Rehoboth, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
Rehoboth is a town
in Bristol County
, Massachusetts
, United States
. The population was 10,172 at the 2000 census.
towns to be incorporated. The Rehoboth Carpenter Family
is among the founding families. When it first became part of Plymouth colony, it included all of Seekonk
, Massachusetts
and East Providence
, Rhode Island
, and parts of the nearby communities of Attleboro
, North Attleborough
, Swansea
and Somerset
in Massachusetts, and Barrington
, Bristol
, Warren
, Pawtucket
, Cumberland
, and Woonsocket
, Rhode Island
.
Among the earliest purchasers of the land that is now Rehoboth and nearby communities was the Peck family, who came from nearby Hingham
initially. Joseph Peck, the brother of Rev. Robert Peck, the disaffected Puritan who had fled his Hingham, England
, church after the crackdown by Archbishop Laud, had purchased sizeable tracts of lands from the Native Americans. Peck's son was fined fifty shillings for making continuous sexual advances toward the maid. Peck died in Rehoboth in 1697. These tracts of land Peck willed to his son Samuel, who served as Deputy to the General Court at Plymouth, as well as the first representative from the town of Rehoboth after Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts were united. The family continued to live in the area through the twentieth century. Today's Pecks Corner in Rehoboth is named for this early Puritan family.
Through the years, due to cedings of land and incorporations of the neighboring communities, Rehoboth has taken its present shape. The town was and still is a site of crossroads which help to serve Taunton, Providence, Fall River and points to the north.
It is the site of Anawan Rock, where Captain Benjamin Church surrounded and captured Anawan, a Wampanoag sachem and advisor to King Philip
, and his men, effectively ending the campaigns in Southeastern Massachusetts of King Philip's War
. The Wampanoags had taken this position above Squannakonk Swamp to hide from the colonists. (Although a desolate place at the time, the rock itself is not far off modern-day Route 44
.)
Rehoboth also has a claim to one of the birthplaces of public education
in North America
. Upon incorporation, the Newman Church in modern-day East Providence elected to support a teacher for the congregation's children. Because of the lack of separation between church and state at the time, Rehoboth claims one of the earliest known education systems in America. One of the town's landmarks is also education related; the Hornbine School located in the southeast corner of town was built in 1845 as one of the town's nine one-room schoolhouses.
Today Rehoboth is mostly a suburban community, with small historic sites dotting the landscape. Although the population is increasing rapidly, Rehoboth is still considered a rural community. There are many working farms in the town.
, the town has a total area of 46.8 square miles (121.2 km²), of which, 46.5 square miles (120.4 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²) of it (0.60%) is water. Much of the land is hilly and swampy, with most of its brooks and swamps feeding into the Palmer River, which empties out into Narragansett Bay
to the south. The town has a small state forest in the northeast corner, and two small conservation areas: Borden Conservation Area near the center of town and Rehoboth Conservation Area along the Palmer River in the south.
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. Rehoboth's localities are: Four Corners, Hornbine, Kingmans Corner, North Rehoboth, Pecks Corner, Perrys Corner, Perryville, Rehoboth Village, South Rehoboth and Anawan Rock. The town is located 11 miles (17.7 km) east of Providence
, Rhode Island
and 50 miles (80.5 km) southeast of Boston.
and Route 118
, intersect near the center of town. Route 6
and Interstate 195 run though the southwest corner of town for approximately 0.7 and 1.5 miles (2.4 km), respectively. Exit 2 off I-195 ("Route 136/Warren, R.I.-Newport, R.I.") is just south of where the interstate passes into Swansea and can be reached by Kingsley Way (which also leads into Rte. 136).
Rehoboth is a part of the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority
(GATRA), which provides bus service to towns in central Bristol and Plymouth counties. The nearest rail service is in Attleboro, where there are two stops on the MBTA's
Providence line. The nearest local airport is in Taunton; the nearest national airport is T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island, less than 20 miles (32.2 km) away; and the nearest international airport is Logan International Airport
in Boston, 53 miles (85.3 km) away.
of 2000, there were 10,172 people, 3,523 households, and 2,871 families residing in the town. The population density
was 218.8 people per square mile (84.5/km²). There were 3,597 housing units at an average density of 77.4 per square mile (29.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.70% White, 0.35% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races
, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.50% of the population. The leading ancestries reported by Rehoboth residents are 17% Irish, 17% English, 16% Portuguese and 11% French.
