Smithfield, Rhode Island Facts for Kids

Smithfield is a town that is located in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. It includes the historic villages of Esmond, Georgiaville, Mountaindale, Hanton City, Stillwater and Greenville. The population was 22,118 at the 2020 census. Smithfield is the home of Bryant University, a private four year college.

History
Geography
Demographics
Education
- Bryant University
Economy
- Principal employers
Notable people
Friendship cities
See also

History

Greenville Bank at the turn of the twentieth century

The area comprising modern-day Smithfield was first settled in 1663 as a farming community by several British colonists, including John Steere. The area was originally within the boundaries of Providence until 1731 when Smithfield was incorporated as a separate town. The town was named after John Smith, a first settler of Providence, according to the town's official website: https://www.smithfieldri.com/history/#:~:text=The%20Town%20of%20Smithfield%20was,first%20settlement%20in%20Rhode%20Island..

Chief Justice Peleg Arnold lived in early Smithfield, and his 1690 home still stands today. There was an active Quaker community in early 18th century Smithfield that extended along the Great Road, from what is today Woonsocket, north into south Uxbridge, Massachusetts. This Quaker community, and its members, became influential in the abolition movement, with members such as Effingham Capron and Abby Kelley Foster, and also gave rise to other Quaker settlements including one at Adams, Massachusetts, where Susan B. Anthony was born as an early member. Elizabeth Buffum Chace is a well-known person from Smithfield who was influential in both the abolition of slavery, and the women's rights movement.

Captain James Buxton, a Revolutionary War figure, served with a Massachusetts regiment at Valley Forge, was promoted to the rank of Captain, and later granted Massachusetts land for his war service by Governor John Hancock.

During the Industrial Revolution, Smithfield transformed from an agrarian community to a manufacturing center, with several textiles mills being founded along the Woonasquatucket River by the mid-1800s.

In 1871, the towns of North Smithfield, Lincoln, and Central Falls became separate municipalities. The colonial ghost town of Hanton City is located within the boundaries of present-day Smithfield, but was a completely separate community in the eighteenth century.

In 1943, a U.S. Army Air Corps Lockheed RB-34 crashed on Wolf Hill, killing all three servicemen aboard.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 71.9 km² (27.8 sq mi), of which 68.9 km² (26.6 sq mi) of is land and 3.1 km² (1.2 sq mi) of is water. The total area is 4.25% water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	3,171	—
1800	3,120	−1.6%
1810	3,828	22.7%
1820	4,678	22.2%
1830	6,857	46.6%
1840	9,534	39.0%
1850	11,500	20.6%
1860	13,283	15.5%
1870	2,605	−80.4%
1880	3,085	18.4%
1890	2,500	−19.0%
1900	2,107	−15.7%
1910	2,739	30.0%
1920	3,199	16.8%
1930	3,967	24.0%
1940	4,611	16.2%
1950	6,690	45.1%
1960	9,442	41.1%
1970	13,468	42.6%
1980	16,886	25.4%
1990	19,163	13.5%
2000	20,613	7.6%
2010	21,430	4.0%
2020	22,118	3.2%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the 2020 United States Census, Smithfield has 22,118 residents with a median age of 43.7 years and 15.4% of the population under the age of 18. The racial makeup as of 2020 was 84.7% White, 1.2% African Americans, 0.2% Native American, 7.5% Asian, 1.8% from other races and 4.3% of two or more races. Hispanic and Latino of any race made up 3.7% of the population. The median household income is $85,337 and 3.4% of the population live below the poverty line.

Education

Smithfield contains three public elementary schools (Pleasant View, Raymond LaPerche, and Old County Road School), a middle school (Vincent J. Gallagher Middle School) and a public high school, Smithfield High School which was ranked 17th out of 52 high schools in Rhode Island in 2006. St. Phillip's School, a private Roman Catholic academy offering education in grades K–8, is situated in Greenville. Mater Ecclesiae College, a Catholic college, was also located in the town in a facility that was formerly the St. Aloysius Orphanage until the college closed in 2015. Partnered with Saint Raphael Academy in Pawtucket, the private Catholic boarding school Overbrook Academy currently resides those same facilities for middle school, high school, and summer camp programs.

Bryant University

Bryant University's campus

Bryant University, a private university with programs in business and the arts and sciences, is located in Smithfield.

In 1971, the university moved to its current campus in Smithfield when the founder of Tupperware, Earl Silas Tupper, a Bryant alumnus, donated the current 428 acres (1.73 km²) of land to be the new campus. The famous Bryant Archway was also relocated. The old Emin Homestead and Captain Joseph Mowry homestead occupied much of the land that makes up the present day Smithfield campus. The land was purchased and farmed for three generations between the late 19th century and the mid-20th century. Today, many descendants of the original Emin settlers still live near the Bryant campus. The school also claims a handful of family members as alumni and offers a scholarship for accounting students as a tribute to the Emin family. Historical pictures of the Emin Homestead can still be found in the Alumni house.

Economy

Principal employers

According to Smithfield's 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the principal employers in the city are:

#	Employer	# of employees
1	Fidelity Investments	3,900
2	Bryant University	850
3	Town of Smithfield	500
4	Citizens Bank	400
5	Honeywell	300
6	Village at Waterman Lake	300
7	Stop & Shop	300
8	FGX International	250
9	Target Corporation	200
10	Rubius Therapeutics	100

Notable people

Cyrus Aldrich (1808–1871), born in Smithfield, United States Congressman from Minnesota
Peleg Arnold (1751–1820), delegate to the Continental Congress
Sullivan Ballou (1829–1861), Civil War Officer and author of the Sullivan Ballou Letter
Emeline S. Burlingame (1836–1923), editor and evangelist
Adin B. Capron (1841–1911), United States Congressman
Elizabeth Buffum Chace (1806–1899), activist in the Anti-Slavery, Women's Rights, and Prison Reform Movements of the mid to late 19th century
Edward Harris, (1801–1872), manufacturer, philanthropist, and abolitionist
Ronald K. Machtley (born 1948), United States Congressman, President of Bryant University (1996–2020)
Daniel Mowry Jr. (1729–1806), delegate to the Continental Congress
James W. Nuttall (born 1953), United States Army Major General, deputy director of the Army National Guard and Deputy Commander of the First Army
Gina Raimondo (born 1971), United States Secretary of Commerce (2021–), 75th Governor of Rhode Island (2015–2021)
Danny Smith (writer) (born 1959), producer, writer, and voice actor
William Stillman Stanley Jr., politician
Arthur Steere (1865–1943), politician, businessman
Alexander Warner (1827–1914), businessman and politician
David Wilkinson (1771–1852), co-builder of Slater Mill
William Winsor, education philanthropist, namesake of the William Winsor School

Friendship cities

Stepanakert, Artsakh (2023)

Smithfield, Rhode Island facts for kids

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