Pawtucket is a city in
Providence County
Providence County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 660,741, or 60.2% of the state's population. Providence County contains the city of Providence, the state cap ...
,
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 population was 75,604 at the
2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders
Providence and
East Providence to the south,
Central Falls and
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
to the north, and
North Providence
North Providence is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 34,114 at the 2020 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the Town of North Providence has a total area of , of which, is ...
to the west; to its east-northeast, the city borders the
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
municipalities of
Seekonk and
Attleboro.
Pawtucket was an early and important center of textile manufacturing; the city is home to
Slater Mill
The Slater Mill is a historic water-powered textile mill complex on the banks of the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, modeled after cotton spinning mills first established in England. It is the first water-powered cotton spinning mil ...
, a historic textile mill recognized for helping to found the
Industrial Revolution in the United States
The Industrial Revolution in the United States was an epoch during the first 100 years of United States history where the economy progressed from manual labor and farm labor to a greater degree of industrialization based on labor. There were ma ...
.
Name
The name "Pawtucket" comes from the
Algonquian word for "river fall."
History
The Pawtucket region was said to have been one of the most populous places in New England prior to the arrival of European settlers.
Native Americans would gather here to catch the salmon and smaller fish that gathered at the falls.
The first European settler here was
Joseph Jenks, who came to the region from
Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...
.
He purchased about 60 acres near Pawtucket Falls in 1671,
then established a
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
and forge.
These, along with the entire town, were later destroyed during
King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
.
Other settlers followed Jenks, and by 1775 the area was home to manufacturers of muskets, linseed oil, potash, and ships.
Also around this time
Oziel Wilkinson and his family set up an
iron forge that made anchors, nails, screws, farm implements, and even cannons.
Pawtucket was an early and important center of cotton textiles during the
American Industrial Revolution
The technological and industrial history of the United States describes the United States' emergence as one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world. The availability of land and literate labor, the absence of a landed arist ...
.
Slater Mill
The Slater Mill is a historic water-powered textile mill complex on the banks of the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, modeled after cotton spinning mills first established in England. It is the first water-powered cotton spinning mil ...
, built in 1793 by
Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater (June 9, 1768 – April 21, 1835) was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution" (a phrase coined by Andrew Jackson) and the "Father of the American Factory System". In the ...
on the
Blackstone River
The Blackstone River is a river in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows approximately 48 mi (80 km) and drains a watershed of approximately 540 sq. mi (1,400 km2). Its long history of industrial use has left ...
falls in downtown Pawtucket, was the first fully mechanized cotton-spinning mill in the United States. Slater Mill is known for developing a commercially successful production process not reliant on earlier horse-drawn processes developed in the United States. Slater constructed and operated machines for producing
yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manu ...
. Other manufacturers continued, transforming Pawtucket into a center for textiles, iron working, and other products.
By the 1920s, Pawtucket was a prosperous mill town. The city had over a half-dozen movie theaters, two dozen hotels, and an impressive collection of fine commercial and residential architecture.
Perhaps the most impressive public building in Pawtucket was the
Leroy Theatre
Leroy Theatre was a historic movie palace in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It was built in 1922, listed on the National Register in 1983, and demolished in 1997.
The building
The Leroy was one of the finest and largest theatres of the period in all of ...
, an ornate
movie palace that was called "Pawtucket's Million Dollar Theater".
Many wealthy mill owners such as
Darius Goff
Darius Goff (10 May 1809 – 14 April 1891) was one of the foremost textile manufacturers in the United States and a leading citizen of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He is known for introducing the manufacture of worsted braids and mohair plush ...
built their mansions in the area.
The textile business in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
declined during the
Great Depression with many manufacturers closing or moving their facilities
South where operations and labor were cheaper. Later in the 20th Century, Pawtucket began to lose some of its architectural heritage to the wrecking ball, including the Leroy Theatre.
Unlike numerous older
mill towns in the region, Pawtucket retained much of its industrial base. Today, goods produced in the city include lace, non-woven and elastic woven materials, jewelry, silverware, metals, and textiles.
Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...
