Founded in 1731, the Town of Smithfield originally included the surrounding communities that are now North Smithfield and Lincoln.
Named after Smithfield, London, England, the town includes the villages of Esmond, Georgiaville, Greenville, Mountaindale, Stillwater, and Hanton City.
[Source: Wikipedia.]
Smithfield Town Hall is located at 64 Farnum Pike (Rt. 104). Housed inside town hall are the offices of:
- Town Manager
- Town Council
- Town Clerk/Board of Canvassers
- Tax Assessor
- Tax Collector
- Town Planner
- Affordable Housing
- Building and Zoning
- Economic Development
- Finance
- Historic Preservation
- Human Resources
- Planning Board
- Water Supply Board
Other town departments include:
- Emergency Management
215 Pleasant View Avenue, Smithfield , RI 02917 - Public Works/Recycling
3 Spragueville Road, Smithfield, RI 02917 [Forward mail to Town Hall.] - Senior Center/Welfare & Food Bank
1 William J. Hawkins, Jr. Trail, Smithfield, RI 02828
[Click the links to visit the websites for these departments.]
Linda H. James serves as town clerk. James is in her 28th year as either deputy town clerk or town clerk. She was appointed by the town manager and also serves as clerk of the town council, annual financial town meeting, probate court and board of canvassers and is the recorder of deeds. Her department is responsible for all vital public records, including birth, marriage and death certificates: agendas and minutes for the town council and other boards and commissions; voter registration lists; elections and candidates forms; property records; hunting, fishing and animal licenses; permits for liquor, victualling and entertainment. Three other clerks assist James. The office also serves as the primary information center and traffic cop for visitors to Town Hall.
Occupying a peninsula between the Sakonnet River and Rhode Island sound, the 242 acre Sachuest Point National Wildlife refuge is a very popular site for the over 65,000 annual visitors each year.
The refuge sports a newly renovated visitor center, over 2.5 miles of nature trails, viewing platforms, and a number of Refuge volunteers present to help visitors and to help in management of the refuge.
Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge is renowned for its fantastic saltwater fishing, and the presence of the largest winter population of harlequin ducks on the East Coast.
Once a horse racing area, then a Naval communications site, and now a National Wildlife Refuge, the are is steeped in history. From saltmarsh and beach strand habitats to upland shrub dominated lands, the refuge supports over 200 bird species, with such notable occasional visitors such as the peregrine falcon, northern harrier, and the snowy owl.
Sachuest Point, along with the four other National Wildlife Refuges in the State, are administered by the Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, headquartered in Charlestown, RI. The new Kettle Pond Visitor Center and headquarters located in Charlestown, RI,, celebrates the Sachuest Point Refuge and all of the other refuges in Rhode Island. This facility contains interactive exhibits, displays, a sales area, classrooms for special events, and knowledgeable people where visitors can come and explore the refuges and learn about the wildlife resources and coastal environments of each refuge.
The Narragansett Police Department shares a complex with the fire department on Caswell Street, near the entrance of the Pier Marketplace. The department is full-time, and Chief F. Dean Hoxsie was named chief in August 2010, his 27th year with the force.
Cranston Veterans Memorial Ice Rink, home of the Cranston Reds is an indoor hockey rink located on Phenix Avenue. The hockey rink has numerous uses such as being home to Cranston East High School and Cranston West High School hockey programs, hosting youth hockey leagues and adult hockey leagues for men and women, public skating sessions, learn-to-skate programs and is also home to the Cranston Figure Skating Association. The ice rink has four locker rooms, can hold over 1,000 fans on its bleachers and also has a concession stand and snack bar open during games. Public skating is available every day of the week and costs $5 for adults, $3 for children under 6 and $2 for seniors. Skate Rentals are $5. The ice rink is also available for rent and costs $235 per hour.
Originally a few shelves at the back of a mid-1800's one-room schoolhouse on Oliphant Lane, today's town library at 700 West Main Rd. can now accomodate a collection of 80,000 items thanks to renovations completed in 2003.
The Middletown Library has also remained true to its early education roots, as it continues to host lectures by world-reknowned authors, financial education seminars and other community classes, as well as enrichment activities like the Toastmasters public speaking club, and teen programs such as summer movies.
For the kids, there are summer reading programs and drop-in storytimes.
Part of the Ocean State Libraries (OSL) network, the Middletown Public Library offers card holders Internet access to search the Library Catalog from any computer onsite. Its website also hosts an impressive series of links to community resources, digital downloads and engaging and interactive tools including blogs for teens and kids. For more information, visit: http://www.middletownpubliclibrary.org/Community-Links
Centrally located in the heart of town, Middletown Town Hall is where local government keeps things running for this town of less than 18,000 people and where residents may do business with the town. Catch a live Town Council meeting on the first or third Monday of each month, pull a permit or submit a building application with the Building and Zoning office, pay taxes at the convenient Collection window, register to vote with the Canvassing Clerk, or meet the hard-working Town Administrator. And if it's necessary to pull a special event permit, get licensed to own a pet, marry, or become a Funeral Director, obtain vital records or access public information, the Town Clerk's office offers these services and more.
The Town of Smithfield Municipal Ice Rink and Recreational Center is located on busy Pleasant view Avenue, Rt 116, in Smithfield. The center is also the site of the Smithfield Recreational Department, which provides a wide variety of activities to the residents of the area, as well as home ice to the Bryant University Bulldogs Hockey Team, the Smithfield Figure Skating Club, the Northern Rhode Island Viking Youth Hockey Program and the Smithfield High School, Johnston High School and Scituate High School varsity hockey teams. The rink is also available to rent and is used by youth, high school and adult groups in Smithfield and surrounding towns, and provides public skating hours for the general public. In addition, the rink can be rented for birthday parties or other large gatherings and events.
The Town of South Kingston Animal Shelter was founded in 1980. It also serves the town of Narragansett. There is a no-kill policy in place except in extreme cases of health or behaviorial problems. Medical care is provided to the animals and screening is done on potential adoptees to ensure a good home for each cat or dog. Currently, there is construction for a new facility set to open in the spring of 2011.