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 (the near parts now called Mount Hope Neck), and was first explored by Europeans in 1621, by Edward Winslow and Stephen Hopkins. By the next year, Plymouth Colony had established a trading post at Sowams. In 1623, Winslow and John Hampden saved the life of Wampanoag Sachem Massasoit with medicine, gaining an important native ally.

In 1636, Roger Williams, banished from Salem, fled to Sowams where he was sheltered by Massasoit until he settled at Providence.

Permanent English settlement east of the Indian village began. In 1653, Massasoit and his oldest son sold to certain Plymouth Colony settlers what is now Warren and parts of Barrington, Rhode Island; Swansea, Massachusetts; and Rehoboth, Massachusetts. After the death of Massasoit, relations between the Indians and the settlers became strained, leading to King Philip's War in 1675. The English settlement at Sowams was destroyed during the war, but rebuilt.

In 1668, the township was officially incorporated with the name Sowams; in 1691, the Plymouth Colony merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Warren was ceded to Rhode Island from Massachusetts in 1747. The town was named "Warren" after a British naval hero, Admiral Sir Peter Warren, after a victory at Louisburg in 1745. At the time of cession in 1747, Barrington, Rhode Island was unified with Warren, until it was separated again in 1770.

In the mid-18th century the town was well known as a whaling port, and shipbuilding became an important industry. The Revolutionary War seriously affected Warren's commercial prosperity, and the town suffered British raids in 1778 along with the rest of the region.

Warren was the original home of Brown University, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The school registered its first students in 1765. Brown was the Baptist answer to Congregationalist Yale and Harvard, Presbyterian Princeton, and Episcopalian Penn and Columbia. At the time, it was the only one of these schools that welcomed students of all religious persuasions (following the example of Roger Williams, who founded Rhode Island in 1636 on the same principle).

Within the decade after the Revolution commerce revived, and until the middle of the 19th century, Warren was famous for the fine vessels launched from its yards. These vessels, largely commanded by Warren men and operated by Warren crews, engaged in whaling, merchant service, and the West India trade. Three notable ships were built in Warren by Chase & Davis: the 1853 clipper Lookout, the 1853 clipper bark Gem of the Sea, and the 1854 clipper bark Mary Ogden.

With the decline of the whaling industry and related seafaring commerce toward the middle of the 19th century, business attention turned to textile manufacturing. Warren's first cotton mill was erected by the Warren Manufacturing Company in 1847. Further mills and factories developed during and after the Civil War, attracting an immigrant work force.

Presently Warren is home to several waterfront businesses such as Blount Marine, Blount Seafood, and Anchorage Inc. (Dyer Boats).

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 8.6 sqmi, of which, 6.2 sqmi of it is land and 2.5 sqmi of it (28.90%) is water. Warren is located on the east bank of the Warren River (opposite Barrington, Rhode Island).

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,360 people, 4,708 households, and 2,994 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,845.8 people per square mile (713.2/km²). There were 4,977 housing units at an average density of 808.7 per square mile (312.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.82% White, 0.83% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.93% of the population.

There were 4,708 households out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the town the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $41,285, and the median income for a family was $52,824. Males had a median income of $35,472 versus $27,023 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,448. About 5.2% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Local notable sites and historic places

 * Warren United Methodist Church and Parsonage
 * Warren Waterfront Historic District
 * The Baptist Church in Warren

Notable people born in Warren

 * Lizzie Murphy, Baseball player
 * Lou Abbruzzi, NFL football player
 * Pat Abbruzzi, All-Star Canadian football player, RI football legend
 * Luther Blount, Started Blount Marine, American Canadian Caribbean Cruise Lines and Bay Queen Cruises
 * Hezekiah Butterworth, was an American writer of books for young people, and a poet.
 * Jo-Jo Morrissey, Baseball player