North Providence Real Estate
During the mid eighteenth century, a group of farmers from the northern section of Providence petitioned the general assembly to allow them to become a separate town. They were unhappy with the government of Providence because they felt it did not meet their particular needs as farmers, as it was more concerned with the merchants and businessmen of the time. On June 13, 1765, the general assembly passed the request and the Town of North Providence was created. Over the next one hundred years, the boundaries of North Providence changed as parts of the town were reunited with Providence in 1767, 1873 and 1874. In addition, in 1874, a large part of eastern North Providence was annexed to Pawtucket. As a result, North Providence became the smallest town in the state with an area of 5.8 square miles and as a result the population dropped from 20,495 to 1,303 citizens. A hundred years later, the population again peaked at 20,000. Now in 2011, our population is 34,000.
With the advent of the nineteenth century, the areas of the town near the Woonasquatucket River, the West River and the Wenscott Reservoir began to take on a more industrial appearance as mills were built. Except for the Fruit Hill area, all of the town’s villages changed after the beginning of the Industrial Revolution which ironically actually began in North Providence. Yet, when in 1790, the Slater Mill began operation, it was located on the west side of the river which put it in the North Providence village of Pawtucket. From 1765 until 1874, the Town of North Providence extended to the east as far as the Seekonk River and on the south to the vicinity of the State House which is now Providence.