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Seekonk 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
Bristol County, Massachusetts Bristol County is a county in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 579,200. The shire town is Taunton. Some governmental functions are performed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, othe ...
, United States, on the
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
border with Rhode Island. It was incorporated in 1812 from the western half of Rehoboth. The population was 15,531 at the 2020 census. In 1862, under a U.S. Supreme Court decision resolving a longstanding border dispute between Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a portion of Tiverton, Rhode Island was awarded to Massachusetts to become part of Fall River, while two-thirds of Seekonk (now eastern Pawtucket and East Providence) was awarded to Rhode Island.


History


Early years

The earliest known inhabitants of Seekonk were Native Americans from the
Wampanoag The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and forme ...
Tribe. The name Wampanoag means People of the Morning Light. This name refers to the geographical area of the tribe. Living in the East they would be the first people to greet the sun each morning. The area now known as Seekonk and Rehoboth provided agricultural and water resources with abundant food supplies. During the warm summer months the Natives spent time near the rivers and oceans in what is now Southeastern Massachusetts. In the winter months the Natives lived inland, including several locations in Seekonk. At one time there were three Native American villages in the area we now call Seekonk. There have been many spellings of the name Seekonk. Some of the various spellings include Seconch, Sink Hunk, Secquncke, Seaconke, and Squannakonk. The symbol of the goose in flight is used on the Town Seal.


Chief Massasoit

The chief of the Wampanoags at the time the colonists settled in Southeastern Massachusetts was known as Massasoit Ossamequin and had been seriously affected by a plague just prior to the arrival of the Pilgrims at
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
. A large number of Wampanoag Indians had been killed by this illness. Most historians believe this plague to have been yellow fever. Massasoit decided to make a peace treaty with the new immigrants for a number of reasons. Perhaps the most important factor was that the Wampanoags were fearful of being overtaken by the Narragansett Indians who lived nearby. Ossamequin believed an alliance with the English would help to secure the safety of his people. In 1641, the local Native Americans had granted a large part of modern-day Seekonk to purchasers from Hingham, including Edward Gilman Sr., Joseph Peck, John Leavitt and others. In 1653 Ossamequin and his son Wamsetto, also known as Alexander to the English, signed a deed granting the land that is now Seekonk and the surrounding communities to Thomas Willitt, Myles Standish and Josiah Winslow. The Wampanoags were paid 35 pounds sterling by the English settlers, for instance, for the sale to Willitt, Standish and Winslow. Three of the earliest English men to settle in the area now known as Seekonk and Providence were
William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, Justice (title), justice, and Tory (British political party), Tory politician most noted for his ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'', which became the best-k ...
,
Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...
and Samuel Newman. These men and their followers proved it was possible to provide a living away from the coastal areas. This allowed groups of individuals to separate themselves from Puritan control. In turn this led to a greater diversity of culture and religious and philosophical freedom. It was only by forming alliances with the Native Americans in both the Wampanoag and Narragansett tribes that these early settlements were able to flourish.


King Philip's War

Massasoit lived until he was 80 years old. While he lived, his people and the settlers lived in relative peace. He was followed in power by his son Wamsetto, also known as Alexander. This chief died shortly after his father and was replaced by his brother Metacomet, also known as King Philip. In 1675,
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 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...
began and both sides saw this as an opportunity to claim the land for their people and their way of life. Metacomet and his people ultimately lost the war, and the chief was killed by a mixed group of English and Indian fighters led by Benjamin Church. He was beheaded and his head stayed on public display on a pole in Plymouth for 25 years.


Incorporation to today

For the next 200 years, the area now known as Seekonk was primarily a farming community. Accounts of Town Meetings during these years communicate just how contentious deciding what was best for this area could be. Boundary disputes were common and the land that is now Rehoboth, East Providence, Pawtucket and Seekonk was claimed by both Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In 1812, the border disputes were settled by the courts and the present town of Seekonk was incorporated. Two industrial villages developed to supplement the agricultural economy, with such businesses as the Rumford Chemical Works, but what had been the industrial area of the town in the late-18th and early-19th century was lost when East Providence was incorporated in 1862, taking half of the town's territory, two-thirds of its valuation and more than two-thirds of its population. The town remained basically agricultural into the 20th century, although the Kent Manufacturing Company did make tennis racquets and croquet sets on the upper reaches of the Tenmile River. With the opening of the Providence and Taunton street railway in 1891, Seekonk became an increasingly residential suburb of Providence. Very few farms still exist in Seekonk. Developers have turned the farms into housing divisions and Seekonk is used largely as a suburban home community for people who work in the Rhode Island and Boston areas. It is now well known for its retail area along Route 6, which includes a movie multiplex, many different chain stores and restaurants, Seekonk Speedway, a 1/3 mile oval track located along Route 6, as well as Seekonk Grand Prix, with multiple amusement rides and miniature golf. Although there has been a great deal of building in Seekonk since the Wampanoags first lived here, one can still see many of the "black" Canada geese which give the town its name.


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 is water. The total area is 0.54% water. It is bordered by Rehoboth to the east, Barrington,
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 ...
and
Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
to the south, East Providence and Pawtucket,
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 ...
to the west, and Attleboro to the north. Much of the population is concentrated in two areas; one, the Lebanon Mills and Perrins Crossing neighborhoods in the north, and the other, the southern neighborhoods of Luthers Corners and South Seekonk, mostly located between Interstate 195 and Route 44. Seekonk is just five miles (8 km) east of Providence,
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 ...
, and is southwest of
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. The town has three golf courses Ledgemont Country Club (private), Pawtucket Country Club (private) and Firefly Golf Course (public). Slater Memorial Park in Pawtucket lies just over the Seekonk line, next to Pawtucket Country Club. The Town lies within two watershed areas, the Ten Mile River Watershed and the Narragansett Bay Watershed.


