Rehoboth

Rehoboth was established in 1643, originally by Walter Palmer (born 1585) and William Sabin. It was incorporated in 1645, one of the earliest Massachusetts towns to incorporate. The town is named for the Hebrew word for "enlargement," (Broad Places) signifying the space settlers enjoyed (God has given us room) The town was and still is a site of a crossroads which help to serve Taunton, Providence, Fall River and points to the north. One of the founding fathers was Samuel Newman, a clergyman from Weymouth, Massachusetts who moved to the Seconet area near to Little Compton in the Plymouth Colony. He gave the roundabout a distinctive name: "The Ring of the Green" Newman Congregational Church (founded 1643) still stands at the intersections of Pawtucket Ave, Newman Ave and Ferris Ave. On June 30, 1675, King Philip led a small force in a surprise attack against the undefended settlement, killing settlers, burning houses, and causing residents to live in constant fear of attack. On March 28, 1676 Canonchet led the Narragansetts in a second attack, destroying 42 homes, 21 barns, corn mills and a sawmill. The Wampanoag sachem had become chief two weeks earlier. The capture and execution of Anawan effectively ended the campaigns of King Philip's War. The Rockstone, still off modern-day Route 44, marks the location at the time of the attack.

History

Rehoboth was established in 1643, originally by Walter Palmer (born 1585) and William Sabin, it was incorporated in 1645, one of the earliest Massachusetts towns to incorporate. The town is named for the Hebrew word for "enlargement," (Broad Places) signifying the space settlers enjoyed (God has given us room) One of the founding fathers was Samuel Newman, a clergyman from Weymouth, Massachusetts who moved to the Seconet area near to Little Compton in the Plymouth Colony. Newman Congregational Church (founded 1643) still stands at the intersections of Pawtucket Ave, Newman Ave and Ferris Ave. Public education: The Hornbine School, built in 1845, is located in the southeast corner of the town and is open to the public for visiting and educational purposes from May to September. King Philip's War: On June 30, 1675, King Philip led a small force in a surprise attack against the undefended settlement, killing settlers, burning houses, and causing residents to live in constant fear of attack. On August 28, 1676 Captain Benjamin Church surrounded and captured Anawan, a Wampanoag sachem who had become chief upon the death of King Philip two weeks earlier. Anawan Rock, a large puddingstone, still marks the site of the capture and execution of Anawan. Although a desolate place at the time, the rock is not far off modern-day Route 44 (in present-day East Providence, Rhode Island).

Geography

The town is located 11 miles (18 km) east of Providence, Rhode Island and 50 miles (80 km) south of Boston. Rehoboth shares its entire western border with Seekonk. It is also bordered by Attleboro and Norton to the north, Taunton and Dighton to the east, and Swansea to the south and southeast. Much of the land is hilly and swampy, with most of its brooks and swamps feeding into the Palmer River, which empties into Narragansett Bay. The town's localities are Four Corners, Hornbine, Kingmans Corner, North Reh Hoboth, Pecks Corner, Perrys Corner,Perryville, ReHoboth Village, and Anawan Rock. The U.S. Census Bureau says the town has a total area of 46.8 square miles (121 km²), of which 46.5 square miles of land is land and 0.3 square mile (0.78 km²) of water. It has a population of 2,816. The city of RehOBoth is located on the shores of Narraganett Bay, which is located to the west of the town. It was founded in 1788. The state of Rhode Island was established in 1787. The current mayor is the son of a former mayor of the same name, who was killed in a car accident in the early 1900s. He is a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Conservation areas

Rehoboth State Forest off Peck Street has hiking trails. The Mason Street Conservation Area (open to the public) is located off Mason Street. The Ephraim Hunt Ministerial Land Conservation Area, 55 Pond Street, is also located off Pond Street. Miller Bird Sanctuary, 88 Winter Street, and Fox Lea, 67 River Street, are bird sanctuaries. The Redway Plain, off Route 44 and Bay State Road, is a wetland area. The Warren Upper Reservoir, off Reservoir Street, has hiking and biking trails. It is located near the town of Warren, in the Berkshires of Berkshire County, Pennsylvania. It was built in the late 1800s as a reservoir for the town's water supply. The reservoir was later converted into a park in the early 1900s. The park is located on the banks of the Redway River, which runs through the town. It has a number of scenic overlooks, including one that overlooks the river. It also has a pond, which is used for picnicking and other outdoor activities. In the summer, the park is used as a bird sanctuary for migratory birds. It's also home to the Warren Lower Reservoir and the Warren Upper reservoir, both of which are used for fishing and other water-related activities. There are also hiking trails through the park, which are accessible by foot or by bike. The area is home to several conservation areas, including the Adirondack Conservation Area and the RehobOTH State Forest.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,172 people, 3,523 households, and 2,871 families residing in the town. The leading ancestries reported by Rehoboth residents are 17% Irish, 17% English, 16% Portuguese and 11% French. The town's population was spread out, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 28.2%, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years, and for every 100 females there were 98.2 males. The average household size was 2.89, and the average family size was 3.20. The per capita income for the town was $26,467, and about 2.7% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of the age 65 or over were living below the poverty line. The median income for a household in the city was $65,373, and $71,992 for a family. The city's population is 97.70% white, with 0.35% African American, 0.30% Native American and 0.52% Asian. The Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.26% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. It is the only town in the state with a population of more than 10,000 people, and has a population density of 218.8 inhabitants per square mile (84.5/km²).

