Cumberland, Rhode Island

Encyclopedia : C : CU : CUM : Cumberland, Rhode Island

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

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

Contents

1 History

1.1 Notable past residents

2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Schools
5 See also

History

Notable past residents

William Blaxton (1595-1675) an early settler, arrived in 1635.
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.
Rocco Baldelli, outfielder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, lives in Cumberland.

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.

The rare mineral Cumberlandite is found in this area and was used as a source of iron for cannons in the colonial era. A major geologic feature of the area is Diamond Hill, a massive outcropping of white quartz, which was once a ski area 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 Lusitania and the Our Lady of Fatima Festival which is held at the Lady of Fatima Church 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.

Schools

The Cumberland public school system includes six elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. The district holds the disreputable distinction of the lowest per child spending in the state. 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 Provincial headquarters in Cumberland.

	The State of Rhode Island
Capital	Providence
Regions	Blackstone Valley · Block Island · East Bay · Newport County · Providence · South County · Warwick/West Bay
Counties	Bristol · Kent · Newport · Providence · Washington
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 · West Greenwich · West Warwick · Westerly
Indian Tribe Reservations	Narragansett Indian Tribe
		Geography	Government	History