, one of the world's largest manufacturers of toys and games, is headquartered in Pawtucket.
File:Nathaniel Jenks House Pawtucket RI.jpg, Jencks House
File:Map of Pawtucket, Mass July 1848.jpg, Map of Pawtucket, Massachusetts, July 1848
File:Exterior View of Walcott Brothers' Manufactory, Pawtucket.jpg, Walcott Brothers' factory in 1855
File:The Times Building, Pawtucket RI.jpg, The Pawtucket Times Building
File:Pawtucket, RI 1886 engraving.jpg, alt=Pawtucket in 1886, Pawtucket in 1886 viewed from the steeple of the Pawtucket Congregational Church
The Pawtucket Congregational Church (now known as The Temple of Restoration Pentecostal Church) is an historic church building at 40 and 56 Walcott Street, at the junction of Broadway and Walcott St., in the Quality Hill neighborhood of Pawtu ...
A tale of two states
Originally, the land west of the
Blackstone River
The Blackstone River is a river in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows approximately 48 mi (80 km) and drains a watershed of approximately 540 sq. mi (1,400 km2). Its long history of industrial use has left ...
was part of nearby
North Providence
North Providence is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 34,114 at the 2020 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the Town of North Providence has a total area of , of which, is ...
.
East of the Blackstone River was originally settled as part of the
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
town of
Rehoboth. The first Pawtucket to be incorporated was in 1828 when Rehoboth gave up their land and Pawtucket became a new town in Massachusetts.
In 1862 the eastern portion was absorbed into Providence County, Rhode Island.
On March 1, 1862, after a nearly 225-year border dispute between Rhode Island and Plymouth/Massachusetts, the area of Pawtucket and East Providence was shifted into Rhode Island, and the new border remains to this day. In 1874, the land west of the river was taken from North Providence and added to the town of Pawtucket, but acted as two different towns. Finally in 1886, West and East Pawtucket were merged and the city was incorporated.
Geography
According to the
United States 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 t ...
, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (2.89%) is water. Pawtucket lies within three drainage basins. These include the
Blackstone River
The Blackstone River is a river in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows approximately 48 mi (80 km) and drains a watershed of approximately 540 sq. mi (1,400 km2). Its long history of industrial use has left ...
(including the Seekonk River), the
Moshassuck River
The Moshassuck 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 from the town of Lincoln to the city of Provi ...
and the
Ten Mile River.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2010, there were 71,141 people, 32,055 households, and 18,508 families residing in the city. Pawtucket was the fourth most populous of Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns. The population density was . There were 32,055 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 50.4%
Non-Hispanic white, 18.9% Non-Hispanic
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.60%
Native American, 1.6% Non-Hispanic
Asian, 0.10%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, mixed race 3.9%, 4.7% other. About 25% of residents are Latino.
There were 32,055 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.7% were
married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,124, and the median income for a family was $40,578. Males had a median income of $31,129 versus $23,391 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $17,008. About 14.9% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 24.5% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.
According to the 2000 census, 20.6% of Pawtucket residents are French or French-Canadian.
[Pawtucket, RI 2000 Census](_blank)
Like nearby cities Providence,
Fall River
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state.
Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...
, and
New Bedford., Pawtucket hosts a significant population from across the former
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...
(11.6%),
including a significant
Cape Verdean population.
Pawtucket is also one of the few areas of the United States with a significant
Liberian population, mostly refugees from
Charles Taylor's regime; Rhode Island has the highest per capita Liberian population in the country. Pawtucket has a high concentration of West Africans.
Arts and culture
![Pawtucket Armory 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Pawtucket_Armory_2013.jpg)
The City of Pawtucket has been supportive of the arts community since 1975. On September 2, 1977,
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...
performed a concert at
Narragansett Park
Narragansett Park was an American race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Beginnings
On May 18, 1934, Rhode Island voters approved a measure legalizing parimutuel betting by an almost 3 to 1 margin. The following day, ...
attended by 40,000 people, the largest concert audience in Rhode Island history. In 2017, music historians Al Gomes and Connie Watrous of Big Noise were successful in getting the street where the concert stage stood (the corner of 455 Narragansett Park Drive) officially renamed as "Beach Boys Way".
