Foster, Rhode Island
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Foster is a
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in Providence County,
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
, United States. The population was 4,469 at the 2020 census.


History

Foster was originally settled in the 17th century by British colonists as a farming community. In the year 1662, William Vaughan, Zachariah Rhodes, and Robert Wescott, purchased from the Indians a large tract of land called West Quanaug, bordering on Providence. The West Quanaug purchase included nearly the whole southern half of the town of Foster. The first English settler was allegedly Ezekiel Hopkins. Many settlers from Newport were active in the town in the 18th century. Shortly before the incorporation of the town, Foster's first church, a Calvinist Baptist congregation was founded. Shortly afterward, Six Principle Baptist and Free Will Baptist congregations were founded. Foster was incorporated with Scituate,
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
in 1730, forming the western section of that township, and remained part of Scituate until 1781, when it was split off as a distinct and separate township. Foster derived its name from U.S. Senator Theodore Foster. Mr. Foster presented the town with a library. Some of the library's original books and town records are still preserved. U.S. Senator Nelson Aldrich was born in Foster in 1841. Senator Aldrich was instrumental in starting the U.S.
Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...
Board. In the 1920s, the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
was active in the area. The largest Klan rally north of the
Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, sometimes referred to as Mason and Dixon's Line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. It was Surveying, surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason ...
was held in Foster on the Old Home Day grounds in 1924 with 8,000 in attendance and U.S. Senator J. Thomas Heflin of Alabama speaking. Foster remained a bastion of racial and religious bigotry for more than half a century. File:Solomon Drowne.jpg, Solomon Drowne, a prominent American physician, academic and surgeon during the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
Image:Foster Rhode Island Town Building.jpg, Foster Town Building, , the oldest government meeting house of its type in the United States where town meetings have been held continuously since 1801 Image:Foster Town Pound Rhode Island.jpg, The Town Pound in Foster Center Historic District,


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (1.41%) is water. Foster contains Rhode Island's highest point, Jerimoth Hill, with an elevation of .


Climate

The climate in this area experiences mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Foster has an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
, abbreviated "Cfb" on climate maps.


Demographics

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2020, there were 4,469 people and 1,504 households in the town. The population density was . There were 1,836 housing units in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 93.53%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.58%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.16% Native American, 0.85% Asian, 0.78% from other races, and 4.07% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 2.03% of the population. Foster's zip code, 02825, has a significantly larger population than the town of Foster. This is because the zip code extends into parts of the more populated town of Scituate, Rhode Island. There were 1,504 households, out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.4% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 10.6% had a male householder with no spouse present. 4.5% of all households 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 2.98 and the average family size was 3.27. In the town, the population was spread out, with 18.7% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 32.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.5 years. The median income for a household in the town was $110,782, and the median income for a family was $114,018. About 3.9% of the population was 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 ...
, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.


Education

Foster's Capt. Isaac Paine Elementary School has the top spot for reading proficiency according to the New England Common Assessment Program, or NECAP, exams. 82 percent of its students attained proficiency, the state leader in that testing category.


Arts and culture


Tourism

Foster is home to the Foster Town House. Built in 1796 and in use to this day, the Foster Town House is the oldest government meeting house of its type in the United States. Foster also contains Rhode Island's only authentic covered bridge, the Swamp Meadow Covered Bridge. Built in 1994 by Jed Dixon, a Foster resident, it is a reproduction of an early-19th-century specimen. It is the only covered bridge in Rhode Island located on a public road. Jerimoth Hill, the highest point of elevation in Rhode Island, is located in Foster. Dyer Woods, Rhode Island's only nudist campground, is in Foster.


Notable people

* Nelson Aldrich, US senator from Rhode Island; father of Abby Rockefeller; born in Foster * Solomon Drowne, physician and author; confidante of Theodore Foster; lived in Foster on a farm named Mount Hygeia * Theodore Foster, US senator from Rhode Island; the town of Foster is named after him * Clarke Howard Johnson, Rhode Island legislator and state supreme court justice * Albert W. Hicks, One of the last persons executed for piracy in the United States


Historic Places in Foster

* Foster Center Historic District * Breezy Hill Site (RI-957) * Clayville Historic District * Capt. George Dorrance House (1720) * Moosup Valley Historic District * Mount Vernon Tavern (1761) * Mt. Hygeia (1808) * Line Baptist Church (1867)


See also

*


Notes


References


External links


Foster History

Town of Foster, RI

Foster Preservation Society

South Foster Volunteer Fire Company


{{authority control Towns in Providence County, Rhode Island Providence metropolitan area Towns in Rhode Island