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Rumford in History and Today 

Rumford Center began in 1856 as Rumford Chemical Works, producing and shipping baking powder across the nation and around the world. At its height of activity around the turn of the century, Rumford Chemical included 300 acres of working farms and communities to sustain the factory workers, and the Village of Rumford was called the “kitchen capital of the world.”  

Living Here 

Only minutes from Providence, Rumford has the intimacy of a small community with the convenience and sophistication of the nearby East Side. 

Rumford Center brings vitality to an established progressive neighborhood, with: 

• Attractive covered walkways, encouraging strolling along the storefronts 
• Ample parking for clients, customers and employees from Rumford Center and surrounding communities (more than 480 spaces to be exact) 

• Protected private courtyard with landscaped walkways, inviting seating, parking and dining 
• Easy access to major highways, Providence and the East Side 
• Minutes from business, medical, education, art and cultural centers 

Want to learn more about the history of Rumford Center and its celebrated Baking Powder? Visit the wonderful East Providence Historical Society Museum,or visit the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. to see how the evolution of this great sight came to be.  Video of this journey can be viewed here:  Rumford Center – Yesterday & Today