Weekapaug () is a census-designated place 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, part of the town of Westerly. The population was 425 at the 2010 census.

History

"Weekapaug" is a Narragansett word meaning "at the end of the pond". The area is not as well known as neighboring Watch Hill, although it has had summer cottages since 1877. It was known as "Noyes Beach" from 1701 to 1899, named after Reverend James Noyes who purchased .

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 CDP has a total area of 1.20 mi (3.1 km), of which 1.16 mi (3.0 km) is land and 0.036 mi (0.09 km) (3.00%) is water. The Winnapaug and Quonochontaug salt ponds dominate the area. Each pond is open to the Atlantic Ocean via a breachway lined with rock jetties. Most of the rock is

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

which is readily available in the Westerly area, the quarrying of which was once its primary industry.

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 467 people, 243 households, and 82 families in Weekapaug. The population density was . There were 657 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 95.07% (444)

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 ...

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 ...

(94.65%

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 ...

), 0.43% (2)

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 ...

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. ...

, 0.21% (1) 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 ...

, 1.28% (6) 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 ...

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 ...

, 0.21% (1) from other races, and 2.78% (13) 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 was 1.28% (6) of the population. Of the 243 households, 15.2% had children under the age of 18; 55.6% were married couples living together; 21.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 33.3% of households consisted of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.1 and the average family size was 3.0. The percent of those with a bachelor's degree or higher was estimated to be 31.3% of the population. 12.4% of the population was under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 15.8% from 25 to 44, 32.3% from 45 to 64, and 35.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 59.0 years. For every 100 females, the population had 97.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 96.6 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 $59,583 (with a margin of error of +/- $11,252) and the median family income was $48,482 (+/- $7,123). Males had a median income of $31,583 (+/- $16,694) versus $34,167 (+/- $17,926) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $33,250 (+/- $12,323). Approximately, 7.3% of families and 4.4% 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 7.4% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those ages 65 or over.

In popular culture

Al Harrington—a rapid-talking

recurring character A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main f ...

on ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

''—is president and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Al Harrington's Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tube Man Emporium and Warehouse on Route 2 in Weekapaug. (The southern terminus of Route 2 is actually about 9 miles or 14.5 km northeast of Weekapaug.) In Season 18 episode 3 of the series, Babs and Peter visit Weekapaug, which is revealed as her hometown.

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...

's song "Weekapaug Groove" is named after the town.

References

* Aubin, George Francis. (1975). A Proto-Algonquian Dictionary. Ottawa : National Museums of Canada. * Huden, John C. (1962). ''Indian Place Names of New England'', Museum of the American Indian Heye Foundation.

External links

Weekapaug Foundation

Phish History
{{authority control Census-designated places in Washington County, Rhode Island Westerly, Rhode Island Providence metropolitan area Census-designated places in Rhode Island Populated coastal places in Rhode Island