Incorporated in 1806, Burrillville is located in the northwest corner of Rhode Island, bounded on the north by Massachusetts and on the west by Connecticut. It is approximately 20 miles from Providence, has a land area of 57.3 square miles, and a population density of approximately 284 persons per square mile based on the latest census population of 16,230. The town was taken from the town of Glocester and was named for James Burrill, Jr., then-Attorney General, in recognition of his services in establishing the new town. One of the main reasons for the creation of the new town was that people living in what was to become Burrillville disliked traveling to Chepachet to conduct official business and attend Town Meetings.
Burrillville grew quickly, its economy fed by a burgeoning woolen textile industry that continued to be of major importance until the 1950s when the textile industry in the Northeast began to move to the South. It was Burrillville’s mills that led to the development of the town’s many small villages.
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– Town of Burrillville – a history
People from all corners of the state will tell you that it just doesn’t get any better than a family dinner at Wright’s Farm, with all of the chicken, pasta, french fries and salad you can eat.
The restaurant and banquet facility off Route 102 in Burrillville has earned its place as a Rhode Island landmark, hosting countless weddings, anniversaries and birthdays on its picturesque grounds. But visitors to Burrillville do not get a true sense of the town unless they venture past Wright’s Farm, taking a left onto Route 107 and traveling a couple of miles farther, into Harrisville.
A one-story town hall sits in the center of Harrisville. There are several churches, a post office, elementary school, public library – and a funeral home within walking distance. The village of Pascoag is a bit farther down Route 107.
Strewn about Burrillville are five picturesque lakes.
Burrillville is a close-knit community. At town hall, visitors are greeted by name. Outside, a police cruiser passes by and the officer behind the wheel waves to a man crossing the street. The Lil’ General store across the street from town hall provides coffee for a steady stream of regulars. As 1999 turned into 2000, the biggest issue in town centered on a proposal by the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families to build a series of cottages on state-owned land, where juvenile sex offenders would be treated. The land in question sits near Zambarano Memorial Hospital, Burrillville’s largest employer. At a recent public hearing on the matter, state officials said there were few other options available to them. But residents of Burrillville expressed concern for their safety.
Development is always an issue. The town enjoys limited highway intrusion, but it comes with a price. For example CVS, headquartered in Woonsocket, builds a facility in nearby North Smithfield – directly off Route 146.
TRAFFIC JAMS are rare in Pascoag.
State Rep. Scott P. Rabideau, a Republican from Pascoag, said expanding the town’s tax base is always a concern. In some ways, he said, the town is in a difficult situation. With its own sewage treatment plant and public water in the villages of Harrisville and Pascoag, it is becoming an increasingly popular place to live.
In fact, said Rabideau, there are plans under way to build as many as 250 new single-family homes.
“That is a significant hit to our tax base,” he said. “We’ve really become a bedroom community. We have to be careful.”
At Dumais Realty, in the Slatersville section of neighboring North Smithfield, Ron Laliberte often gets calls from folks in search of country living.
“It’s rural and there’s privacy,” said Laliberte. “And the people are friendly. The houses and land there have traditionally been less expensive than in some of the neighboring towns. That has been a draw.”
It is that sense of its own history and country setting that makes Burrillville so special, Rabideau said.
“It’s a wonderful, old blue collar community,” he said.
Several of the old mills remain – and are vacant. Most of the businesses are small operations, but seemingly successful. The Inn at the Falls has a steady breakfast crowd, and the owner can’t stop to talk to a visitor because he’s running out on a catering job. Burrillville has its share of big business as well, including the Universal Furniture Corporation and a genuine auto dealer, Burrillville Chevrolet.
Mike Thibaudeau is the service manager at Burrillville Chevrolet, where he has worked for the last 10 years. Thibaudeau has worked at dealerships in cities, but he prefers the rural flavor of Burrillville.
”I know most all of my customers by name,” he said. “We have a lot of loyal customers.”
Burrillville Town Council President Wallace F. Lees was born and raised in town. His parents worked in the cotton mills. And he did the same as a high school student. Lees spent 31 years on the town’s police force before retiring in 1994 as its chief.
”There were at least 11 textile mills booming here at one time, until they moved south in the 1950s,” Lees said.
History is important to the people of Burrillville, Lees added.
”The people here want some industry,” he said. “But they want to keep things rural. They don’t want over-development.”
So the property owner tends to pick up the slack when it comes to taxes, Lees said. It’s a problem, he conceded. But the answer is in expanding the commercial tax base very carefully, not in building new highways. Lees insists that people get used to that 20-minute drive to Route 146 or the 25 minutes it can take to get to Route 295.
”When you get used to it, it isn’t a problem,” he said. “It’s just a little bit of time.”