In January, 1999,
Herb Weiss, of the Planning Department, was hired to oversee the City's newly created Arts District. Through the support of then Mayor James E. Doyle and Planning Department Michael Cassidy, Weiss brought significant recognition for Pawtucket-Arts oriented development strategy. Mayor Doyle and Weiss hired researcher Ann Galligan, of Northeastern University, to create an arts and cultural plan. Over the years Pawtucket has become known as a center for arts and culture.
Several experimental/indie rock bands have recorded albums at Machines with Magnets, a recording studio and art gallery in Downtown Pawtucket. Bands that have performed or recorded here include
Battles
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
,
Lightning Bolt,
Brown Bird, and
Fang Island
Fang Island was an American indie rock band formed in Providence, Rhode Island, and based in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. The group consisted of the guitarists Jason Bartell and Chris Georges, the bass guitarist Brock Hengin and the drummer ...
.
One hub for arts and culture in the city is Lorraine Mills, a repurposed mill building on the eastern side of the city, which houses institutions including
Mixed Magic Theatre, Wage House (comedy club), Pawtucket Arts Collaborative, and Crooked Current Brewery.
Each September, the city, in conjunction with the Pawtucket Arts Festival Board of Directors, members chosen from the community, produce an annual citywide Arts Festival.
![PawSox_vs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/PawSox_vs._Bisons_-_September_5%2C_2016.png)
Pawtucket is home to
McCoy Stadium
McCoy Stadium is a former baseball stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1970 through 2020, it served as home field of the Pawtucket Red Sox (PawSox), a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Completed in 1942, the stadium fir ...
, where the
Pawtucket Red Sox
The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...
, the
Triple-A Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, played from 1970 to 2020. The team was owned by
Ben Mondor until his death and was sold by his estate. The
longest professional baseball game
The Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings, two teams from the Triple-A International League, played the longest game in professional baseball history. It lasted 33 innings, with 8 hours and 25 minutes of playing time. 32 innings were pla ...
in history, 33 innings, was played at McCoy Stadium in 1981. Pawtucket has
a history of professional baseball dating back to 1892, including the
Pawtucket Indians. The PawSox franchise was relocated to
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
, to become the
Worcester Red Sox
The Worcester Red Sox (nicknamed the WooSox) are a professional minor league baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning play in 2021, the team is the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, succeeding the Pawtucket Red Sox. The ...
beginning with the 2021 season.
In 1934, the
Narragansett Park
Narragansett Park was an American race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Beginnings
On May 18, 1934, Rhode Island voters approved a measure legalizing parimutuel betting by an almost 3 to 1 margin. The following day, ...
opened for
Thoroughbred horse racing
Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...
. Until its closure in 1978, the track hosted several important races that drew some of the top horses from around the United States including
Hall of Fame members;
Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...
,
War Admiral
War Admiral (May 2, 1934 – October 30, 1959) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fourth winner of the American Triple Crown. He was also the 1937 Horse of the Year and well known as the rival of Seabiscuit in the 'Match ...
and
Gun Bow.
![Slater_Park_Bandstand](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Slater_Park_Bandstand.jpg)
Parks and recreation
*
Slater Memorial Park has full recreational facilities including tennis courts and picnic areas.
* Daggett Farm
* Water Color Gallery open to the public for viewing
* Daggett House
* Marconi Garden
Education
Public schools
Public education in Pawtucket is directed by the Pawtucket School Department and contains these schools:
Senior high schools
*
Charles E. Shea
* William E. Tolman
*
Blackstone Academy Charter School
* Jacqueline M Walsh School for the Arts
Middle schools
*
Joseph Jenks
* Samuel Slater
* Lyman B. Goff
Elementary schools
* Elizabeth Baldwin
* M. Virginia Cunningham
* Flora S. Curtis
* Curvin McCabe
* Fallon Memorial
* Nathanael Greene
* Agnes E. Little
* Potter Burns
* Francis J. Varieur
* Henry J. Winters
Catholic schools
The
Quality Hill section of Pawtucket is home to
St. Raphael Academy. It is a private college preparatory school founded on the basis of St. John the Baptist de la Salle. "Saints" is a small school consisting of roughly 500 students with a student to teacher ratio of about 15:2. The "Saints and Lady Saints" are very successful in sports including baseball, football, basketball, and softball. St. Raphael Academy is a rival of William E. Tolman. The two schools took part in a Thanksgiving Day football game that was played in McCoy Stadium for over 70 years, though game is no longer played. William E. Tolman now competes annually against its fellow Pawtucket public high school Charles E. Shea, rather than against St. Raphael Academy, a private Catholic high school.
