For other places with the same name, see Cumberland (disambiguation).

Cumberland Town Hall

Cumberland is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, USA, incorporated in 1746. The population was 31,840 at the 2000 census.

History

Cumberland was originally settled as part of Rehoboth, which was purchased from the local Native Americans by the Plymouth Colony. It was later transferred to Rhode Island as part of a long-running boundary dispute.

Local folklore tells of 10 men involved in a conflict with the Native Americans of the area. One of the 10, Abbott, fled the battle promising his brethren to return with aid, but never returned. Abbott has been the namesake of several roads in Cumberland, most notably Abbott Run Valley Rd. and Abbott Run. This has its basis in historical fact, as the popular tourist destination "Nine Men's Misery" is a tomb found in the town's old monastery which was destroyed in a fire in 1950, now converted into the John Hayden's Library.^{[citations needed]}

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 73.2 km² (28.2 mi²). 69.4 km² (26.8 mi²) of it is land and 3.8 km² (1.5 mi²) of it (5.17%) is water. View on Google Maps Hybrid

The only large deposit of Cumberlandite, an iron-rich mineral, is found off of Elder Ballou Meeting House Road in northern Cumberland. Though the ore was used to make cannons during the colonial era, the resulting casts were of poor quality and prone to cracking. A major geologic feature of the area is Diamond Hill, a massive outcropping of white quartz. The hill once was host to two small ski areas and is now a town park.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 31,840 people, 12,198 households, and 9,038 families residing in the town. The population density was 458.9/km² (1,188.4/mi²). There were 12,572 housing units at an average density of 181.2/km² (469.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.74% White, 0.57% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.83% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.09% of the population.

There were 12,198 households out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.9% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $54,656, and the median income for a family was $63,194. Males had a median income of $41,073 versus $29,188 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,592. About 2.9% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Cumberland also has a large and active second and third generation Portuguese-American community. Many of these Portuguese-American citizens immigrated from Portugal into the area to work at the factories in Cumberland and the adjacent cities of Pawtucket, RI and Central Falls, RI. There are several Portuguese American Festivals that celebrate the cultural history through out the year. These include the São João or Saint John's festival that is held in the month of June at the Clube Juventude Lusitana and the Our Lady of Fatima Festival which is held at the Lady of Fatima Church on Labor Day weekend. The celebrations include traditional Portuguese music, dance and parades. Similar Portuguese festivals are often held in Fall River and New Bedford Massachusetts where there large Portuguese-American communities.

Notable past residents

• William Blackstone (1595-1675) was the earliest settler who arrived in 1635, when the land was still part of Massachusetts Bay Colony.
• Jemima Wilkinson (1753-1819) evangelical preacher, was born in Cumberland.
• Tim White, former WWE referee and owner of "The Friendly Tap" which is a pub in Cumberland
• The Farrelly Brothers grew up in Cumberland on Thomas Leighton Blvd.
• Rocco Baldelli, outfielder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, lives in Cumberland.
• David Macaulay, author and illustrator graduated from Cumberland High School
• Charlie Weis, Offensive Coordinator for the New England Patriots (2000-2004) and Head Coach for the University of Notre Dame football team, lived in Cumberland.
• Richard Jenkins, an actor, currently lives in Cumberland.

Schools

The Cumberland public school system includes five elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. The district holds the disreputable distinction of the lowest per child spending in the state. Yet, two years ago the High School achieved the distinction of a "High Performing" school, placing it in the top 10% of RI public schools. A new facility, which includes three basketball courts, an indoor track, health and physical education rooms, has been built, known as the Wellness Center. Also, new music and art rooms have recently been constructed where the old gymnasium once was. New blue tint windows are replacing old windows all around the school, it is unknown if the transition building will be receiving any. The final phase of the remodeling is projected to be finished in 2010, with the completion of an all new science and math wing. However, the school is still currently falling apart. This three phase process was approved in the 2004 town election by the voters. There is one private school in Cumberland. Mercymount Country Day School is run by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, a Roman Catholic order which has its New England regional headquarters in Cumberland.

Culture and traditions

Cumberland is home to the Arnold Mills Fourth of July Parade and Road Race, which is held each year to celebrate (Fourth of July). The first recorded Arnold Mills Parade was held on July 4 1927.[1]

External links

• Official Website
• Cumberland Public Schools
• North Cumberland Middle School Website
• Cumberland Town Library at the Monastary
• Arnold Mills Annual Fourth of July Parade and Road Race

	State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Providence (capital)
Topics	Culture | Geography | Government | History | Images | Narragansett Indian Tribe
Regions	Counties: Bristol | Kent | Newport | Providence | Washington (South County) | Geographic: Blackstone Valley | Block Island
Cities	Central Falls | Cranston | East Providence | Newport | Pawtucket | Providence | Warwick | Woonsocket
Towns	Barrington | Bristol | Burrillville | Charlestown | Coventry | Cumberland | East Greenwich | Exeter | Foster | Glocester | Hopkinton | Jamestown | Johnston | Lincoln | Little Compton | Middletown | Narragansett | New Shoreham (Block Island) | North Kingstown | North Providence | North Smithfield | Portsmouth | Richmond | Scituate | Smithfield | South Kingstown | Tiverton | Warren | Westerly | West Greenwich | West Warwick

Coordinates: 41°58′00″N, 71°25′58″W

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