Arts and culture

The Rehoboth Antiquarian Society (RAS) operates both the Carpenter Museum and Blanding Free Public Library. The town's historic one-room school house, the Hornbine School, is open spring and summer for visits and tours. The 13th Continental Regiment ReHoboth Minute Company, originally chartered in 1774, was recommissioned in 1992 as part of the town's 350 anniversary celebration. The re-enactors are invited to participate in parades, ceremonies, encampments, and battle re-Enactments, as well as visiting schools throughout the region. Each September, the town events committee hosts the Annual 'Larry Procopio' Harvest Block Party, a free event held on the Redway Plain field off Route 44. The event was named after the late Larry Procopios, an active member of the community who first organized the yearly event. The RAS hosts cultural events including Arts in the Village at Goff Memorial Hall, a classical concert series featuring world-class artists, and the Sunday Night Jammers, a monthly community dance with acclaimed musicians and callers. Many cultural events are supported in part by grants from the RehOBoth Cultural Council, an affiliate of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Members of the council, although appointed by town selectmen, operate independently from town government and award grants on a yearly basis with funds allotted by the state organization. Several non-profit organizations based in RehOboth provide resources or cultural events.

Government

Rehoboth municipal government operates from town offices located in a one-story building on Peck Street, previously a Project Nike site. Residents may vote on town governing issues at town meetings which are held in the spring and fall. The town is part of Massachusetts's 4th congressional district, which is represented by Jake Auchincloss. The state's senators are: Ed Markey, and Elizabeth Warren. Residents voted at town meeting in 2012 to adopt provisions of the Massachusetts Valor Act so that local veterans can perform municipal work to offset their property tax bills. The Highway Department and Forestry service is located down the road from police/fire headquarters. An additional town-owned building, located on Anawan Street, houses ReHoboth Community TV, the local public access cable television service. In cases of emergency or disaster, the RehobOTH Emergency Management Agency (REMA) coordinates efforts of all the public safety entities. The RFD is an on-call department with trained firefighters with only the fire chief is a full-time employee of the town. The Rescue Squad has served the community for the past 46 years and is the town's only 100% unpaid volunteer public safety organization. It is an independent, non-profit organization that provides vehicles, equipment, supplies and staffing stipends without direct funding from the Town. The Town owned the Gladys L. Hurrell Senior Center located on Bay State Road. The building was used for municipal meetings, private and public events, until it was destroyed in a fire in September 2020.

Education

Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School provides AP, Honors, college preparatory and career-technical education (CTE) The athletics teams participate in the South Coast Conference (SCC) of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) The school district has a cooperative agreement with Bristol Plymouth Regional Technical School for those high school students wishing to attend a vocational-technical school. RehobOTH has two private elementary schools: Cedar Brook School, a Seventh-day Adventist school serving students from grades Pre-K10; and the Pinecroft School servingStudents from K5 to K10. The town's public schools include Palmer River Elementary School on Winthrop Street (Route 44) and D. L. Beckwith Middle School, adjacent to the elementary school. Both schools offer special education to students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) The town has a large Marching Band that performs for athletic games, parades and special events such as the annual Dighton Christmas Tree Lighting. The band has performed several times at Walt Disney World and most recently represented the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the National Independence Day Parade in 2014. It is supported by the Friends of D-R Marching band, a group of parents that conduct fundraising efforts throughout the year. The school has two public high schools: Dighton High School and Bristol County Agricultural High School in Dighton. It also has a private elementary school, Cedar Brook Elementary School, which serves students from pre-K to K5.

Infrastructure

The town is full of winding, country roads. The longest state routes through town are U.S. Route 44 and Massachusetts Route 118. Rehoboth is a part of the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority. The nearest rail service is in Attleborough, where there are two stops on the MBTA's Providence line. The closest international airport is Logan International Airport in Boston, 53 miles (85 km) away. T. F. Green Airport is located in Warwick, RI, less than 20 miles (32 km) Away from the nearest international airport, Logan Airport is 53 miles away. The town is located on the Massachusetts Turnpike, which runs from Boston to Rhode Island. It also runs from Massachusetts to New Hampshire. It is also on the New Hampshire Turnpikes, which run from New Hampshire to Massachusetts. It has a population of about 2,000 people, making it one of the smallest towns in the state. It was once the largest town in Massachusetts, but is now the smallest town in Rhode Island, with a total population of 2,816. The city's population is about 1,800 people, with the majority of that population living in the central part of town. The population is decreasing at a rate of about 1.5 per cent each year, with most of the growth occurring in the past decade. The largest city in the town is Swansea, Rhode Island (population 1,788). The town's population has been declining since the 1970s, when it suffered a population decline.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts = 52. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 47. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Rehoboth = 3.5 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 19,584 individuals with a median age of 41.6 age the population grows by 14.88% in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 270 residents per square mile of area (100/km²). There are average 2.82 people per household in the 4,150 households with an average household income of $87,587 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 9.70% of the available work force and has dropped -5.31% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 19.68%. The number of physicians in Rehoboth per 100,000 population = 141.2.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Rehoboth = 46 inches and the annual snowfall = 35.6 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 91. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 201. 83 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 17.9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 51, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts which are owned by the occupant = 87.22%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 31 years with median home cost = $283,830 and home appreciation of -16.71%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $11.66 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $19,500 per student. There are 2 students for each teacher in the school. 7.83% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 21.90% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 9.95% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).