![Greene Public Library in Greene Rhode Island in Coventry RI](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Greene_Public_Library_in_Greene_Rhode_Island_in_Coventry_RI.jpg)
Greene is an unincorporated village and
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 count ...
[ in the western part of the ]town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
of Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
, United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 888. It is east of the Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
border and the same distance north of West Greenwich
West Greenwich is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 6,528 at the 2020 census. West Greenwich was named for the historic town of Greenwich, Kent, England. It was separated from East Greenwich in 1741. Stud ...
. The name derives from Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependab ...
, a Rhode Island-born general in 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 Revoluti ...
.
History
Until 1854 Greene was a swamp with a cart path running through it. The path connected Hopkins Hollow to the south and Rice City to the north. In the early 1850s, the railroad came to the area. The original train stop was known as "Coffin Station" because Coffin Road was the nearest road. In 1856 railroad officials renamed the station "Greene" after the Revolutionary War hero. It was decided to build a depot where local farmers could sell their produce to the trains heading towards Providence and Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...
. Within a few years of opening, the Greene depot was the most important station in western Rhode Island. Every morning farmers would bring their produce to sell to the 7:25 milk train
Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...
going to Providence.
As the station grew in importance, a village grew up around it, sending large amounts of milk, wood and cranberries via train. Eventually, a school, church, library, and meeting hall were built, as well as a religious campground in the Greene area, where the Advent Christian Church
The Advent Christian Church, also known as the Advent Christian General Conference (ACGC), is a "first-day" body of Adventist Christians founded on the teachings of William Miller in 1860. The organization's Executive Director is Reverend Steve ...
held annual camp meeting
The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in England and Scotland as an evangelical event in association with the communion season. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier ...
s starting in 1880 on what was previously part of the Peckham estate. The religious campground was perhaps the most important one in Rhode Island, where every summer, camp meetings were held in the style more commonly found in the South and in the Mid-West. The railroad would add on extra cars to their trains, and up to 10,000 people would attend. After the beginning of the 20th century, the camp meeting declined and ended decades later.[''Historic and Architectural Resources of Coventry, Rhode Island: A Preliminary Report'' (RI Historical Preservation Commission, 1978) http://www.preservation.ri.gov/pdfs_zips_downloads/survey_pdfs/coventry.pdf]
With the coming of the automobile in the first part of the 20th century, the railroad's importance declined greatly, and in 1969, it closed. Today, Greene is a shadow of what it once was. However, the village is mostly intact, with most of the buildings dating from the late 19th century.
Geography
The Greene census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 count ...
includes the communities of Greene, Fairbanks Corner, Rice City and Summit. Rhode Island Route 14
Route 14 is a numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It runs approximately from Connecticut routes 14 and 14A at the border with Sterling, Connecticut, to Route 6 in Providence.
Route description
Route 14 starts at the Con ...
runs along the northern edge of the CDP through Fairbanks Corner, and leads northeast to Providence and west to Moosup, Connecticut. Rhode Island Route 117
Route 117 is a state route in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its western terminus is at Route 14 in Coventry, and its eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 1A (US 1A) in Cranston.
Route description
*Coventry: 14.0 miles (22.5 km); Route 14 ...
passes through the center of the CDP, from Fairbanks Corner through Greene village, and over to Summit, eventually leading to Apponaug in the city of Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
. 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 ...
forms the eastern border of the CDP; it leads north to Clayville in the town of Scituate and south the same distance to Interstate 95 in the town of West Greenwich
West Greenwich is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 6,528 at the 2020 census. West Greenwich was named for the historic town of Greenwich, Kent, England. It was separated from East Greenwich in 1741. Stud ...
.
The Coventry Greenway, part of the East Coast Greenway
The East Coast Greenway is a pedestrian and bicycle route between Maine and Florida along the East Coast of the United States. In 2020, the Greenway received over 50 million visits.
The nonprofit East Coast Greenway Alliance was created in 1991. ...
running from Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
to Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, is a rail trail that runs through the community on the route of the old New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the Greene CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.28%, are water. The community is drained by the Moosup River
The Moosup River is a river in the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Connecticut. It flows approximately .U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 The river is named af ...
, which flows west to the Quinebaug River
The Quinebaug River is a river in south-central Massachusetts and eastern Connecticut, with watershed extending into western Rhode Island. The name "Quinebaug" comes from the southern New England Native American term, spelled variously , , etc ...
in Connecticut.
Demographics
References
{{authority control
Villages in Kent County, Rhode Island
Coventry, Rhode Island
Census-designated places in Kent County, Rhode Island
Providence metropolitan area
Villages in Rhode Island
Census-designated places in Rhode Island