Providence County Rhode Island incorporated and unincorporated areas Chepachet highlighted

Chepachet is a village and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in the town of Glocester in the northwestern part of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. It is centered at the intersection of

U.S. Route 44 U.S. Route 44 (US 44) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs for through four states in the Northeastern United States. The western terminus is at US 209 and New York State Route 55 (NY 55) in Kerhonkson, ...

( Putnam Pike) and

Rhode Island Route 102 Route 102 is a numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Route 102 serves as a non-freeway beltway around the Providence metro area. It begins in the village of Wickford and travels through less developed areas of western Rhode ...

(also known as Victory Highway and Chopmist Hill Road). Chepachet's ZIP code is 02814. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a population of 1,675.

History

"Chepachet" was originally inhabited by the

Pequot The Pequot () are a Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut including the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, or th ...

and

Nipmuc The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian language. Their historic territory Nippenet, "the freshwater pond place," is in central Massachusetts and nearby part ...

natives; the name means "where rivers meet". Leading up to the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, the area was a hotbed for supporters of independence, and the Gloucester Light Infantry was founded in the Chepachet in 1774. During the Revolutionary War

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

from Newport were exiled near Chepachet, including Thomas Vernon, who recorded election celebrations in Chepachet in 1776:

This being the day for the choice of Deputies (members of the General Assembly). We are told that there is a very great resort of people of all kinds at Chepasseh, and that it is a day of great frolicking. Our landlord and his three sons are gone, having rigged themselves out in the best manner. man on horseback passed by (together with many others) with a very large bag full of cakes made by Granne West (mother to the General William West) which are to be sold to the people.

In 1842, Chepachet was the setting of the endgame of the

Dorr Rebellion The Dorr Rebellion (1841–1842) (also referred to as Dorr's Rebellion, Dorr's War or Dorr War) was an attempt by disenfranchised residents to force broader democracy in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, where a small rural elite was in control of ...

, which helped to win voting rights for non-landowners in a new state Constitution. On 4 November 1923, horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his fellow writer C. M. Eddy, Jr. ventured to Chepachet in search of a place known as "Dark Swamp" of which they had heard rumors. They never located it, but the region inspired at least the opening of Lovecraft's story ( novelette) "

The Colour Out of Space "The Colour Out of Space" is a science fiction/horror short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written in March 1927. In the tale, an unnamed narrator pieces together the story of an area known by the locals as the "blasted heath" ...

", and the setting contributed to Eddy's unfinished story "Black Noon". Chepachet is also mentioned several times in Lovecraft's story (novelette) "

The Horror at Red Hook "The Horror at Red Hook" is a short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, written on August 1–2, 1925. "Red Hook" is a transitional tale, situated between the author's earlier work and the later Cthulhu Mythos. Although the story depicts a ...

". Since 1926, the town has hosted the Ancients and Horribles parade, an annual

Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

event, notable for its political statements and ribald humor. In the 1940s, a

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

auxiliary ship An auxiliary ship is a naval ship designed to support combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliary ships are not primary combatant vessels, though they may have some limited combat capacity, usually for purposes of self-defense. Auxil ...

, the fleet fuel oil tanker, USS ''Chepachet'', was named after the

Chepachet River The Chepachet River is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows .U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 There are eight dams along the river's length. ...

which runs through the village. The ship's bell is displayed at the seat of town government, and the ship's surviving crew had a 50th anniversary reunion in the town in 1998. Beginning with a proclamation in 1976, May 25 is recognized as "Elephant Day". On that date in 1826, a popular elephant known as Betty the Learned Elephant from a traveling show was shot and killed while she was crossing the bridge spanning the Chepachet River. A group of six "hooligans" led by Canton Smith of nearby North Scituate faced charges for the crime. A commemorative plaque marks the historic location on the bridge.

Schools

The area, part of the town of Glocester, is part of the Foster-Glocester Regional School District, meaning Ponaganset High School is the only

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

for residents of Chepachet. West Glocester Elementary, an

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

in Chepachet, is part of the Glocester Elementary School District. The regional district is currently reviewing the Ponaganset High School & Middle School mascot, the Chieftain, as the local Native American tribe, the Nipmuc, have been asking for decades that it be changed.

Shops

The village has many local shops and businesses including: *Brown & Hopkins General Store *Dino's Park & Shop *Tavern on Main *Trish Hampton Dog Boutique *Village Bean Cafe *White Rock Motel

Notable people

* Asa Aldis, Chief Justice of the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The Court ...

Phil Paine Phillips Steere Paine (June 8, 1930 – February 19, 1978) was an American Major League Baseball relief pitcher who appeared in all or part of six MLB seasons between 1951 and 1958. In 1953, while serving in the military, Paine pitched in nine ga ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player

Images

Image:chepachet general store.jpg, Chepachet antique store File:Thomas Wilson Dorr Rhode Island.jpg,

Thomas W. Dorr Thomas Wilson Dorr (November 5, 1805December 27, 1854), was an American politician and reformer in Rhode Island, best known for leading the Dorr Rebellion. Early life, family, and education Thomas Wilson Dorr was born in Providence, Rhode Isla ...

, leader of the 1842 rebellion, as pictured in an 1844 book frontispiece File:Chepachet Free Baptist Church in Rhode Island.jpg, Chepachet Free Baptist Church, c. 1905. The meeting house was built in 1821.

References

External links

Death of Betty the Elephant
{{authority control Historic districts in Providence County, Rhode Island Villages in Providence County, Rhode Island Glocester, Rhode Island Census-designated places in Providence County, Rhode Island Providence metropolitan area Villages in Rhode Island Census-designated places in Rhode Island Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Providence County, Rhode Island