Short answers, pulled from the story.
The General Assembly officially incorporated Smithfield, Rhode Island in February 1731. A town meeting convened on the 17th of March 1731 at the home of Captain Richard Whitman to establish local governance.
John Steere was among the first settlers to claim land in this area during the year 1663. Officials named the new town after John Smith who received land from Roger Williams and formed part of the initial town council with Thomas Steere and Benjamin Smith.
Several textile mills opened along the banks of the Woonasquatucket River by the early 1800s. Nine cotton mills operated within the town boundaries by 1819 and mill numbers grew to twenty distinct operations by 1876.
North Smithfield and Lincoln received charters from the General Assembly in 1871 to become separate municipalities. Central Falls later split from Lincoln in 1895 to form its own city government while Hanton City remains a ghost town within present-day Smithfield boundaries.
Earl Silas Tupper donated land for Bryant College's current campus in 1971. The university relocated to this site after purchasing property that had been farmed for three generations between the late 19th century and mid-20th century.
The 2020 census recorded 22,118 residents living in Smithfield with a median household income of $101,653. Eighty-four point seven-seven percent identified as White while 4.2% of the population lived below the poverty line at that time.