Hopkinton, Rhode Island Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Hopkinton Hopkinton, Rhode Island
Town
Country	United States
State	Rhode Island
County	Washington
Area
• Total	44.1 sq mi (114.0 km²)
• Land	43.0 sq mi (111.0 km²)
• Water	1.1 sq mi (2.8 km²)
Population (2020)
• Total	8,398
• Density	196/sq mi (75.7/km²)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	02804 (Ashaway), 02808 (Bradford), 02832 (Hope Valley), 02833 (Hopkinton), 02873 (Rockville)
Area code(s)	401
Website	http://www.hopkintonri.org

Hopkinton is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 8,398 at the 2020 census.

History
Geography
- Villages
- Adjacent Towns
Demographics
Notable people
National Historic Places
See also

History

View of Hopkinton, ca. 1860-1885

Hopkinton is named after Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Declaration of Independence who was Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations when the town was partitioned from Westerly and incorporated in 1757. Hopkinton once featured a number of industrial villages, such as Locustville, Moscow, Centerville, and Wood River Iron Works, each being named after the mill which they surrounded. Today only Hope Valley, Rockville, Ashaway, and Bradford are recognized with a post office. A section of the town has its own post office known as simply "Hopkinton." The town hall is located in the village of Hopkinton City, which was once a major stagecoach hub..

Geography

Hopkinton is found at 41.461 N latitude and 71.778 W longitude and borders Richmond and Charlestown. It is on the Pawcatuck River on the Connecticut border.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 44.1 square miles (114 km²), of which, 43.0 square miles (111 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it (2.58%) is water.

Hopkinton is the southernmost town along Rhode Island's portion of Interstate 95; as such it is the first Rhode Island town that northbound travelers encounter.

Villages

In Hopkinton, the two primary villages are Hope Valley in the north and Ashaway in the south. Two of the four elementary schools in the Chariho Regional School District are located in Hopkinton: one in Hope Valley and one in Ashaway. Other villages that are located (or partially located) in Hopkinton include Barberville, Bethel, Bradford, Burdickville, Canonchet, Centerville, Hopkinton City, Locustville, Moscow, Rockville, South Hopkinton, Woodville and Yawgoog. Almost all of these villages formed from mills on rivers. Some villages dominate others when it comes to postal addresses, home identification and where to attend school. As before mentioned, the two most dominant villages are Hope Valley and Ashaway, which have extended their borders as census-designated places into other less-known villages.

Adjacent Towns

Voluntown, Connecticut	Exeter
North Stonington, Connecticut		Richmond
	Hopkinton

	Westerly	Charlestown

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	2,462	—
1800	2,276	−7.6%
1810	1,774	−22.1%
1820	1,821	2.6%
1830	1,777	−2.4%
1840	1,726	−2.9%
1850	2,477	43.5%
1860	2,738	10.5%
1870	2,682	−2.0%
1880	2,952	10.1%
1890	2,864	−3.0%
1900	2,602	−9.1%
1910	2,324	−10.7%
1920	2,316	−0.3%
1930	2,823	21.9%
1940	3,230	14.4%
1950	3,676	13.8%
1960	4,174	13.5%
1970	5,392	29.2%
1980	6,406	18.8%
1990	6,873	7.3%
2000	7,836	14.0%
2010	8,188	4.5%
2020	8,398	2.6%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,836 people, 2,965 households, and 2,182 families residing in the town. There were 3,112 housing units at an average density of 72.4 units per square mile (28.0 units/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.82% White, 0.61% African American, 0.89% American Indian, 0.43% Asian, 0.27% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population.

There were 2,965 households, out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.9% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.07.

The population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $52,181, and the median income for a family was $59,143. Males had a median income of $39,804 versus $29,189 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,835. About 3.3% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.5% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over. As of 2017, the largest self-identified ancestry groups or ethnic groups in Hopkinton were:

Largest ancestries (2017)	Percent
English	24.8%
Irish	22.8%
Italian	18.6%
German	10.5%
French (except Basque)	10.2%
Polish	6.5%
Portuguese	4.5%
American	3.6%
Scottish	3.6%
Swedish	3.3%

Notable people

Prudence Crandall taught the first desegregated classroom in the United States; born in Hopkinton
Edward Lee Greene, botanist; born in Hopkinton
Benjamin Randall, Wisconsin State Assemblyman; born in Hopkinton
Dorcas James Spencer (1841–1933), social activist, writer
John Wilbur, Quaker minister; born in Hopkinton

National Historic Places

Hopkinton City Historic District in 2008

Black Farm
Bradford Village Historic District in Hopkinton and Westerly
Hope Valley Historic District
Hopkinton City Historic District
Tomaquag Rock Shelters
Upper Rockville Mill
Wyoming Village Historic District

Hopkinton, Rhode Island facts for kids

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