Greene

History

Until 1854, Greene was a swamp with a cart path running through it. The path connected Hopkins Hollow to the south and Rice City to the north. The railroad came to the area in the early 1850s, and the original train stop was known as "Coffin Station" because Coffin Road was the nearest road. In 1856, railroad officials renamed the station "Greene" after Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene. The railroad wanted to build a depot where local farmers could sell their produce to the trains heading towards Providence, Rhode Island and Hartford, Connecticut, and the Greene depot became an important station in western Rhode Island. Every morning, farmers would bring their produce to sell to the 7:25 milk train going to Providence. As the station grew in importance, a village grew up around it, shipping large amounts of milk, wood, and cranberries via train. Eventually, a school, church, library, and meeting hall were built, as well as a religious campground where the Advent Christian Church held annual camp meetings starting in 1880. The religious campground became important in Rhode Island, where camp meetings were held throughout the summer. The railroad would add on extra cars to their trains during the summer months, and up to 10,000 people would attend. After the beginning of the 20th century, the camp meeting declined and ended decades later. The railroad's importance declined greatly in the 20th century with the advent of the automobile, and the depot closed in 1969. Today, Greene is a shadow of what it once was. However, the village is mostly intact, with most of the buildings dating from the late 19th century.

Geography

The Greene census-designated place includes the communities of Greene, Fairbanks Corner, Rice City and Summit. Rhode Island Route 14 runs along the northern edge of the CDP through Fairbanks Corner, and leads northeast to Providence and west to Moosup, Connecticut. Rhode Island Route 117 passes through the center of the CDP, from Fairbanks Corner through Greene village, and over to Summit, eventually leading to Apponaug in the city of Warwick. Rhode Island Route 102 forms the eastern border of the CDP; it leads north to Clayville in the town of Scituate and south the same distance to Interstate 95 in the town of West Greenwich. The Coventry Greenway, part of the East Coast Greenway running from Maine to Florida, is a rail trail that runs through the community on the route of the old New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Greene CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.28%, are water. The community is drained by the Moosup River, which flows west to the Quinebaug River in Connecticut.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Coventry High School
  High · Coventry · 1,301 students · 12.2:1 ratio
• Alan Shawn Feinstein MS of Cov
  Middle · Coventry · 974 students · 10.8:1 ratio
• Washington Oak School
  Elementary · Coventry · 625 students · 15.6:1 ratio
• Exeter-West Greenwich Regional
  High · West Greenwich · 453 students · 10.8:1 ratio
• Hopkins Hill School
  Elementary · Coventry · 339 students · 11.3:1 ratio
• Western Coventry School
  Elementary · Coventry · 330 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• Blackrock School
  Elementary · Coventry · 324 students · 13:1 ratio
• Tiogue School
  Elementary · Coventry · 322 students · 12.9:1 ratio