East Providence, Rhode Island

East Providence, Rhode Island
East Providence is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 47,139 at the 2020 census, making it the fifth-largest city in the state.
Geography
East Providence is located between the Providence and Seekonk Rivers on the west and the Seekonk area of Massachusetts on the east. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (19.33%) is water.
The following villages are located in East Providence:
East Providence Center
Riverside
Rumford
Governance
The city of East Providence is governed by an elected mayor and a five-member city council, with the mayor and counselors elected every four years. City council members are elected one each from four wards and one elected at-large.
Executive branch
The mayor is both the ceremonial leader of the city and the chief executive officer. The mayor runs the daily operations of the city, enforces the charter and ordinances of the city and appoints all department heads except the city clerk. The current mayor of East Providence is Roberto DaSilva, who took office on January 9, 2019.
Until January 9, 2019, the day-to-day operations were managed by a professional city manager appointed by the city council, and the mayor was the president of the city council, acting ceremonially.
Legislative branch
The city council sets all city ordinances, sets the budget of the city (with recommendation from the mayor) and provides legislative oversight for city operations.
The city council elects a council president and council vice-president to preside over meetings. The city council also appoints the city clerk.
Up until 2019, The city council served two-year terms, and the city council oversaw the entire city government under a council-manager system.
, the members of the East Providence City Council are:
Robert Rodericks—At-Large (council vice-president)
Robert Britto—Ward 1 (council president)
Anna Sousa—Ward 2
Nathan Cahoon—Ward 3
Ricardo Mourato—Ward 4
Judicial branch
The city of East Providence has a municipal court, which hears cases regarding violations of municipal ordinances, housing code violations and minor traffic violations. The city also has a probate court, which handles estates, name changes, guardianships and related matters. Judges for both courts are appointed by the mayor with confirmation by the city council for a term of two years.
Education governance
The city also has an elected school committee, elected for two-year terms by the same ward system as the city council. The school committee has broad authority to manage the school system, including setting all school system policies, setting the school system budget (within the general appropriation by the city, state and federal government) as well as selecting and overseeing the Superintendent of Schools.
Other boards and commissions
The city has an appointed library board of trustees which governs the city's library system and various other appointed governing and advisory boards and commissions.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 48,688 people, 20,530 households, and 12,851 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 21,309 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 86.49% White, 5.02% African American, 0.46% Native American, 1.15% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 2.80% from other races, and 4.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.89% of the population.
There were 20,530 households, out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,108, and the median income for a family was $48,463. Males had a median income of $34,342 versus $26,423 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,527. About 6.3% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those aged 65 or over.
Ancestry
The population has large immigrant communities from Portugal, the Azores, Madeira and Cape Verde. Approximately 24% of East Providence residents report Portuguese ancestry, followed by Irish at 18%, and Italian with 11%.
Education
East Providence has 13 public and 5 non-public schools:
Public schools
Elementary
Agnes B. "Hennessey"
Alice M. "Waddington" – built 1954
Emma G. "Whiteknact"
James R.D. "Oldham"
Kent Heights
Myron J. "Francis" - built 1989
Orlo Avenue School
Silver Spring
Middle schools
Edward R. Martin Middle School – built 1977
Riverside Middle School
High school
Grove Ave. Educational Development Center
East Providence High School – built 2021
East Providence Career & Technical Center
Non-public elementary and junior-high schools
St. Mary "Bayview" Academy
Sacred Heart School
St. Margaret School
The Gordon School
Providence Country Day (P.C.D.).
Non-public high schools
St. Mary "Bayview" Academy
Providence Country Day (P.C.D.).
Health and medicine
Bradley Hospital, the nation's first psychiatric facility exclusively for children, was founded in 1931. It is a teaching hospital for the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
National Register of Historic Places listings in East Providence
Bicknell–Armington Lightning Splitter House
Boston and Providence Railroad Bridge
Bridgham Farm
Carpenter, Lakeside, and Springvale Cemeteries
Crescent Park Looff Carousel, (National Historic Landmark)
Elm Tree Plat Historic District
Nathaniel Daggett House
James Dennis House
District 6 Schoolhouse
Little Neck Cemetery
Newman Cemetery
Newman Congregational Church
Oddfellows' Hall
Pomham Rocks Light
Rose Land Park Plat Historic District
Richmond Paper Company Mill Complex
Rumford Chemical Works and Mill House Historic District
Rumford Historic District
Squantum Association
St. Mary's Episcopal Church
Phillip Walker House
Whitcomb Farm
World War I Memorial
Media
Newspaper
Weekly
The East Providence Post
Monthly
The East Providence Reporter
Radio
AM
1110/WPMZ: Spanish-language “Poder”.
Notable people
Arunah Shepherdson Abell (1806–1888), philanthropist and newspaper publisher (Philadelphia Public Ledger and The Baltimore Sun); born in East Providence
Ben Sears, baseball pitcher drafted by the Kansas City Royals; attended East Providence High School
Rebecca DiPietro, model and WWE Diva; lives in East Providence
John Michael Greer, author and former Archdruid; lives in East Providence
Elisabeth Hasselbeck, TV personality on Fox & Friends and The View; attended and graduated from St. Mary Academy – Bay View in 1995
Jimmy Hatlo, cartoonist, was born in East Providence
Claudia Jordan, model and reality TV personality (Deal or No Deal, Celebrity Apprentice); Miss Rhode Island USA (1997); grew up in East Providence
Jennifer Lee, co-writer of screenplay for Wreck-It Ralph; writer of screenplay for and co-director of Frozen; born in East Providence
Davey Lopes, second baseman and coach for several Major League Baseball teams; born in East Providence
Jamie Silva, football safety for the Indianapolis Colts; born in East Providence
Meredith Vieira, hostess of Millionaire, co-host of Today and The View; born in East Providence
Ron Wilson, hockey defenseman and coach for the US Olympic hockey team and several National Hockey League teams; attended East Providence High School
See also
References
Further reading
Our Heritage: A History of East Providence, Joseph Conforti
External links
City of East Providence
East Providence School Department
East Providence Public Library
East Providence Historical Society
East Providence Arts Council
Births Index from the Rhode Island State Archives
Guide to the East Providence Public Library Genealogical and Reference Materials from the Rhode Island State Archives
1862 establishments in Rhode Island
Cape Verdean American history
Cities in Providence County, Rhode Island
Cities in Rhode Island
Populated places established in 1862
Portuguese-American culture in Rhode Island
Providence metropolitan area