Westerly

Westerly is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a population of 23,359 as of the 2020 census. The town was settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669. Its primary industries today are textiles and tourism, but the town was historically famous for its granite, quarried in Bradford and Potter Hill. Westerly sits atop a glacial moraine, a series of small hills of debris left behind by receding glaciers in the last Ice Age. A pristine sample of the moraine encompasses a 140-acre (0.57 km²) preserve owned in perpetuity by the Westerly Land Trust. In 2021, Tropical Storm Henri made landfall in Westerly, causing significant damage and power outages. Due to its location, Westerly is vulnerable to tropical storms and hurricanes. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy left beaches along Westerly shoreline devastated and nearly unrecognizable, including Misquamicut. Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee stated that Misqamicut was "our New Jersey," referring to the amount of damage that was received in the state of New Jersey. In the 1990s, the town had four trolley lines that shared track between the railroad station and Dixon House Square downtown. The four lines were built in the 1890s and 1900s and ran until the 1920s. The current police headquarters is located on Airport Road, where the town's former police station, former railroad station, and former police headquarters are located.

History

Westerly was probably named for the settlement's location respective to Rhode Island's geography, being the westernmost town in the state. The English village of Westerleigh, in the county of Gloucestershire, was the home of one of Westerly's founding fathers Elder John Crandall (c.1612-1676) The four trolley lines of the Groton and Stonington Street Railway, Norwich and Westerly Railway, and the Pawtucket Valley Street Railway converged in Westerly and shared track between the railroad station and Dixon House Square downtown. The town was historically famous for its granite, quarried in Bradford and Potter Hill. Westerly was devastated in 1938, 1944, and 1954 by several major hurricanes. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy left beaches along the Westerly shoreline devastated and nearly unrecognizable, including Misquamicut. In 2021, Tropical Storm Henri made landfall in Westerley, causing significant damage and power outages. Due to its location, Westerly is vulnerable to tropical storms and hurricanes. Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee stated that MisquAmicut was "our New Jersey," referring to the amount of damage that was received in theState of New Jersey. Dr. Joshua Babcock was a physician, American Revolution general, and Rhode Island Supreme Court justice. Chief Justice and Governor of Rhode Island Samuel Ward was a doctor, general and politician as well as a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives and the House of Delegates.

Geography

Westerly sits atop a glacial moraine, a series of small hills of debris left behind by receding glaciers in the last Ice Age. A pristine sample of the moraine encompasses a 140-acre (0.57 km²) preserve owned in perpetuity by the Westerly Land Trust. The town holds a number of annual events, such as the Pawcatuck River Duck Race in April, Virtu Art Festival in May, Shakespeare in the Park and the Summer Pops (hosted by the Chorus of Westerly) in July. The Guild Guitar Company was founded in 1952 by Alfred Dronge in New York City and moved production to Westerly in 1966. Its quarries produced blue granite, in addition to pinks and reds. The Smith Granite Company employed many granite cutting craftsmen and was one of the town's major employers until the quarries stopped operating in the 1950s. Hundreds of examples of their work can be seen on the battlefields of Gettysburg and in city squares, municipal buildings, cemeteries throughout the United States. The Memorial Day Parade started in 1867, held in May on Memorial Day, and the Veterans Day parade started in 1917, held on the Saturday of Veterans Day week. The Westerly-Pawcatuck Chamber of Commerce's events have attracted many visitors, including big screen movies on the beach through July and August, Westerly's Columbus Day parade in October, and several beachfront events. It has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) according to most recent temperatures.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 22,966 people, 9,402 households, and 6,130 families residing in the town. The most frequent ancestries among the town's population are Italian (34.2%), Irish (17.9%) and English (14.2%). Many Italians moved to Westerly from Italy around the start of the 20th century (particularly from Sicily and Calabria), and Italian dialects are still spoken at the homes of many older residents. Washington Trust Bancorp Inc., a publicly traded regional bank with operations in Rhode Island and Connecticut, is headquartered in Westerly. The median income for a household in the Town of Westerly was $44,613, and for a family was $53,165. The per capita income for the town was $24,092. About 4.3% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 7.6%) of those age 65 or over. The town is located on the shores of the Narragansett Bay, which is a tributary of the Naugatuck River. The Narragani River runs through the town, and runs into the shore of the Wiscasset River, which runs through Westerly's southern tip. The Naugattuck River flows through the center of the town and into the Noughton River, where it flows into the Connecticut River.

Transportation

Westerly has U.S. Route 1 and state routes 1A, 3, and 91. Route 78 forms a bypass around Westerly downtown and ends near Westerly Airport. Amtrak offers service between Washington, DC and Boston, stopping at the Westerly station near downtown. The station itself was closed in October 2016, but passengers can still board and disembark at the platform. The Westerly State Airport offers service by one commercial airline. It is located on the eastern edge of Rhode Island, near the town of Westerly, and the state's largest city, Providence. It can be reached by Interstate 95, Connecticut Route 2 and Rhode Island Route 3, or by state routes 91 and 1A. It also has a private airport, Westerly International Airport, which offers flights to and from New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, and Providence. The airport is located near the city's downtown area, but is also accessible by other routes, such as Route 78 and Route 3. It has an airport terminal, which is located in the town's central business district, and can be accessed by air traffic from Westerly or from Stonington, Connecticut, about 5 miles away. It was the site of a World War II-era naval base, which was decommissioned in the 1970s and replaced by an airfield in the early 1980s. It still has a small airport terminal that opened in the 1990s, but has since been closed to accommodate the growth of the city.

Points of interest

Westerly High School, Westerly Town Beach, and Wilcox Park are points of interest. National Historic Register sites include the U.S. Post Office, North End Historic District, and North End Nursery Site, RI-273. The Westerly Historic District includes the former Immaculate Conception Church, and the former North End Church. The National Park Service maintains a park in Westerly, Rhode Island, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island = 13.7. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 48. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 80. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Westerly = 3.6 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 23,359 individuals with a median age of 42.1 age the population grows by 1.81% in Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 777 residents per square mile of area (299.9/km²). There are average 2.31 people per household in the 7,644 households with an average household income of $52,076 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 9.80% of the available work force and has dropped -2.04% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 26.12%. The number of physicians in Westerly per 100,000 population = 247.8.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Westerly = 48.1 inches and the annual snowfall = 24.3 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 117. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 203. 80 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 19.6 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 49, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island which are owned by the occupant = 57.49%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 39 years with median home cost = $251,860 and home appreciation of -7.49%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $16.46 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $7,944 per student. There are 19.5 students for each teacher in the school, 491 students for each Librarian and 573 students for each Counselor. 7.03% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 14.82% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 8.17% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).