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East Providence

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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A township of Providence county, Rhode Island, U.S.A., on the E. side of Providence river, opposite Providence. Pop. (1890) 8422; (1900) 12,138, of whom 2067 were foreign-born; (estimated 1906) 14,072. Area, 122 sq. m. It is served by the New York, New Haven & Hartford railway. It has a rolling surface and contains several villages, one of which, known as Rumford, has important manufactories of chemicals and electrical supplies. South of this village, along the river bank, are several attractive summer resorts, Hunt's Mills, Silver Spring, Riverside, Vanity Fair, Kettle Point and Bullock's Point being prominent among them. In 1905 the factory products of the township were valued at $5,035,288. The oyster trade is important. It was within the present limits of this township that Roger Williams established himself in the spring of 1636, until he learned that the place was within the jurisdiction of the Plymouth Colony. About 1644 it was settled by a company from Weymouth as a part of a town of Rehoboth. In 1812 Rehoboth was divided, and the west part was made the township of Seekonk. Finally, in 1861, it was decided that the west part of Seekonk belonged to Rhode Island, and in the following year that part was incorporated as the township of East Providence.