Olneyville, Providence, Rhode Island facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Olneyville
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The Weybosset Mills Complex
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Location of Olneyville within Providence
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Rhode Island |
| City | Providence |
Olneyville is a neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island bordered by Atwells Avenue to the north, U.S. Route 6 to the south and Rhode Island Route 10 to the east. The Woonasquatucket River runs through the southern portion of the neighborhood. The area is roughly triangular.
Olneyville Square is a major traffic intersection in Olneyville, defined by the intersection of Westminster Street, Broadway, Hartford Ave, Plainfield Street, and Manton Avenue.
History
Settlement in Olneyville began at Olneyville Square in the early 18th century. The area began as a center of trade with a nearby Narragansett village. Larger settlement began in 1785 after Christopher Olney, for whom Olneyville is named, founded a grist mill and a paper mill on a wide part of the Woonasquatucket River. Olney was a captain during the Revolutionary War and owned a 95 acre farm in the area. By the end of the American Revolutionary War, a forge and foundry and other small industries operated in Olneyville.
Through the mid-19th century, Olneyville developed as a railroad junction and mill district. This attracted many Polish immigrants. However, the mill industries declined after World War II causing economic decline. The construction of the Route 6 connector in the 1950s exacerbated these problems. In the two decades that followed Olneyville witnessed a substantial drop in its population.
On May 15, 1900, Olneyville was the site of one of the few occasions of "raining fish", when a late afternoon thunderstorm brought perch and bullspouts falling from the skies.
Development
Former warehouses and mill buildings in Olneyville were home to a number of artist collectives including Fort Thunder in the 1990s. Since 2000, many of these buildings have been purchased by developers who plan to convert them into luxury condominiums.
However, proposals to develop the Olneyville area have met some local opposition, caused by fears of gentrification. In March 2007, the Olneyville Neighborhood Association (ONA) declared its opposition to plans from the United Way to move their headquarters from the East Side to Calender Mills in Olneyville.
Demographics
Olneyville's population, 6,495 in the 2000 US Census, is very diverse. As of the 2010 US Census, the racial and ethnic breakdown of Olneyville was 61% Hispanic; 16% White; 13% Black or African American; 4% Asian; 6% Other.
63% of public school children speak a language other than English as their primary language.
The housing stock is 18% owner-occupied and 12% single-family housing units, compared with 35% and 26%, respectively, for Providence overall (US Census 2000)
The median family income is $19,046, well below the citywide average of $32,058. 41.1% of families live in poverty while nearly one in four families receives some form of public assistance.
Rates of lead poisoning 14% of children younger than age 6 had elevated blood lead levels, some of the highest in Providence (2004–2008 RI Department of Health, KIDSNET data).
Of Olneyville's households, 41% report not owning a car (US Census 2000)
Only 3% of total births were less than 2500 g, one of the best rates in Providence (2007 RI Department of Health, KIDSNET data).
Of total births, 88% from 2006 to 2008 were to mothers with public insurance, which is one of the highest rates in Providence (1997–2008 RI Department of Health, KIDSNET data).
Food and culture
The Hot wiener is a Rhode Island specialty food created in 1927 at the still operating, New York System on Smith Street (U.S. Rt. 44) in the nearby Smith Hill neighborhood, however the Olneyville New York System, in Olneyville, is often cited as the "definitive" or "quintessential" vendor and dates to its opening by Greek immigrant Anthony Stevens in 1946.
Parks
Olneyville has three parks: John Donigian Memorial Park and Riverside Mills Park along the Woonasquatucket River, and Joslin Recreation area, on Florence Street.
Sports
Messer Street Grounds was home to the Providence Grays baseball team of the National League from 1878 to 1885.
Images for kids
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Cotton mill workers in a home in Olneyville, 1912
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National and Providence Worsted Mills
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Woonasquatucket River Greenway