There were 3,523 households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.8% were married couples
living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.5% were non-families. 14.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the town the 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% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $65,373, and the median income for a family was $71,992. Males had a median income of $45,557 versus $32,445 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $26,467. About 2.1% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.
. On the national level, the town is part of Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district
, which is represented by Jim McGovern. The state's senior (Class I
) Senator, John Kerry
, and the state's junior (Class II) Senator, is Scott Brown
.
The town is governed by an open town meeting
run by a board of selectmen
. The vote of Town Meeting does in fact count. The current board of selectmen consists of 3 members. Currently, the three selectmen of Rehoboth are Dr. Joseph Tito, Micheal Costello, and Donald Lefort.
The town has a central police and fire station, as well as branch fire stations in North and South Rehoboth. The Blanding Library is located in the Goff Memorial Hall, also near the center of town.
As a result of having a vocational-technical wing at the high school, Rehoboth has no direct affiliations with any regional vocational schools; the closest are in Taunton and Fall River. Students can, however, attend Bristol County Agricultural High School in Dighton. The town is also home to one private school, the Cedar Brook Seventh-day Adventist
School, which is a K-8 school.
The athletics teams of Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School (the "Falcons") participate in the South Coast Conference ("SCC") of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association ("MIAA"). Sports include cheerleading, cross-country, soccer, football , volleyball, baseball, softball, basketball, golf, field hockey, indoor track, outdoor track, and tennis.
New England town
The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other...
in Bristol County
Bristol County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 534,678 people, 205,411 households, and 140,706 families residing in the county. The population density was 962 people per square mile . There were 216,918 housing units at an average density of 390 per square mile...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 10,172 at the 2000 census.
History
It was incorporated in 1643 making it one of the earliest MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
towns to be incorporated. The Rehoboth Carpenter Family
Rehoboth Carpenter Family
The Rehoboth Carpenter family is an American family that helped settle the town of Rehoboth, Massachusetts in 1644.The first immigrant and founder of this line was William Carpenter The Rehoboth Carpenter family is an American family that helped settle the town of Rehoboth, Massachusetts in...
is among the founding families. When it first became part of Plymouth colony, it included all of Seekonk
Seekonk, Massachusetts
Seekonk is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Massachusetts border. It was incorporated in 1812 from the western half of Rehoboth. The population was 13,722 at the 2010 census. Until 1862, the town of Seekonk also included what is now the City of East Providence, Rhode...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and East Providence
East Providence, Rhode Island
East Providence is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 47,037 at the 2010 census, making it the fifth largest city in the state.-Geography:East Providence is located at ....
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, and parts of the nearby communities of Attleboro
Attleboro, Massachusetts
Attleboro is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States and is immediately north of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World" for its many jewelry manufacturers, Attleboro had a population of 42,068 at the 2000 census, and a population of 43,645 as of...
, North Attleborough
North Attleborough, Massachusetts
North Attleborough, commonly written North Attleboro, is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 28,712 at the 2010 United States Census.The village of North Attleborough Center is located in the town.-History:...
, Swansea
Swansea, Massachusetts
Swansea is a town in Bristol County in southeastern Massachusetts.It is located at the mouth of the Taunton River, just west of Fall River, 47 miles south of Boston; and 12 miles southeast of Providence, Rhode Island....
and Somerset
Somerset, Massachusetts
Somerset is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,234 at the 2000 census. It is the birthplace and hometown of Clifford Milburn Holland , the chief engineer and namesake of the Holland Tunnel in New York City....
in Massachusetts, and Barrington
Barrington, Rhode Island
Barrington is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,310 at the 2010 census.In July 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Barrington sixth on its list of the 100 best places to live in the United States.-History:...
, Bristol
Bristol, Rhode Island
Bristol is a town in and the historic county seat of Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,954 at the 2010 census. Bristol, a deepwater seaport, is named after Bristol, England....
