Burrillville, Rhode Island

Burrillville () is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,158 at the 2020 census.

History

Burrillville was probably first settled sometime around 1662, when the first Europeans began to settle the Nipmuc lands. The Town was originally a part of Glocester, Rhode Island. John Smith and members of the Saulsbury family were among the earliest settlers. Samuel Willard treated many smallpox victims in South Uxbridge and Glocester (Burrillville), and he had the scars to prove it. In 1806, The Town of Burrillville became a separate town and consisted of of land in the northwestern corner of Rhode Island, bordering Connecticut and Massachusetts. Later boundary disputes with Massachusetts and Glocester reduced this land area by the mid-19th century. Joktan Putnam was the first town moderator. The Nipmuc word for snake was rendered "askug" by Roger Williams in his ''A Key Into the Language of America,'' and "askoog" by the Reverend John Eliot in his Algonquian translation of the Bible. Burrillville's principal village, Pascoag, named after the stream upon which it is located, probably derives from this Algonquian root. Gradually in the early-to-mid-19th century, the various mills and villages took shape such as Harris mills, and the village of Harrisville, Mapleville mills, Oakland mills etc. Buck Hill was known for a colorful band of counterfeiters. The town is today part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, New England's, historic National Park area. Burrillville was home to many historic mills, many of which have either been burned, demolished, abandoned or renovated. The Stillwater Mill Complex in Harrisville is home to the Clocktower apartments, which used to be the old Tinkham textile mills (factual content requested). The site is also home to the recently built Jesse Smith Library.

It was incorporated as an independent municipality on November 17, 1806, when the Rhode Island General Assembly authorized the residents of then North Glocester to elect its own officers. The town was named for 19th century United States senator James Burrill, Jr. who was then the Rhode Island Attorney General.

Until 1846, the Sherman Farm was owned by the family. It totaled over and was once the largest fruit and dairy farm in the state. The farmhouse had 32 rooms.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 57.2 square miles (148.0 km²), of which 55.6 square miles (143.9 km²) is land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²) (2.76%) is water.

Villages

Burrillville is further divided into villages: Glendale, Harrisville, Mapleville, Nasonville, Oakland, and Pascoag.

Climate

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, there were 16,158 people and 6,029 households in the town. The population density was . There were 6,701 housing units in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 92.75% White, 0.65% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.22% from other races, and 4.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.43% of the population.

There were 6,029 households, out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 22.2% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 15.2% had a male householder with no spouse present. Of all households, 8.6% were made up of individuals, and 3.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 18.7% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 30.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years.

The median income for a household in the town was $111,829, and the median income for a family was $129,363. The per capita income for the town was $46,197. About 6.9% of the population was below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

In the Rhode Island Senate, Burrillville is a part of the 23rd District and is currently represented by Republican Jessica De La Cruz. At the federal level in the U.S. House of Representatives, Burrillville is in Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district, which is currently represented by Democrat Seth M. Magaziner.

In presidential elections, Burrillville has traditionally leaned Democratic; however, in 2016, Donald Trump became the first Republican to win the town in over three decades when he defeated former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by approximately 22 points. This was the best Republican performance since 1920.

Burrillville was also one of seven towns in Rhode Island where independent candidate Ross Perot finished in second place during the 1992 presidential election. Perot received 2,018 votes (31.47 percent) behind Bill Clinton's 2,454 votes (38.27 percent) and ahead of George H. W. Bush's 1,880 (29.32 percent).

Notable people

* Vice Admiral Walter E. Carter Jr., naval flight officer and President of the U.S. Naval War College
* Oscar Lapham, U.S. Congressman
* Henry Francis Walling, cartographer

National Historic Register sites

* Bridgeton School (1897)
* Harrisville Historic District
* Moses Taft House (Burrillville, Rhode Island) (1786)
* Oakland Historic District
* Pascoag Grammar School (1917)

See also

*

References

Further reading

* ''History of the State of Rhode Island with Illustrations'', Albert J. Wright, Printer No. 79 Mille Street, corner of Federal, Boston. Hong, Wade & Co., Philadelphia 1878.

External links

Town of Burrillville official website


€”''History of the State of Rhode Island with Illustrations''

Burrillville History Site by Town Historian Patricia Mehrtens


€” Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor

Nipmuck Nation website—Nipmuck tribe extended into what is today Burrilville

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Providence metropolitan area
Towns in Providence County, Rhode Island
Towns in Rhode Island