Transportation

The town can be accessed through one interstate, I-195, as well as Route 6, Route 44, Route 152 and Route 114A. Seekonk has its own exit on I-195, Massachusetts Exit 1, Route 114A, which provides easy access to Route 6 to the south and Route 44 to the north. Route 152, while not connected to any other state route in town, is a major route running between East Providence and Attleboro. From the south end of town, access can be had by the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) stop on Commerce Way. From the north end of town, easy access can be had to
Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
and the South Attleboro stop of the MBTA's commuter line between Providence and Boston. That end of town is also served by a regional transit authority, the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA). The town's nearest airport is T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island, near Providence away. Logan International Airport is the nearest international airport, away in Boston.


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 15,531 people and 5,847 households in the town. The population density was . There were 6,057 housing units in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 87.96%
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 ...
, 1.40%
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 ...
, 0.20% Native American, 2.88% Asian, 0.02%
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 ...
, 1.80% from other races, and 5.74% from two or more races. 3.59% of the population were
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. There were 5,847 households, out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.9% 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, 19.6% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 10.7% had a male householder with no spouse present. Of all households, 7.3% were made up of individuals, and 4.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.02. In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.1% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 34.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. The median income for a household in the town was $116,310, and the median income for a family was $139,621. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $50,340. 4.4% 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 ...
. 3.5% of those under the age of 18 and 10.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. In the year 2000 the population was 13,425, with 6,517 males (48.5%) and 6,908 females (51.5%). Popular ancestries of the population include Portuguese (22.0%), Irish (21.4%), English (16.7%), French (14.4%), Italian (11.9%) and French Canadian (6.4%).


Government

On the state level, Seekonk is part of the Fourth Bristol state representative district, including Rehoboth and parts of Norton and Swansea, and the Bristol and Norton state senatorial district, including part of the city of Attleboro and all or parts of the towns of Dover, Foxborough, Mansfield, Medfield, Norton, Rehoboth, Sharon and Walpole. Seekonk's state representative is Steve Howitt representing the 4th Bristol District. Seekonk is patrolled by Troop D (Southeast District), 4th Barracks (located in Middleborough) of the Massachusetts State Police. On the national level, the town is part of Massachusetts Congressional District 4, which is represented by Jake Auchincloss. The state's Senior (Class I) Senator is Elizabeth Warren, and the state's Junior (Class II) Senator, is
Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of ...
. Seekonk is governed by an Open Town Meeting led by a
Board of Selectmen The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the Executive (government), executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three ...
. The town has a central police station on Route 44, and a central post office at the corner of Routes 44 and 114A. The Seekonk Public Library is located near the center of town along Route 152. The town also has a branch of the
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
. Seekonk's current board of selectmen are: Justin Sullivan (Chairman), Christopher Zorra (Vice Chairman), Adam Petronio (Clerk), David J. Andrade, and Michael P. Healy. The current Town Administrator is Shawn E. Cadime.


Fire Department

The Seekonk Fire Department provides all fire and paramedic services to the town. The Department responded to 3,157 calls for emergency services in fiscal year 2017. There are 38 career firefighters, consisting of 4 groups of 9 firefighters. 2 Monday–Friday daytime Captains and Chief of the Department, Sandra J. Lowery. The Fire Department operates the following stations and apparatus.


Education

Seekonk has its own public school system, with four active schools. The town has two elementary schools: Mildred H. Aitken Elementary School (serving the north and central parts of town), and George R. Martin Elementary School (serving the south). North Elementary School closed during the summer of 2006 after 95 years of service due to budget cuts. Dr. Kevin M. Hurley Middle School, named for a popular town educator, is located along Route 152 and serves the town's 6th through 8th grade population. Seekonk High School is located near the center of town. Seekonk athletics teams are nicknamed the "Warriors," and its school colors are Columbia blue, navy blue, and white though traditionally the school colors are Columbia blue and white. The school uses the "spear" logo made famous by
Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
and, formerly, the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
. Seekonk is the southernmost member of the Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School district, which is centered in Franklin. High school students may also choose to attend Bristol County Agricultural High School in Dighton, or any of a number of religious schools in the surrounding communities (the closest school in-state being Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro).


Notable people

* Jon Blais, also known as Blazeman, was an American triathlete noted for his fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and is the namesake of the Blazeman Foundation * John Gregorek, former middle distance runner * John Gregorek Jr., middle distance runner * Bill Harley, musician, storyteller, and entertainer * Cristina Nardozzi, Miss Massachusetts USA 2005 * Latroya Pina, Troy Pina and Jayla Pina, sibling swimmers who were selected to represent
Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...
at the 2018 African Swimming Championships, the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, and the
2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
* Ken Ryan, former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
* Andrew Skurka, professional backpacker and
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
"Adventurer of the Year" 2007 * Jason Swepson, American college football coach (Elon University, N.C. State, Boston College) and former player at
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...


See also

* North Seekonk, Massachusetts * Seekonk Meadows Park * Seekonk Public Schools


References


External links


Town of Seekonk

Seekonk Public Library
{{Authority control 1812 establishments in Massachusetts Providence metropolitan area Towns in Bristol County, Massachusetts Towns in Massachusetts