, Warren
Warren, Rhode Island
Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 10,611 at the 2010 census.-History:Warren was the site of the Indian village of Sowams on the peninsula called Pokanoket , and was first explored by Europeans in 1621, by Edward Winslow and Stephen Hopkins...
, Pawtucket
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 71,148 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state.-History:...
, Cumberland
Cumberland, Rhode Island
Cumberland is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, incorporated in 1746. The population was 33,506 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, and Woonsocket
Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Woonsocket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 41,186 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Woonsocket lies directly south of the Massachusetts border....
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
.
Among the earliest purchasers of the land that is now Rehoboth and nearby communities was the Peck family, who came from nearby Hingham
Hingham, Massachusetts
Hingham is a town in northern Plymouth County on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and suburb in Greater Boston. The United States Census Bureau 2008 estimated population was 22,561...
initially. Joseph Peck, the brother of Rev. Robert Peck, the disaffected Puritan who had fled his Hingham, England
Hingham, Norfolk
Hingham is a market town and civil parish in the Forehoe district in the heart of rural Norfolk, in England. The civil parish covers an area of and had a population of 2,078 in 944 households as of the 2001 census. Grand architecture surrounds the market place and village green...
, church after the crackdown by Archbishop Laud, had purchased sizeable tracts of lands from the Native Americans. Peck's son was fined fifty shillings for making continuous sexual advances toward the maid. Peck died in Rehoboth in 1697. These tracts of land Peck willed to his son Samuel, who served as Deputy to the General Court at Plymouth, as well as the first representative from the town of Rehoboth after Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts were united. The family continued to live in the area through the twentieth century. Today's Pecks Corner in Rehoboth is named for this early Puritan family.
Through the years, due to cedings of land and incorporations of the neighboring communities, Rehoboth has taken its present shape. The town was and still is a site of crossroads which help to serve Taunton, Providence, Fall River and points to the north.
It is the site of Anawan Rock, where Captain Benjamin Church surrounded and captured Anawan, a Wampanoag sachem and advisor to King Philip
Metacomet
Metacomet , also known as King Philip or Metacom, or occasionally Pometacom, was a war chief or sachem of the Wampanoag Indians and their leader in King Philip's War, a widespread Native American uprising against English colonists in New England.-Biography:Metacomet was the second son of Massasoit...
, and his men, effectively ending the campaigns in Southeastern Massachusetts of King Philip's War
King Philip's War
King Philip's War, sometimes called Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, or Metacom's Rebellion, was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies in 1675–76. The war is named after the main leader of the...
. The Wampanoags had taken this position above Squannakonk Swamp to hide from the colonists. (Although a desolate place at the time, the rock itself is not far off modern-day Route 44
U.S. Route 44
U.S. Route 44 is an east–west United States highway that runs for 237 miles through four states in the Northeastern region of the United States. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 209 and New York State Route 55 in Kerhonkson, a hamlet in the Hudson Valley region of New York...
.)
Rehoboth also has a claim to one of the birthplaces of public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Upon incorporation, the Newman Church in modern-day East Providence elected to support a teacher for the congregation's children. Because of the lack of separation between church and state at the time, Rehoboth claims one of the earliest known education systems in America. One of the town's landmarks is also education related; the Hornbine School located in the southeast corner of town was built in 1845 as one of the town's nine one-room schoolhouses.
Today Rehoboth is mostly a suburban community, with small historic sites dotting the landscape. Although the population is increasing rapidly, Rehoboth is still considered a rural community. There are many working farms in the town.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 46.8 square miles (121.2 km²), of which, 46.5 square miles (120.4 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²) of it (0.60%) is water. Much of the land is hilly and swampy, with most of its brooks and swamps feeding into the Palmer River, which empties out into Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
to the south. The town has a small state forest in the northeast corner, and two small conservation areas: Borden Conservation Area near the center of town and Rehoboth Conservation Area along the Palmer River in the south.
