Pawtucket

 

(pətək'ət) , city (1990 pop. 72,644), Providence co., NE R.I., on the Blackstone River at Pawtucket Falls; settled 1671, inc. 1885 after the eastern section (which was part of Massachusetts until 1862) was merged with the western section into a Rhode Island town. Pawtucket has been a textile center since Samuel Slater built the nation's first successful water-powered cotton mill there in 1793. A dam built along the river in 1790 provides the electric power for the city. Among the city's manufactures are jewelry and silverware, metals, and specialty textiles.

The area, deeded to Roger Williams in 1638, was a haven for religious freedom in New England. Pawtucket's first settler was an ironworker who established (1671) a forge at the falls. Metalworks and sawmills sprang up, and after Slater erected his cotton mill on the banks of the river, the textile industry boomed. After World War II, when much of the textile manufacturing moved south, Pawtucket shared the decline of many New England towns. The city has since regained its small industrial status. Of principal interest is the 1793 Slater mill, now a museum. Some two dozen former textile mills now form an arts district. Many tourist and recreational sites are in the area.

City of Pawtucket
Coordinates: 41°52′33″N 71°22′37″W / 41.87583, -71.37694
Country	United States
State	Rhode Island
County	Providence
Founded(town)	1671
Incorporated (city)	1886
Government
- Type	Mayor-council
- Mayor	James E. Doyle
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2005)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	02860-02862
Area code(s)	401
FIPS code	44-546402
GNIS feature ID	12189263
Website: http://www.pawtucketri.com/

Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 72,958 at the 2000 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state. The current mayor is James Doyle.

Pawtucket was the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. Slater Mill, built in 1790 by Samuel Slater on the Blackstone River in downtown Pawtucket, was the first commercially successful cotton-spinning mill with a fully mechanized power system in America.^[1]

Hasbro, the world's second-largest manufacturer of toys and games, is headquartered in Pawtucket.

Originally, there were two Pawtuckets^{[citation needed]}. Pawtucket west of the Blackstone River used to be part of nearby North Providence. East of the Blackstone River was originally settled as part of the Massachusetts town of Rehoboth.^{[citation needed]} Once East Pawtucket (another alternate name for the area of Pawtucket east of the Blackstone) was transferred to Rhode Island in the 1860s, both sections (West and East Pawtucket) merged. It was later incorporated as a city.

Geography

Pawtucket is located at 41°52′32″N, 71°22′34″W (41.875499, -71.375981)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.3 km² (9.0 mi²). 22.6 km² (8.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (2.89%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 72,958 people, 30,047 households, and 18,508 families residing in the city. Pawtucket was the fourth most populous of Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns. The population density was 3,223.0/km² (8,351.2/mi²). There were 31,819 housing units at an average density of 1,405.7/km² (3,642.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.39% White, 7.31% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.85% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 10.75% from other races, and 5.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.90% of the population.

There were 30,047 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.7% were married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,775, and the median income for a family was $39,038. Males had a median income of $31,129 versus $23,391 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,008. About 14.9% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.5% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.

Pawtucket is twinned with Belper, Derbyshire - a town in England.

Like nearby cities Providence, RI; East Providence, RI; Fall River, MA; & New Bedford, MA; Pawtucket hosts a significant population from across the Portuguese Empire. The segment from Cape Verde Islands was featured in this Zip Code USA article from National Geographic magazine.

Pawtucket is also one of the few areas of the US with a significant Liberian population, mostly refugees from Charles Taylor's regime.

Economy and redevelopment

Projects in the planning stage include a revitalized Pawtucket Tidewater/Riverfront [1].

Transportation

Railroad tracks between Providence and Boston run through Pawtucket. Train service at the Pawtucket/Central Falls train station terminated in 1981. Pawtucket was omitted from the MBTA Commuter Rail service on the Providence/Stoughton Line, reestablished in July 2006. However, there is some discussion of restoring service to the Pawtucket/Central Falls train station.

