Portsmouth, Rhode Island

Coordinates: 41°36′N 71°15′W / 41.600°N 71.250°W / 41.600; -71.250
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Portsmouth, Rhode Island
UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Code
02871
Area code401
FIPS code44-57880[1]
GNIS feature ID1220065[2]
Websitewww.portsmouthri.com

Portsmouth is a town in

Providence; it was one of the four colonies which merged to form the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, the others being Providence, Newport, and Warwick
.

Geography

According to the

Patience Island, Hope Island and Hog Island. Part of the census-designated place of Melville
lies within the town boundaries.

Portsmouth Compact memorial at Founder's Brook

History

Portsmouth was settled in 1638 by a group of religious dissenters from

Dr. John Clarke, William Coddington, and Anne Hutchinson. It is named after Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Roger Williams convinced the settlers that they should go there instead of settling in the Province of New Jersey
, where they had first planned on going.

It was founded by the signers of the Portsmouth Compact. Its original name was Pocasset and it was officially named Portsmouth on May 12, 1639. It became part of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (see Aquidneck Island) and eventually part of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

Schools

Public

The Portsmouth School Department operates public schools:

  • Portsmouth High School
  • Portsmouth Middle School
  • Howard W. Hathaway Elementary School
  • Melville Elementary School
  • Prudence Island School (a Charter/Co-op "Home School" as of September 2009)

Private

Commerce

Portsmouth is home to the Portsmouth Business Park, as well as a few small plazas with a variety of businesses. Portsmouth is also home to the Raytheon Missiles & Defense division. Adjacent to Raytheon is the Newport Car Museum which opened in 2017 and receives 50,000 visitors a year.[3]

Sports

Portsmouth is the headquarters of US Sailing, the national governing body of sailing in the U.S.[4] It is also home to the Newport International Polo Series held at Glen Farm.[5]

Music

On September 21, 2017, a plaque was unveiled by Roger Williams University at the Baypoint Inn & Conference Center honoring music icons The Beach Boys.[6] Jimmy Buffett performed at the Sunset Cove restaurant on July 2, 2023, which was his final public performance before his death on September 1 of that year.[7]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
17901,560—
18001,6847.9%
18101,7956.6%
18201,645−8.4%
18301,7275.0%
18401,706−1.2%
18501,8337.4%
18602,04811.7%
18702,003−2.2%
18801,979−1.2%
18901,949−1.5%
19002,1058.0%
19102,68127.4%
19202,590−3.4%
19302,96914.6%
19403,68324.0%
19506,57878.6%
19608,25125.4%
197012,52151.8%
198014,25713.9%
199016,85718.2%
200017,1491.7%
201017,3891.4%
202017,8712.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[8][9]

2000 U.S. Census

The 2000 U.S. Census

Latino
of any race were 1.45% of the population.

There were 6,758 households, of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $88,835, and the median income for a family was $108,577. Males had a median income of $46,297 versus $31,745 for females. The per capita income for the town was $46,161. About 2.0% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

2010 U.S. Census

The

Asian
, 0.21% American Indian or Alaskan Native, 0.04% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.40% of some other race, and 1.86% of two or more races.

In the town, 22.98% of the population was under the age of 18 and 16.47% were 65 years of age or older. Females made up 51.03% of the population.

Historic sites and points of interest

Notable people

Gallery

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Portsmouth, Rhode Island
  3. ^ Most, Doug. "The Newport Car Museum is 'not only a car museum…it's an art museum'". Newport Car Museum. The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  4. ^ "United States Sailing Association - the national governing body for the sport of sailing". United States Sailing Association.
  5. ^ "Glen Farm - Polo and Equestrian Center - Homepage". Archived from the original on March 4, 2000. Retrieved August 21, 2008.
  6. ^ McGaw, Jim. "Friday, Sept. 22 will be 'Beach Boys Day' in Portsmouth". The Portsmouth Times.
  7. ^ Doiron, Sarah; Bell, Lauren (September 4, 2023). "Jimmy Buffett turned RI restaurant into his own 'Margaritaville' for final performance". WPRI.com. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  8. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  9. ^ Snow, Edwin M. (1867). Report upon the Census of Rhode Island 1865. Providence, RI: Providence Press Company.
  10. ^ Severo, Richard (March 14, 2007). "Betty Hutton, Film Star of 1940s and 1950s, Dies at 86". The New York Times.
  11. ^ "An historic strain of blood in America. Frances Latham--mother of governors". New Haven, Conn. 1908.
  12. ^ "Leadership | Bryant University". www.bryant.edu. Retrieved January 17, 2018.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
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