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Tiverton, RI
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Tiverton is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 15,260 at the 2000 census.
GeographyTiverton stands on the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, opposite the northern end of Rhode Island proper, meaning the largest island in the said bay, which has lent its name to the state as a whole. The channel separating this island from the mainland, Sakonnet River, narrows to a width of half a mile or less, near Tiverton. According to the United States Census Bureau, Tiverton has a total area of 36.3 square miles (94.1 km²), of which 29.4 square miles (76.0 km²) is land and 18.0 km² (7.0 sq mi; 19.16%) is water.
The northern portion of greater Tiverton is North Tiverton, Rhode Island.
HistoryTiverton was originally incorporated in 1694, as part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1746, in the final settlement of a long colonial boundary dispute between Rhode Island and Massachusetts, Tiverton was annexed to Rhode Island by Royal Decree (together with its fellow towns along the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, Barrington, Bristol and Little Compton, and the town of Cumberland, to the north of Providence). Tiverton was then incorporated as a town of Rhode Island, in 1747. Until that same year, Tiverton controlled the area of East Freetown, Massachusetts, as an outpost.
GeographyTiverton stands on the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, opposite the northern end of Rhode Island proper, meaning the largest island in the said bay, which has lent its name to the state as a whole. The channel separating this island from the mainland, Sakonnet River, narrows to a width of half a mile or less, near Tiverton. According to the United States Census Bureau, Tiverton has a total area of 36.3 square miles (94.1 km²), of which 29.4 square miles (76.0 km²) is land and 18.0 km² (7.0 sq mi; 19.16%) is water.
The northern portion of greater Tiverton is North Tiverton, Rhode Island.
HistoryTiverton was originally incorporated in 1694, as part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1746, in the final settlement of a long colonial boundary dispute between Rhode Island and Massachusetts, Tiverton was annexed to Rhode Island by Royal Decree (together with its fellow towns along the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, Barrington, Bristol and Little Compton, and the town of Cumberland, to the north of Providence). Tiverton was then incorporated as a town of Rhode Island, in 1747. Until that same year, Tiverton controlled the area of East Freetown, Massachusetts, as an outpost. The boundary settlement of 1746 had put East Freetown in Massachusetts, and in 1747 it was purchased by Freetown, Massachusetts.
Men from that erstwhile Tiverton outpost took part in the Battle of Freetown, on May 25, 1778, during the Revolutionary War. For about three years of that war, December 1776 – late 1779, Rhode Island proper (also known as Aquidneck Island, historically) was occupied by the British. During this time, Tiverton was a refuge for Americans fleeing this occupation, and a mustering place for Colonial forces, gathering to drive away the British. (The occupying forces eventually were withdrawn strategically, as General Clinton marshalled his forces for the 1780 British invasion of South Carolina.)
In its early days, Tiverton was chiefly a farming community with some fishing and boat construction. Until 1900 the manufacture of menhaden oil, a fish derivative, was one of the primary industrial pursuits. Cotton and woolen mills were established as early as 1827. As of 2006, trade establishments are the major employers in the town. Recent years have seen Tiverton grow as a summer resort and residential area. New development has been concentrated in the area known as North Tiverton, adjacent to Fall River, Massachusetts.
In 2002, contaminated soil (including some soil that was blue) was discovered in the Bay Street neighborhood of Tiverton. In 2003, private property testing began. Contaminants including arsenic, lead, cyanide, and more were found at levels above residential exposure guidelines. Residents have been prohibited from digging in the soil. ENACT (Environmental Neighborhood Awareness Committee of Tiverton) advocates on behalf of the community. Property values in the neighborhood have plummeted due to the contamination and moratorium on digging soil, which meant that residents of this working class neighborhood have lost their home equity. One of ENACT's successes has been the passage of the legislation in the Rhode Island statehouse to create the Environmentally Contaminated Home Ownership (ECHO) loan program, which provides loans for people whose home equity is almost zero due to contamination. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) has been involved in developing work plans.
Notable residentsRobert Gray, merchant sea-captain and explorerPaul Di Filippo science fiction author Brian BehanEducationTiverton has 5 public schools Poccasset Elemantary School, Fort Barton Elementary School, and Ranger Elemantary School(2007) which is the newest school in the district. There is also the TIverton Middle School and the TIverton High School. The town is its own district and apart of the Newport County district.
External linksOfficial website of Tiverton
The Environmental Neighborhood Awareness Committee of Tiverton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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