Swansea, Massachusetts
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Swansea 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 in southeastern
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 ...
, United States. It is located at the mouth of the Taunton River, just west of Fall River, south 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 ...
, and southeast 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 ...
. The population was 17,144 at the 2020 census. The villages of Hortonville, Barneyville and Ocean Grove are located in the town. Swansea is a part of the South Coast region of Massachusetts which encompasses the cities and towns that surround Buzzards Bay (excluding the
Elizabeth Islands The Elizabeth Islands are a chain of over 20 small islands extending southwest from the southern coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts in the United States. They are located at the outer edge of Buzzards Bay, north of Martha's Vineyard, from whic ...
, Bourne and Falmouth), Mount Hope Bay and the Sakonnet River.


History

Swansea was named for the Welsh city of
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 ...
, which had been the hometown of some original settlers. John Miles, the founder of the first Baptist Church in Wales, moved to Swansea . William Brenton had purchased the land from Native Americans. Parts of its territory were originally part of Rehoboth, Massachusetts. In 1667 the first Baptist church in Massachusetts relocated to Swansea from Rehoboth after experiencing
religious intolerance Religious intolerance or religious bigotry is intolerance of another's religious beliefs, practices, faith or lack thereof. Statements which are contrary to one's religious beliefs do not constitute intolerance. Religious intolerance, rather, ...
there, and Swansea was incorporated as an independent town. Initially, the town established a committee to assign rank of 1, 2, or 3 to the residents with the first getting 3 acres of land, the second 2, and the third 1. The committee could promote and demote residents as it saw fit. The system collapsed in 1681 when the committee voted to make five residents the highest rank and to make the rank hereditary. The town unanimously voted to abolish the system. On June 20, 1675, the first Native American attack of
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 ...
had all 70 settlers confined to their
stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...
. The attack had taken place at the Miles Garrison, near the Palmer River. By June 25 the entire town had been burned, although a handful of the colonists escaped to
Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...
. When the active war ended in 1676, the town was soon rebuilt. The Miles (or Myles) Garrison stood the test of time, but was demolished in the 1970s. The plot it was on remains overgrown, free from construction, and a commemorative marker was placed there by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1912. After the war, many small industries, such as forges, ironworks and fisheries, opened up in the town. Many would later leave, and there remains a large agricultural sector. What is now
Barrington, Rhode Island Barrington is a suburban, residential town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States, approximately southeast of Providence. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 17,153. Barrington was founded by Congregationalist separ ...
(part of Massachusetts until 1747) was separated from the rest of Swansea in 1717, over religious differences. In the late 1890s, trolleys connected the town to Providence, Fall River and Taunton, and the town has retained a suburban residential feel. Today Swansea is well known for its retail areas. Swansea gained national attention in 1985 when Mark Hoyle, a young
hemophilia Haemophilia (British English), or hemophilia (American English) (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a long ...
c who had contracted
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
through a
blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's Circulatory system, circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used ...
, was allowed to attend public schools by Jack McCarthy, Superintendent of Schools. It was the first time in the U.S. that a student known to have the disease was allowed to enter public schools. The case came to national attention around the same time as that of
Ryan White Ryan Wayne White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990) was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after his school barred him from attending classes following a diagn ...
in Indiana, and helped many children with HIV attend schools throughout the country. Hoyle died one year later, and a new elementary school was named in his honor.


Geography

The town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 9.67%, is water. The town is bordered by Dighton on the northeast,
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
on the east, Mount Hope Bay on the south,
Warren, Rhode Island Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2020 census. History Warren was the site of the Pokanoket Indian settlement of Sowams located on a peninsula within the Pokanoket region. The reg ...
, on the southwest,
Barrington, Rhode Island Barrington is a suburban, residential town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States, approximately southeast of Providence. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 17,153. Barrington was founded by Congregationalist separ ...
, on the west, and Seekonk and Rehoboth to the north. Part of the town's border with Somerset is made up of the Lees River. The Cole, Kickemuit and Palmer rivers also pass through the town on their way south to Mount Hope Bay (for the Kickemuit, Cole and Lees rivers) and
Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. S ...
(for the Palmer). The entire town is a part of the Narragansett Bay watershed area. The town's neighborhoods include Barneyville, North Swansea, Swansea Village, Birch Swamp Corner, Hortonville, Luther Corner, South Swansea, Touissett, Ocean Grove, and Smokerise. Swansea is southeast of Providence and south 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 ...
. Much of the town's retail businesses are located along the highways, with the area around the junction of U.S. Route 6 and Massachusetts Route 118 where the former Swansea Mall was located. Just north of the mall are several office complexes), doctor's offices and other offices. The area along Route 103 between the Lees River and the Cole River is also an area for retail, with many smaller businesses lining the road. Outside of the retail area (as well as the densely populated neighborhoods of Ocean Grove, South Swansea and Smokerise), much of the area is rural.


