Town of Bristol | |
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Town | |
Bristol Harbor
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Location in Bristol County and the state of Rhode Island. |
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Coordinates: 41°41′3″N 71°16′7″W / 41.68417°N 71.26861°WCoordinates: 41°41′3″N 71°16′7″W / 41.68417°N 71.26861°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Rhode Island |
County | Bristol |
Incorporated | 1746 |
Government | |
• Type | Council-manager |
• Town Administrator | Antonio "Tony" A Teixeira (I) RI |
• Town Council | Timothy E. Sweeney (D) Mary A. Parella (R) Nathan T. Calouro (D) Edward P. Stuart, Jr (D) Halsey C. Herreshoff (R) |
• Town Clerk | Louis P. Cirillo (R) |
Area | |
• Total | 20.6 sq mi (53.4 km2) |
• Land | 10.1 sq mi (26.2 km2) |
• Water | 10.5 sq mi (27.2 km2) |
Elevation | 131 ft (40 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 22,954 |
• Density | 2,269/sq mi (876.1/km2) |
Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 02809 |
Area code(s) | 401 |
FIPS code | 44-09280 |
GNIS feature ID | 1220083 |
Demonym | Bristolian ("brihs-TOH-lee-an") |
Website | www.bristolri.us |
Bristol is a town in the historic county seat of Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,954 at the 2010 census. Bristol is a deepwater seaport named after Bristol, England.
Major industries include boat building (and related marine industries), manufacturing, and tourism. The town's school system is united with neighboring Warren, Rhode Island. Prominent communities include Luso-Americans (Portuguese-Americans), mostly Azorean, and Italian-Americans.
Before the Pilgrims arrived in 1620, the Wampanoags occupied much of New England, including Plymouth, Cape Cod, and Narragansett Bay. The Wampanoags had previously suffered from a series of plagues which killed off large segments of their population, and Wampanoag leader Massasoit befriended the early settlers.King Phillip's War was a conflict between the Plymouth settlers and the Wampanoags, and it began in the neighboring area of Swansea, Massachusetts. Metacomet made nearby Mount Hope (Montaup) his base of operations; he died following an ambush by Captain Benjamin Church on August 12, 1676. "King Philip's Chair" is a rocky ledge on the mountain which was a lookout site for enemy ships on Mount Hope Bay.