Pawtucket was home to
Bishop Keough High School, a small all-girls catholic high school in the Fairlawn neighborhood.
The city also has three Catholic elementary schools: St. Cecilia School, St. Teresa School and Woodlawn Catholic Regional School.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Pawtucket is served by several
RIPTA local bus routes plus the
R-Line.
Pawtucket/Central Falls station on the
MBTA Commuter Rail Providence/Stoughton Line
The Providence/Stoughton Line is an MBTA Commuter Rail service in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, primarily serving the southwestern suburbs of Boston. Most service runs entirely on the Northeast Corridor between South Station in Boston and Prov ...
is planned to open on January 23, 2023, replacing the former station that closed in 1981.
Highways and roads
Interstate 95 and
U.S. 1 also traverse the western part of Pawtucket. Some of the slowest posted speeds on I-95 are in the city due to the "S-curves" near downtown. To preserve certain buildings in the city, planners snaked I-95, creating sharp bends in the highway.
Downtown Circulator
![Pawtucket Circulator map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Pawtucket_Circulator_map.png)
Pawtucket's Downtown Circulator was a one-way loop through downtown; it is similar to British concepts of
ring roads. A similar concept was also tried in Providence.
The circulator used East Avenue, High Street, Summer Street, Goff Avenue, Dexter Street and Park Place West. Each half of the Circulator carried one direction of U.S. 1; sections also carried westbound
RI 15 and northbound
RI 114
Route 114 is a numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It connects the city of Newport to the city of Woonsocket. Route 114 was a major north–south artery for its entire length until the arrival of the Interstate H ...
. It was signed with a big "C" on overhead signs.
There are no longer signs for the circulator, though the road configuration remains. Providence's Downtown Ring Roads have suffered a similar fate.
Economy
Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...
, a
Fortune 1000
The Fortune 1000 are the 1,000 largest American companies ranked by revenues, as compiled by the American business magazine ''Fortune''. It only includes companies which are incorporated or authorized to do business in the United States, and for ...
toy and game making company, is headquartered in Pawtucket.
Many healthcare, retail and insurance companies are headquartered in Pawtucket.
Fox Point Pickles, a pickling company, is headquartered in Pawtucket.
Notable people
Sister town
*
Belper,
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, United Kingdom
Belper was where Samuel Slater had been apprenticed to
Jedediah Strutt
Jedediah Strutt (1726 – 7 May 1797) or Jedidiah Strutt – as he spelled it – was a hosier and cotton spinner from Belper, England.
Strutt and his brother-in-law William Woollat developed an attachment to the stocking frame that allowed the ...
, learning the secrets of
Richard Arkwright's
Water Frame
The water frame is a spinning frame that is powered by a water-wheel. Water frames in general have existed since Ancient Egypt times. Richard Arkwright, who patented the technology in 1769, designed a model for the production of cotton thread; ...
. He is sometimes known in that area as "
Slater
A slater, or slate mason, is a tradesperson who covers buildings with slate.
Tools of the trade
The various tools of the slater's trade are all drop-forged.
The slater's hammer is forged in one single piece, from crucible-cast steel, and ha ...
the traitor".
Belper holds an annual town festival in honor of Pawtucket and Belper being sister towns.
See also
References
External links
*
*
*
{{authority control
Cape Verdean American history
Cities in Providence County, Rhode Island
Cities in Rhode Island
History of the textile industry
Providence metropolitan area