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 17,144 people and 6,741 households in the town. The population density was . There were 6,904 housing units in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 92.64%
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 ...
, 0.61%
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 ...
, 0.09% Native American, 1.00% Asian, 0.01%
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 ...
, 0.89% from other races, and 4.77% 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 2.19% of the population. There were 6,741 households, out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% 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, 26.0% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 11.6% had a male householder with no spouse present. 7.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.99. In the town, the population was spread out, with 19.3% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.4 years. The median income for a household in the town was $116,627, and the median income for a family was $133,596. 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 $65,163. About 2.8% 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 ...
, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.


Government

On the state level, Swansea is a part of two state representative districts, the Fourth Bristol (including Rehoboth, Seekonk and part of Norton, Rep. Steve Howitt) and Fifth Bristol (including Dighton, Somerset and part of the city of Taunton, Rep. Patricia Haddad). The town is part of the First Bristol and Plymouth state senatorial district, which includes the communities of Fall River, Freetown, Lakeville, Rochester, Somerset and Westport, currently Senator Michael Rodrigues (D-Westport) represents Swansea. Swansea is patrolled by Troop D (Southeast District), 3rd (Dartmouth) Barracks of the
Massachusetts State Police The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for law enforcement and vehicle regulation across the state. As of 2024, it has 2,500 sworn troop ...
. On the national level, the town is part of Massachusetts's 4th congressional district, which is represented by Jake Auchincloss. The state's senior Senator is Elizabeth Warren and the state's junior Senator is Edward Markey. The town is governed by Selectmen and an Administrator. Swansea also maintains the tradition of open Town Meetings. As of 2001, total property values are assessed at $980 million, and property taxes amount to $15 million. The town operates on a budget of approximately $10 million, which does not include another $13.5 million spent on schools. The town has four fire stations (the Central station being in South Swansea, with branch stations in North Swansea, Central Swansea and Ocean Grove), one library, a single police station, and a new post office. The town has two playgrounds, as well as a town beach with a picnic area (near the mouth of the Cole), and the town conservation farm.


Education


Secondary

The Swansea Public Schools serve the town, with four elementary schools (Joseph G. Luther Elementary School at Luther's Corner, Gardner Elementary School in the South Swansea-Ocean Grove neighborhood, Elizabeth S. Brown Elementary School near the town center, and Mark Hoyle Elementary School in North Swansea), as well as Joseph Case Junior High School and Joseph Case High School, both located in the town center. Case High School (as it is commonly known) has the school colors of maroon and gold, and its mascot is the Cardinal. High school students also have the option of attending Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School in Fall River, or Bristol County Agricultural High School in Dighton. There are two Christian schools in town, and there are also local Catholic schools in nearby Warren and Fall River.


Post-secondary

Eastern Nazarene College The Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) was a Private university#United States, private, Christian college in Quincy, Massachusetts, United States. Established as a Holiness Movement, holiness college in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1900, the college m ...
previously offered Adult Studies/LEAD classes in Swansea, until they shuttered operations in 2025.


Transportation

The town is bisected by Interstate 195, U.S. Route 6, and state routes 103, 118 and
136 136 may refer to: *136 (number) *AD 136 *136 BC *136 (MBTA bus), a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route *136 Austria 136 Austria is a main-belt asteroid that was found by the prolific asteroid discoverer Johann Palisa on 18 Ma ...
. Swansea has two exits off I-195 serving the town, Exit 5 (Route 136) and 8 (Route 6 to Route 118). In addition, Exit 10 (Route 103) in Somerset provides quick access to the Ocean Grove neighborhood. Swansea is the western terminus of the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) bus line. Regional bus service can be reached in Fall River, and the nearest regional rail service is in Providence. The nearest national airline service can be reached at T. F. Green Airport in Rhode Island, and international service can be reached at Logan International Airport in Boston. *


Notable people

* Antone S. Aguiar Jr., politician * Benjamin Brown, politician * Benjamin Carpenter, military officer * Oliver Chace, businessman * Warren A. Cole, lawyer * Mark Anthony DeWolf, merchant * Bob Evans, wrestler * Joshua K. Ingalls, inventor * David Leite, writer * John Myles, founder of Swansea * David J. Place, politician * Cheryl Wheeler, musician * Thomas Willett, politician


References


Further reading

* ''History of Swansea, Massachusetts, 1667–1917'', by Otis Olney Wright


External links


Town of Swansea official website
{{authority control Towns in Bristol County, Massachusetts Populated places established in 1667 1667 establishments in Plymouth Colony Providence metropolitan area Towns in Massachusetts Populated coastal places in Massachusetts