Rehoboth shares its entire western border with Seekonk. It is also bordered by Attleboro and Norton
Norton, Massachusetts
Norton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, and contains the village of Norton Center. The population was 18,036 at the 2000 census...
to the north, Taunton and Dighton to the east, and Swansea to the south and southeast. Rehoboth's localities are: Four Corners, Hornbine, Kingmans Corner, North Rehoboth, Pecks Corner, Perrys Corner, Perryville, Rehoboth Village, South Rehoboth and Anawan Rock. The town is located 11 miles (17.7 km) east of Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
and 50 miles (80.5 km) southeast of Boston.
Transportation
The town does not have many major routes. The longest state routes through town, U.S. Route 44U.S. Route 44
U.S. Route 44 is an east–west United States highway that runs for 237 miles through four states in the Northeastern region of the United States. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 209 and New York State Route 55 in Kerhonkson, a hamlet in the Hudson Valley region of New York...
and Route 118
Route 118 (Massachusetts)
Route 118 is a north-south state highway in Bristol County, Massachusetts.-Route description:Route 118 begins at U.S. Route 6 just east of I-195's Exit 3. The route, which begins as Swansea Mall Drive, passes Swansea Mall and the Swansea Crossing shopping center before crossing Wood Street and...
, intersect near the center of town. Route 6
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6 , also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, a name that honors an American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system, running east-northeast from Bishop, California to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Until 1964, it continued south from Bishop to...
and Interstate 195 run though the southwest corner of town for approximately 0.7 and 1.5 miles (2.4 km), respectively. Exit 2 off I-195 ("Route 136/Warren, R.I.-Newport, R.I.") is just south of where the interstate passes into Swansea and can be reached by Kingsley Way (which also leads into Rte. 136).
Rehoboth is a part of the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority
Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority
The Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority oversees and coordinates public transportation in the areas of Attleboro and Taunton, Massachusetts and nearby areas. It operates daily on fixed routes and schedules within 26 communities in Bristol, Norfolk, and Plymouth counties...
(GATRA), which provides bus service to towns in central Bristol and Plymouth counties. The nearest rail service is in Attleboro, where there are two stops on the MBTA's
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...
Providence line. The nearest local airport is in Taunton; the nearest national airport is T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island, less than 20 miles (32.2 km) away; and the nearest international airport is Logan International Airport
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...
in Boston, 53 miles (85.3 km) away.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 10,172 people, 3,523 households, and 2,871 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 218.8 people per square mile (84.5/km²). There were 3,597 housing units at an average density of 77.4 per square mile (29.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.70% White, 0.35% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.50% of the population. The leading ancestries reported by Rehoboth residents are 17% Irish, 17% English, 16% Portuguese and 11% French.
There were 3,523 households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.5% were non-families. 14.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the town the 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% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $65,373, and the median income for a family was $71,992. Males had a median income of $45,557 versus $32,445 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $26,467. About 2.1% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The town is part of the Fourth Bristol state representative district, including Seekonk and parts of Swansea and Norton. In the state senate, the town is part of the Bristol and Norfolk district, which includes part of the city of Attleboro and all or part of the towns of Dover, Foxborough, Mansfield, Medfield, Norton, Seekonk, Sharon and Walpole. Rehoboth is patrolled by Troop D (Southeast District), 4th Barracks (located in Middleborough) of the Massachusetts State PoliceMassachusetts State Police
The Massachusetts State Police is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security responsible for criminal law enforcement and traffic vehicle regulation across the state...
. On the national level, the town is part of Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district
Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district
Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in central and southeastern Massachusetts. It contains Worcester, the state's second-biggest city. It has been based out of Worcester County since the 1890s. Previously the district had been located in coastal Essex County...
, which is represented by Jim McGovern. The state's senior (Class I
Classes of United States Senators
The three classes of United States Senators are currently made up of 33 or 34 Senate seats. The purpose of the classes is to determine which Senate seats will be up for election in a given year. The three groups are staggered so that one of them is up for election every two years.A senator's...
) Senator, John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, and the state's junior (Class II) Senator, is Scott Brown
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a United States senator.Scott Brown may also refer to:-Sportsmen:*Scott Brown , American college football coach of Kentucky State...
.
The town is governed by an open town meeting
Open town meeting
An open town meeting is a form of town meeting in which all registered voters of a town may vote . This form of government is typical of smaller municipalities in the New England region of the United States....
run by a board of selectmen
Board of selectmen
The board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms.-History:...
