.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] |
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As of the census[13] of 2010, there were 15,532 people, 5,386 households, and 4,082 families residing in the town. The population density was 283.4 people per square mile (109.4/km²). There were 6,143 housing units at an average density of 122.7 per square mile (47.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.01% White, 0.17% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population.
There were 5,386 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.9% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.2% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the town the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 29.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $55,436, and the median income for a family was $64,568. Males had a median income of $41,890 versus $30,921 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,281. About 3.7% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.5% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.
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