Misquamicut () is a census-designated place and fire district in southern
Washington County, Rhode Island
Washington County, known locally as South County, is a county located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,839. Rhode Island counties have no governmental functions other than as court administrat ...
, United States. It is part of the town of
Westerly. The population was listed as 434 in the 2020 census.
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Name
Misquamicut is a Narragansett word meaning "Red Fish Place" or "Salmon Place".
History
The district was once known as Pleasant View. The land was purchased from Chief Sosoa of the Montauks in 1661. The name was changed from Pleasant View to Misquamicut in 1928. The area suffered a series of devastating hurricanes that wiped out beach homes, hotels, and other structures in 1938, 1944, and 1954. A portion of the oceanfront became Misquamicut State Beach
Misquamicut State Beach () is a seaside public recreation area in the town of Westerly, Rhode Island. It occupies a portion of Misquamicut Beach, a barrier island that extends westward from Weekapaug to Watch Hill and separates Winnapaug Pond ...
in 1959.[
Atlantic Beach Park is a privately operated amusement center with of land and buildings within the Misquamicut section of beachfront. It lies south of Misquamicut State Beach and north of ]Winnapaug Pond
Winnapaug Pond (also known as Brightman Pond) is a breached saltwater lagoon in Westerly, Rhode Island, United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in N ...
, a source of Rhode Island quahogs and bay scallops.
This section of Misquamicut was originally called "Atlantic Beach Casino". It retains a carousel
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...
with antique band organ, rides, bumper car
Bumper cars or dodgems are the generic names for a type of flat amusement ride consisting of multiple small electrically powered cars which draw power from the floor or ceiling, and which are turned on and off remotely by an operator. They are ...
s, a game room, and an ice cream stand. More recently, miniature golf, go-carts, a batting cage, water slides, and a gift shop have been added.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Misquamicut has a total area of 1.25 mi2 (3.23 km2), of which 1.17 mi2 (3.04 km2) is land and 0.075 mi2 (0.19 km2), or 6.0%, is water.
Demographics
2020 census
The 2020 United States census counted 434 people, 254 households, and 120 families in Misquamicut. The population density was 370.0 per square mile (142.9/km). There were 869 housing units at an average density of 740.8 per square mile (286.0/km). The racial makeup was 96.54% (419) 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 ...
or European American
European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...
(96.31% non-Hispanic white
Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...
), 0.0% (0) black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or African-American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
, 0.69% (3) Native American or Alaska Native
Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...
, 0.46% (2) Asian, 0.0% (0) Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
or Native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiʻi was set ...
, 0.23% (1) from other races, and 2.07% (9) from two or more races
Multiracial Americans, also known as mixed-race Americans, are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The term may also include Americans of mixed-race ancestry who self-identify with just one group culturally and socially (cf. t ...
. 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 was 1.15% (5) of the population.
Of the 254 households, 10.6% had children under the age of 18; 40.6% were married couples living together; 28.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 47.2% of households consisted of individuals and 24.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.8 and the average family size was 2.2. The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 44.2% of the population.
6.0% of the population was under the age of 18, 2.5% from 18 to 24, 11.3% from 25 to 44, 35.3% from 45 to 64, and 44.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 63.7 years. For every 100 females, the population had 109.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 107.1 males.
The 2016-2020 5-year American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
estimates show that the median household income was $74,375 (with a margin of error of +/- $47,378) and the median family income was $118,214 (+/- $26,394). Females had a median income of $45,536 (+/- $27,563). The median income for those above 16 years old was $47,500 (+/- $32,404). Approximately, 10.0% of families and 8.2% 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 ...
, including 53.8% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those ages 65 or over.
The ancestry was 36% Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
, 23.6% Irish, 20.9% English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
, 10.6% German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, 4.7% Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
* Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
, 3.4% French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
, and 2.2% Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
.
References
External links
Misquamicut Fire District
{{authority control
Census-designated places in Washington County, Rhode Island
Westerly, Rhode Island
Census-designated places in Rhode Island
Populated coastal places in Rhode Island
1661 establishments in Rhode Island