Best Community #8: Historically Rich

Friday, June 24, 2011

GoLocalProv Best Communities Team

 

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Bristol

The phrase, postcard-perfect, is overused and applied to unworthy subjects, but no one could dispute that this East Bay town, with its historic homes, bustling waterfront, and red-and-white-stripe Yankee Doodle Dandy of a Main Street, is anything but. Home to the nation's oldest Fourth of July parade, Bristol is not only a emblematic New England town but a mixed and vibrant community that moves into the Top 10 Best Communities this year at #8.

What makes Bristol a great community, according to the numbers? It's not affordability. All that beauty comes at a price, and Bristol sits below the midline at 24th in 2011. Its schools also struggle, coming in at 23rd. But here's where the tide turns. With a top 15 Economic Condition ranking, a solid 13th place in Safety, and a 6th place in Arts and Culture, this town reminds that real communities, good ones, exist. Even in postcards.

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Bristol by the numbers

Established: 1680
Population: 22,954
Median household income: $63,885
Median housing price: $250,000

2011 Best Communities rankings

Overall ranking: 8
Affordability ranking: 24
Education ranking: 23
Economic condition ranking: 14
Safety ranking: 13
Arts & Culture ranking: 6

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History in a nutshell:

The early history of Bristol is most associated with the Metacom War. It was here where King Philip maintained his base, plotted his attacks against the white settlers, and where he would ultimately die at the foot of Mount Hope. In 1680, Bristol was incorporated as part of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts and was later transferred to Rhode Island in 1746. Ever since the 17th century, shipbuilding and sailing have been an integral part of the local community. Surrounding Bristol are 15 miles of Narragansett Bay coastline and there are ample areas for sailing, fishing, and swimming.

Famous residents:

Benjain Bourne, lawyer, jurist, and politician
Pat McGee, singer, songwriter, musician
John Saffin, best known for his A Brief and Candid Answer to Samuel Sewall's The Selling of Joseph (1700), over the issue of slavery
William Bradford, physician, lawyer, and United States Senator
Jonathan Russell Bullock, jurist and legislator
Ambrose Burnside, railroad executive, industrialist, politician, and Union general
Jonathan DeFelice, President of Saint Anselm College
James De Wolf, slave trader and United States senator
Nathanael Herreshoff, yacht designer & builder
Ira Magaziner, former senior adviser for policy development to the Clinton Administration and chairman of the William J Clinton Foundation Initiatives
Ethel Barrymore Colt, actor and lyricist
Samuel P. Colt, entrepreneur, politician, lawyer, gentleman farmer & philanthropist
Anthony Quinn, actor
William Thomas "Billy" Andrade, PGA Tour Professional Golfer
Edward L. Leahy, United States Senator and federal judge

Additional research by Nate Holterman

 

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