Town of Rehoboth General Information: General Information County: Bristol Settled: 1636 Incorporated: 1643 2000 population: Total -10,172 Density - 218.8/square mile Area: 46.8 square miles Government: Open town meeting Area code(s): 508 / 774

Location in Bristol County in Massachusetts Coordinates: 41° 50'25" N 71°15' 00" W

Town Phone Numbers Town Clerk: 508-252-6502 Executive Secretary/Town Hall: 508-252-3758 Selectman's Office: 508-252-3758 Treasurer: 508-252-3571 Link to more information about Rehoboth>>>

First Congregational Church, Rehoboth

Rehoboth is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,172 at the 2000 census.

History

It was incorporated in 1643 making it one of the earliest Massachusetts towns to be incorporated. The Rehoboth Carpenter Family is among the founding families. When it first became part of Rehoboth 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. 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. Today's Pecks Corner in Rehoboth is named for this early Puritan family.

Goff Memorial Hall

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.

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.

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.

Geography

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.

Transportation

The town does not have many major routes. The longest state routes through town, U.S. Route 44 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, 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).

Headstone of Capt. Samuel Peck, son of Joseph Peck, one of the original settlers of Rehoboth. Palmer's River churchyard, Rehoboth

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 away; and the nearest international airport is Logan International Airport in Boston, 53 miles away.

Government

The town is part of the Fourth Bristol state representative district. In the state senate, the town is part of the Bristol and Norfolk district. 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 current board of selectmen consists of 3 members. Currently, the three selectmen of Rehoboth are Kevin McBride,Donald Lefort and Kenneth Foley. 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 Today, it shares the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District. 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).

Students can 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.

Golf

Rehoboth was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records for the town with the most golf courses in the United States. Today there are seven: Rehoboth, Crestwood, Sun Valley, Pine Valley, Hidden Hollow, Hillside and Middlebrook.

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Bus: 508-995-8240
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OPEN HOUSE: Sat. & Sun. 1 - 4 pm


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Directions: I-195 toward RT-79/ ROVIDENCE R.I. / RT-138 / SOMERSET. (5.1 Miles) Take the US-6 E exit - Exit 3 - toward RT-118 / SWANSEA / REHOBOTH. (0.3 Miles) Turn LEFT onto US-6. (0.1 Miles) Turn LEFT onto SWANSEA MALL DR. / MA-118 N. Continue to follow MA-118 N. (2.1 Miles) Turn RIGHT onto lain St / MA-118 (2.4 Miles) End at 72 Plain St. Rehoboth, MA 02769-2544, US.