More notes on the May, 1942 Conn / RI fires
West Greenwich saw a continuous decline in population from 2,054 in 1790, to only 367 in 1920.
By 1940 the population had increased to 526. Still very small for it’s 51.3 square miles!
The border between West Greenwich and Coventry, west to the Connecticut border, is a large area of pitch pine and scrub oak. One thing I need to research more is why — is there a change in soil by Connecticut, as well as north and south, that favors more mature forests? Or is this purely a function of repeated fires keeping the pitch pine ecosystem dominant?
Categories: Connecticut, Incidents, New England, Rhode Island
