Barrington in 1840

Barrington contained 549 people in 1840, a DECLINE of about 20% since the 1790 Census recorded 683. This offered a sharp contrast to industrial centers such as Providence, which by 1840 had almost quadrupled its 1790 population to 23, 172. Barrington was a town of farmers and tradesmen; its village centered on what is now the intersection of County Road and Federal Road, where the “White Church” still stands.

Town politics was dominated by members of families whose last names still dot the landscape, including Allin, Bicknell, Drown, Heath, Humphrey, Martin, Peck, and Smith. Most of these leaders–but not all of them–seem to have been sympathetic to the “Charterite” cause in 1842.