Hope Valley, Rhode Island
Encyclopedia
Hope Valley is a village and census-designated place
(CDP) in the town
of Hopkinton
in Washington County
, Rhode Island
, United States
. The population of the CDP was 1,649 at the 2000 census
. Hope Valley is the largest village in Hopkinton and the town's principal commercial center.
The central portion of the village was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2004 as the Hope Valley Historic District. The 183 acres (74.1 ha) historic district
includes 134 contributing buildings
and three other contributing structures.
med the Wood River and built several small water-powered mills. His settlement was called Carpenter's Mills. Around 1818 a tannery
was built at the site. The textile industry
arrived in 1824, when Gardner Nichols and Russell Thayer bought the existing mills and began to operate them for carding
of wool
; fulling, coloring
and finishing of cloth; and manufacture of textile machinery.
The formerly separate village of Locustville, which grew up along Brushy Brook, is now part of Hope Valley. A dam and mill were built at the site of Locustville in 1820. In the late 19th century the Locustville mill property was taken over by the Nichols and Langworthy Company, which had operated the Hope Valley mills since 1835.
There are conflicting versions of the origin of the village's name. The word "Hope" is the Rhode Island motto and used in various place names in Rhode Island. The phrase is used on the Rhode Island State Seal with an anchor
because Roger Williams
was inspired by the Biblical passage "hope is the anchor of the soul" in Hebrews, Verse 6:19. In 2008 a town historian told the Providence Journal that Gardner Nichols renamed the village from Carpenter’s Mills to Hope Valley “because all of his hopes were centered” in the village. This version also appears in History of the State of Rhode Island.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the CDP has a total area of 9.1 km² (3.5 mi²). 8.5 km² (3.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (5.43%) is water.
of 2000, there were 1,649 people, 630 households, and 464 families residing in the CDP. The population density
was 192.9/km² (499.0/mi²). There were 663 housing units at an average density of 77.6/km² (200.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.03% White, 0.73% African American, 0.97% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.12% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.67% of the population.
There were 630 households out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.5% were married couples
living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 101.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.4 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $43,264, and the median income for a family was $47,857. Males had a median income of $33,462 versus $28,125 for females. The per capita income
for the CDP was $18,925. About 2.9% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under the age of 18 and 5.7% of those 65 and older.
, who established a pioneering school for African-American girls, was born in 1803 in the area that is now Hope Valley. A granite
marker erected in her memory stands in the village. Hope Valley is also the hometown of country music singer Billy Gilman
.
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP) in the town
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...
of Hopkinton
Hopkinton, Rhode Island
Hopkinton is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 8,188 at the 2010 census.The villages of Ashaway and Hope Valley are located in Hopkinton.-Geography:Hopkinton is found at 41.461 N latitude and 71.778 W longitude...
in Washington County
Washington County, Rhode Island
Washington County, commonly known colloquially as South County, is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Washington County borders Kent County to the north, New London County in Connecticut to the west, Suffolk County in New York to the southwest, the Atlantic...
, 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population of the CDP was 1,649 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
. Hope Valley is the largest village in Hopkinton and the town's principal commercial center.
The central portion of the village was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2004 as the Hope Valley Historic District. The 183 acres (74.1 ha) historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
includes 134 contributing buildings
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
and three other contributing structures.
History
The earliest European-American settlement of the village site was by Hezekiah Carpenter, who arrived in 1770 and damDam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
med the Wood River and built several small water-powered mills. His settlement was called Carpenter's Mills. Around 1818 a tannery
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
was built at the site. The textile industry
Textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the production of yarn, and cloth and the subsequent design or manufacture of clothing and their distribution. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry....
arrived in 1824, when Gardner Nichols and Russell Thayer bought the existing mills and began to operate them for carding
Carding
Carding is a mechanical process that breaks up locks and unorganised clumps of fibre and then aligns the individual fibres so that they are more or less parallel with each other. The word is derived from the Latin carduus meaning teasel, as dried vegetable teasels were first used to comb the raw wool...
of wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
; fulling, coloring
Dyeing
Dyeing is the process of adding color to textile products like fibers, yarns, and fabrics. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular chemical material. After dyeing, dye molecules have uncut Chemical bond with fiber molecules. The temperature and time controlling...
and finishing of cloth; and manufacture of textile machinery.
The formerly separate village of Locustville, which grew up along Brushy Brook, is now part of Hope Valley. A dam and mill were built at the site of Locustville in 1820. In the late 19th century the Locustville mill property was taken over by the Nichols and Langworthy Company, which had operated the Hope Valley mills since 1835.
There are conflicting versions of the origin of the village's name. The word "Hope" is the Rhode Island motto and used in various place names in Rhode Island. The phrase is used on the Rhode Island State Seal with an anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
because Roger Williams
Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...
was inspired by the Biblical passage "hope is the anchor of the soul" in Hebrews, Verse 6:19. In 2008 a town historian told the Providence Journal that Gardner Nichols renamed the village from Carpenter’s Mills to Hope Valley “because all of his hopes were centered” in the village. This version also appears in History of the State of Rhode Island.
Geography
Hope Valley is located at 41°30′43"N 71°42′55"W (41.511877, -71.715411).According to the United States Census Bureau
United 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 CDP has a total area of 9.1 km² (3.5 mi²). 8.5 km² (3.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (5.43%) is water.
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 1,649 people, 630 households, and 464 families residing in the CDP. 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 192.9/km² (499.0/mi²). There were 663 housing units at an average density of 77.6/km² (200.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.03% White, 0.73% African American, 0.97% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.12% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.67% of the population.
There were 630 households out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.5% 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, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 101.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.4 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $43,264, and the median income for a family was $47,857. Males had a median income of $33,462 versus $28,125 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 CDP was $18,925. About 2.9% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under the age of 18 and 5.7% of those 65 and older.
Notable people
Prudence CrandallPrudence Crandall
Prudence Crandall , a schoolteacher raised as a Quaker, stirred controversy with her education of African-American girls in Canterbury, Connecticut...
, who established a pioneering school for African-American girls, was born in 1803 in the area that is now Hope Valley. A granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
marker erected in her memory stands in the village. Hope Valley is also the hometown of country music singer Billy Gilman
Billy Gilman
William Wendell "Billy" Gilman III is an American country music artist. In 2000, at the age of 12, he debuted with the single "One Voice," a Top 20 hit on the Billboard country music charts and became the youngest singer to a Top 40 hit on the country music charts...
.