South County

South County may refer to the following:

Washington County, Rhode Island

Washington County, known locally as South County, is a county located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 126,979.Rhode Island counties, including Washington County, have no governmental functions other than as court administrative and sheriff corrections boundaries, which are part of the state government.

Washington County is included in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area.

History

Washington County was created from Providence Plantations in 1729 as Kings County. It was renamed Washington County on October 29, 1781, in honor of General and President Washington.

At the earliest stage of colonial settlement, the area was called "The Narragansett Country", named after the Algonquin tribe of the same name and its tributary tribe the (Eastern) Niantics, whose territory it was, and these held power in the area long after the Wampanoags to the east had lost most of their territory to the Plymouth Colony. (The Algonquin Nipmucs may have held a piece of what is today the westernmost part of the town of Hopkinton.)

South County (Massachusetts)

South County is a region comprising several towns in the south-central area of Massachusetts. As it has no legal standing in state government, definitions of the region vary.

The term "South County" is usually understood to refer to southern Worcester County, Massachusetts, including those towns southwest, south or southeast of the county seat, Worcester.

The region's leading daily newspaper, the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, defines South County differently, placing the region's eastern border at the Auburn, Oxford and Webster; it places towns in southeastern Worcester County in the Blackstone Valley region. The Telegram West/South edition also includes "South County" news from neighboring towns in Hampden County, Massachusetts and Windham County, Connecticut, however.

South County towns include (towns fitting both definitions in bold):

A broader definition defines "South County" as all parts of the county that are not part of "North County". In this definition, towns that align economically with Fitchburg and Leominster are "North County", while towns closer to Worcester—as well as Worcester itself—are "South County".