Smithfield, Rhode Island

Smithfield, Rhode Island
Town
Location in Providence County and the state of Rhode Island.
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Rhode Island
County	Providence
Government
• Type	Council-manager
• Town Council	Suzanna L. Alba (D) Alberto J. LaGreca, Jr. (R) Bernard A. Hawkins (D) Maxine A. Cavanagh (R) Gregory J. Tocco (D)
• Town Manager	Dennis Finlay
Area
• Total	27.8 sq mi (71.9 km2)
• Land	26.6 sq mi (68.9 km2)
• Water	1.2 sq mi (3.1 km2)
Elevation	400 ft (122 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	21,430
• Density	805.6/sq mi (311.0/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	02828, 02917
Area code(s)	401
FIPS code	44-66200[1]
GNIS feature ID	1219817[2]
Website	http://smithfieldri.com/

The town of Smithfield is located in Mountaindale, Hanton City, Stillwater and Greenville. The population was 21,430 at the 2010 census. Smithfield is the home of Bryant University, a private four year college.

History

Greenville Bank at the turn of the twentieth century

The area comprising modern-day Smithfield was first settled in 1636 by several Valley Forge among other battles.

Education

Smithfield contains several public elementary schools, a middle school and a public high school, which was ranked 17th out of 52 high schools in Rhode Island in 2006.^[4] St. Phillip's School, a private Roman Catholic academy offering education in grades K-8, is situated in Greenville.^[5] Mater Ecclesiae College, a Catholic college, is also located in the town in a facility that was formerly the St. Aloysius Orphanage.^[6]

Bryant University

Bryant University, a private university with programs in business and the arts and sciences, is located in Smithfield.

In 1971, the University moved to its current campus in Smithfield when the founder of Tupperware, Earl Silas Tupper, a Bryant alumnus, donated the current 428 acres (1.73 km²) of land to be the new campus. The famous Bryant Archway was also relocated. The old Emin Homestead and Captain Joseph Mowry homestead occupied much of the land that makes up the present day Smithfield campus. The land was purchased and farmed for three generations between the late 19th century and the mid-20th century. Today, many descendants of the original Emin settlers still live near the Bryant campus. The school also claims a handful of family members as alumni and offers a scholarship for accounting students as a tribute to the Emin family. Historical pictures of the Emin Homestead can still be found in the Alumni house. ^[7]

Notable people

• Cyrus Aldrich, (1808–1871), born in Smithfield, United States Congressman from Minnesota^[8]
• Peleg Arnold, (1751–1820), delegate to the Continental Congress^[9]
• Sullivan Ballou, (1829–1861), Civil War Officer and author of the Sullivan Ballou Letter^[10]
• Adin B. Capron, (1841–1911), United States Congressman^[11]
• Elizabeth Buffum Chace, (1806–1899) activist in the Anti-Slavery, Women's Rights, and Prison Reform Movements of the mid to late 19th century^[12]
• Ronald K. Machtley, (born 1948), United States Congressman^[13]
• Daniel Mowry, Jr., (1729–1806), delegate to the Continental Congress^[14]
• James W. Nuttall, (born 1953), United States Army Major General who served as Deputy Director of the Army National Guard and Deputy Commander of First Army
• Don Orsillo, (born 1968), play-by-play announcer for Boston Red Sox games on the New England Sports Network (NESN)^[15]
• William Stillman Stanley, Jr., politician^[16]
• Arthur Steere, (1865–1943), politician, businessman^[17]
• David Wilkinson, (1771–1852), co-builder of Slater Mill^[18]

References

External links

• Smithfield official website
• City-Data.com