Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Cumberland Hill

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Dormition of the Virgin Mary Parish, Cumberland Hill RIPhoto: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Cumberland Hill

Cumberland Hill’s post office opened in 1822, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Cumberland Hill was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1894 on.

1822first post office
2on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cumberland Hill’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cumberland Hill began

When was Cumberland Hill founded?

1822

The Cumberland Hill post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 8,140204 years
Founding year: the first Cumberland Hill post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Cumberland Hill’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18946 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1998. Watch Cumberland Hill change.Deep rootsA post office since 1822: 204 years of Cumberland Hill.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cumberland Hill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cumberland Hill’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewHistoric American Buildings Survey, Art…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Cumberland Hill on the map, 1894 to 1998

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cumberland Hill. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cumberland Hill on the 1894 USGS mapCumberland Hill on the 1938 USGS mapCumberland Hill on the 1949 USGS mapCumberland Hill on the 1970 USGS mapCumberland Hill on the 1987 USGS mapCumberland Hill on the 1998 USGS map1894Providence sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cumberland Hill.

The story so far

Cumberland Hill, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cumberland Hill yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Cumberland Hill is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Cumberland, in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. As of the 2020 census, Cumberland Hill had a population of 8,140.

Its first post office opened in 1822. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 7,934 to 8,140 (+3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Cumberland Hill, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Historic American Buildings Survey, Arthur LeBoeuf, Photographer, 1937 FRONT ENTRANCE DOORWAY. - Cyrus Cooke House, Wes…1933Historic American Buildings Survey, Arthur LeBoeuf, P…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown2 to date
Cyrus Cooke House, West Wrentham RoadDate?Cyrus Cooke House, West Wrentham RoadElder Ballou Meetinghouse, Ballou Meetinghouse Road & West Wrentham RoadDate?Elder Ballou Meetinghouse, Ballou Meetinghouse Road &…
Today2 recent
Dormition of the Virgin Mary Parish2014Dormition of the Virgin Mary ParishCumberlandRI BurlingameNoonHouse2013CumberlandRI BurlingameNoonHouse
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Historic American Buildings Survey, Arthur LeBoeuf, Photographer, 1937 FRONT ENTRANCE DOORWAY. - Cyrus Cooke House, Wes…
Retake this viewHistoric American Buildings Survey, Arthur LeBoeuf, Photographer, 1937 FRONT ENTRANCE DOORWAY. - Cyrus Cooke House, Wes…, 1933

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Cumberland Hill’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Cumberland Hill

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Cumberland Hill

Nobody well known was born in Cumberland Hill itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
H. P. LovecraftAmerican writer and editor · b. 1890
Cormac McCarthyAmerican novelist, playwright, and screenwriter · b. 1933
Damien ChazelleFrench-American filmmaker · b. 1985
Horace MannAmerican politician · b. 1796
Aaron BeckAmerican psychiatrist, researcher, therapist · b. 1921
Gina Raimondo40th United States Secretary of Commerce · b. 1971
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Cumberland16 historic placesA−Lincoln18 historic placesAWoonsocket43 historic placesA−North Smithfield9 historic placesA

Questions about Cumberland Hill’s history

What year was Cumberland Hill founded?

The Cumberland Hill post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (2) and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.