. The vote of Town Meeting does in fact count. The current board of selectmen consists of 3 members. Currently, the three selectmen of Rehoboth are Dr. Joseph Tito, Micheal Costello, and Donald Lefort.
The town has a central police and fire station, as well as branch fire stations in North and South Rehoboth. The Blanding Library is located in the Goff Memorial Hall, also near the center of town.
Education
Rehoboth's educational system can be traced back to the earliest days of the town (see "History" for more details). Today, it shares the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District, formed in 1958 and expanded to include all schools in 1987, with its neighbor to the east. The high school, Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School, is located just across the town line in North Dighton, and is a comprehensive high school, providing both college preparatory and vocational-technical training. The town has two schools, the D. L. Beckwith Middle School and the Palmer River Elementary School, both located on Winthrop Street (Rte. 44).As a result of having a vocational-technical wing at the high school, Rehoboth has no direct affiliations with any regional vocational schools; the closest are in Taunton and Fall River. Students can, however, attend Bristol County Agricultural High School in Dighton. The town is also home to one private school, the Cedar Brook Seventh-day Adventist
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
School, which is a K-8 school.
The athletics teams of Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School (the "Falcons") participate in the South Coast Conference ("SCC") of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association ("MIAA"). Sports include cheerleading, cross-country, soccer, football , volleyball, baseball, softball, basketball, golf, field hockey, indoor track, outdoor track, and tennis.
Notable people
- Mary ButterworthMary ButterworthMary Peck Butterworth was a counterfeiter in colonial America.Born to Joseph and Elizabeth Peck in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, she married John Butterworth, son of a British captain in 1710. Mary Butterworth allegedly started her counterfeiting operation around 1716...
, a colonial AmericanColonial AmericaThe colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...
counterfeiter who ran a counterfeiting ring in MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and Rhode IslandRhode IslandThe state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
. - Alissa MustoAlissa MustoAlissa Musto is an American singer and child pianist.She is the winner of the 2007 New England Performs competition, a talent competition with several thousand competitors from all over New England. She held the 2008 championship title for "Rhode Island's Got Talent" where she beat several adults...
, singer/pianist. Has sold records in around the worldWorldWorld is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
, including GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Historic places
- Briggs TavernBriggs TavernBriggs Tavern is a historic building at 2 Anawan Street in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.The tavern was built in 1780 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983....
, (1780) - Brown House (Rehoboth, Massachusetts)Brown House (Rehoboth, Massachusetts)Brown House is a historic house at 384 Tremont Street in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.The house was built in 1700 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983....
(1700) - Col. Thomas Carpenter III HouseCol. Thomas Carpenter III HouseCol. Thomas Carpenter III House is a historic house at 77 Bay State Road in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.The Georgian architecture style house was built in 1755 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.-Family:...
(1755) - Carpenter House (Rehoboth, Massachusetts)Carpenter House (Rehoboth, Massachusetts)Carpenter House is a historic house at 89 Carpenter Street in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.The house was built in 1789 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.-See also:...
(1789) - Hornbine Baptist ChurchHornbine Baptist ChurchHornbine Baptist Church is an historic colonial church at 141 Hornbine Road in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.The church was built in 1753 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983....
(1753) - Martin Farm (Rehoboth, Massachusetts) (1750)
Trivia
- Rehoboth was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records for the town with the most golf courseGolf courseA golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
s in the United States. Today there are seven: Rehoboth, Crestwood, Sun Valley, Pine Valley, Hidden Hollow, Hillside and Middlebrook. - Rehoboth had the first recorded tornadoTornadoA tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
in the United States by EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an colonists in August 1671. - Rehoboth contains the transmissionTransmission (telecommunications)Transmission, in telecommunications, is the process of sending, propagating and receiving an analogue or digital information signal over a physical point-to-point or point-to-multipoint transmission medium, either wired, optical fiber or wireless...
towers for the majority of the television stations in the ProvidenceProvidence, Rhode IslandProvidence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
market, with 5 of the market's 7 full power TV stations transmitting from the north-central part of town.