Highways and roads

Interstate 95 and U.S. 1 also traverse the western part of Pawtucket.

Downtown Circulator

Pawtucket's Downtown Circulator was a one-way loop through downtown; it is similar to British concepts of ring roads. A similar concept was also tried in Providence, Rhode Island with their Downtown Ring Roads.

The Circulator used East Avenue, High Street, Summer Street, Goff Avenue, Dexter Street and Park Place West. Each half of the Circulator carried one direction of U.S. 1; sections also carried westbound RI 15 and northbound RI 114. It was signed with a big 'C' on overhead signs.

The circulator is no longer signed, though the road configuration remains. Providence's Downtown Ring Roads have suffered a similar fate.

The only remaining sign

Map

Former overhead signs, with C sign at left

Culture

The City of Pawtucket hired Researcher Ann Galligan, of Northeastern University, to create an arts and cultural plan. Allowing the city to become more proactive in retaining and attracting artists and will enable city officials to allocate resources more effectively to meet the needs of Pawtucket's growing artist community.

Pawtucket is becoming known as a center for arts and culture. This reposted 2004 NY Times article describes the city's efforts to attract artists as well as its continuing problems with red tape.

Each September, The City in conjunction with members of the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative produce an annual Arts Festival. The city also hosts Riversing, an independently-produced, day-long musical event.

Sports

Pawtucket is home to the Pawtucket Red Sox, the AAA affiliate/Minor League team of the Boston Red Sox; the longest professional baseball game in history was played at McCoy Stadium. Pawtucket has a history of professional baseball dating back to 1892.

In 1934 the Narragansett Race Track opened for Thoroughbred horse racing. Until its closure in 1978 the track hosted several important races that drew some of the top horses from around the United States including Hall of Famers War Admiral, Seabiscuit, and Gun Bow.

In popular culture

• The 1999 film Outside Providence is based in Pawtucket.
• American Buffalo, a 1996 film, was filmed in Pawtucket.
• Pawtucket has been frequently referenced in the cartoon series Family Guy, specifically the "Pawtucket Brewery" and the character "Pawtucket Pat".

Parks and recreation

Slater Memorial Park has full recreational facilities including, tennis courts and picnic areas. The Looff Carousel in the park was built in 1895 by Charles I. D. Looff and installed in 1910. The carousel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest running Looff carousel in the world.

Veterans Memorial Park

Notable people from Pawtucket

• Gerry Philbin, Pro Football Defensive End with the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles. Named to the American Football League's All-Time Team.
• Wendy Carlos, composer and electronic musician
• Ruth Clifford, silent film star
• Thomas Gardiner Corcoran, a member of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's brain trust.
• Michael Corrente, independent film director
• Charles T. Avedisian, played Pro Football with the New York Giants, 1942-44; also in the Providence College Athletic Hall of Fame
• Alice Drummond, actress
• David Hartman, former host of Good Morning America
• Irving R. Levine, journalist and foreign corespondent
• Davey Lopes, 2nd baseman for Los Angeles Dodgers
• Ken Ryan, relief pitcher for the Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies
• Tim White, ring official, World Wrestling Entertainment
• Jon B., Grammy nominated American R&B singer and songwriter

References

External links

• City of Pawtucket Website
• Pawtucket Public Library
• Pawtucket Arts Collaborative
• PADS: Pawtucket Alliance for Downtown Success
• Pawtucket Arts Festival
• Foundry Artists Holiday Sale
• Slater Mill
• Stone Soup Folk Arts Foundation and Cafe performances
• Pawtucket Forum on urbanplanet.org
• Riversing
• Pawtucket Online
• Urban Smart Growth/Hope Webbing Mill
• The Pawtucket Times
• Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island
• Machines With Magnets Recording Studio + Community Art Space

Fire department

• Rhode Island & Massachusetts Fireground Photography
• Pawtucket Fire Department (unofficial)

	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

Donate to Wikimedia