The Truth Behind Rumford, Rhode Island

When I first began working in Rhode Island radio in the 1980s, folks would tell me they lived in Rumford. I assumed Rumford, Rhode Island, was a city or town I hadn't heard of before – but how could that be?

Rhode Island is "the biggest little state in the Union," or so the once-popular tourism ad slogan boasted, tucked neatly under Massachusetts' armpit only a few short miles from where I grew up.

How could I have not heard of Rumford, Rhode Island?

Rhode Island takes up only 1,545 square miles of space. Some 511 square miles (33 percent) are water. The entire Ocean State is 48 miles long by 37 miles wide. It's puny.

Big things come in small packages, so I am not disputing the quality of our tiny neighbor to our west. However, I could never figure out this Rumford thing since it's not on the map.

Is Rumford a fictitious place like SouthCoast or Neverland, known only to true believers?

It turns out that Rumford is more like Sassaquin, which is a neighborhood or section of New Bedford's far North End. Sassaquin is not one of the 351 cities and towns that make up Massachusetts, yet there it is. A lot of folks claim birthright to it.

Rumford is the northern section of the City of East Providence, Rhode Island, not to be confused with the East Side of Providence. The Rumford section of East Providence, about 150 acres in size, borders Seekonk, Massachusetts, and Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Rumford was once a part of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and Seekonk before joining East Providence in 1862. Rumford was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Rumford hosts the Wannamoisett Country Club, which opened in 1898. The PGA Championship was played there in 1931.