Brockton, Massachusetts
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| Brockton, Massachusetts | |||
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| Nickname: "The City of Champions" | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | Massachusetts | ||
| County | Plymouth County | ||
| Settled | 1700 | ||
| Incorporated | 1821 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Type | Mayor-council city | ||
| - Mayor | James E. Harrington (D) | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 21.6 sq mi (55.9 km²) | ||
| - Land | 21.5 sq mi (55.6 km²) | ||
| - Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km²) | ||
| Elevation | 112 ft (34 m) | ||
| Population (2000) | |||
| - City | 94,304 | ||
| - Density | 4,392.8/sq mi (1,696.1/km²) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP code | 02301 | ||
| Area code(s) | 508 / 774 | ||
| Website: http://www.ci.brockton.ma.us/ | |||
Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 94,304 at the 2000 census. The city and Plymouth are the county seats of Plymouth County.GR6 Brockton is the 6th largest city in Massachusetts and is the "City of Champions", mainly due to the success of native boxers Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, as well as its successful Brockton High School sports programs.
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[edit] History
In 1649, Ousamequin (Massasoit) sold the surrounding land, then known as Saughtucket, to Myles Standish as an addition to Duxbury. Brockton was part of this area, which the English renamed Bridgewater, until 1821, when it became the town of North Bridgewater. Its name changed in 1874, after a contentious process finally decided on naming it after Isaac Brock, after a local merchant heard of Brockville, Ontario on a trip to Niagara Falls. The town of Brockton became a city on April 9, 1881. During the American Civil War, Brockton was America's largest producer of shoes, and until the latter parts of the 20th century Brockton had a large shoe and leather products industry. Today Brockton is still home to FootJoy, one of the leading manufactures of golf footwear and apparel.
Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested in Brockton in 1920.
One of the darkest days in Brockton's history occurred on March 10, 1941 when 13 firefighters were killed battling a huge blaze at the Strand Theater. The tragedy remains the single deadliest day for firefighters in America besides the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.
[edit] Historical Firsts
Brockton has claim to three "Firsts" in the world, and two in the country. On October 1, 1883, Brockton became the first place in the world to have a three wire underground electrical system when Thomas Edison threw a switch to activate it. For the other two firsts for electricity, Brockton was home to the first theater in the world to be tied into the three wire electrical system. The City Theater opened on October 24, 1894. On December 30, 1884, the first electrically operated fire station in the United States opened in Brockton.
In addition, the department store Santa Claus, now a main-stay of the Christmas season everywhere, appeared in Brockton in December 1890, when James Edgar, of Edgar's Department Store, suited up for the first time.
Also of some note, Brockton became the first city in the country to abolish grade crossings in 1896.
[edit] Geography
Brockton is located at (42.082500, -71.021788).GR1 According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 55.9 km² (21.6 mi²). 55.6 km² (21.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.56%) is water. Brockton is the 162nd largest city by land area in the Commonwealth, and the twelfth largest of the twenty-seven towns in Plymouth County. Brockton is bordered by Stoughton to the northwest, Avon to the north, Holbrook to the northeast, Abington to the northeast, Whitman and East Bridgewater to the southeast, West Bridgewater to the south, and Easton to the west. Brockton is approximately twenty miles south of Boston, and thirty miles northeast of Providence, Rhode Island.
Brockton is mostly an urban setting, lying along the Salisbury River, which once powered the many shoe factories of the city. To the northeast lies the Beaver Brook Conservation Land, attached to the southern end of the Ames Nowell State Park in Abington. There are several parks thoughout the city, but the largest is D.W. Field Park, an Olmsted-inspired park which includes ponds, Waldo Lake and Brockton Reservoir in Avon, as well as a golf course.
[edit] Demographics
| Population trends |
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1890 - 27,273 |
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 94,304 people, 33,675 households, and 22,764 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,695.9/km² (4,392.8/mi²). There were 34,837 housing units at an average density of 626.5/km² (1,622.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.49% White, 17.83% African American, 0.36% Native American, 2.19% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 10.32% from other races, and 7.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.01% of the population.
There were 33,675 households out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.0% were married couples living together, 19.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.35.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,507, and the median income for a family was $46,235. Males had a median income of $34,255 versus $26,886 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,163. About 12.1% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.4% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.
Statistically, Brockton is the most populated and most densely populated community in Plymouth County. It is the sixth largest community in the commonwealth, the largest of the sub-100,000 person cities. However, it is only the twenty-seventh most densely populated community in the Commonwealth.
[edit] Government
On the national level, Brockton is a part of Massachusetts's 9th congressional district, and has been represented since 2001 by Stephen Lynch. The state's senior (Class I) member of the United States Senate, re-elected in 2006, is Ted Kennedy. The junior (Class II) Senator, up for re-election in 2008, is John Kerry.
On the state level, Brockton is represented in three districts in the Massachusetts House of Representatives: the Ninth Plymouth, Tenth Plymouth (which includes West Bridgewater and a small portion of Easton), and the Eleventh Plymouth (which includes most of Easton). The city is represented in the Massachusetts Senate as a part of the Second Plymouth and Bristol district, which includes Halifax, Hanover, Hanson, Whitman and portions of East Bridgewater and Easton[1] The city is patrolled by the Fourth (Middleborough) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police.[2]
Brockton has a substantial city government led by a mayor and city council. The city elects a mayor for two year terms. The city council consists of 4 Councilors at Large and 7 Councilors, one for every ward in the city. There is a central police station, six fire stations, and three post offices (the main branch, plus branches in Montello and Campello). There are also three branches to the Brockton Public Library; the main branch is on Main Street, the east branch is directly east of downtown, and the west branch is next to the library. Brockton also has three hospitals, Brockton Hospital on the east side, Caritas Good Samaritan Hospital to the northwest, and the Brockton Veterans Administration Hospital to the southwest. The VA Hospital also serves as a teaching hospital for students from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston.
Brockton operates its own school system for the city's approximately 15,600 students. There are two early education schools (Howard and Keith), fourteen elementary schools (Angelo, Arnone, Ashfield, Belmont Street, Brookfield, Davis, Downey, Franklin, Hancock, Huntington, John F. Kennedy, Plouffe, Raymond, and Whitman), three junior high schools (North, East, West), two middle schools (South and the Gilmore Academy), Brockton High School and two alternative schools (Lincoln and B.B. Russell). Brockton High's athletics teams are called the Boxers (after the city's undefeated heaveyweight boxing champion, Rocky Marciano), their mascot is a boxer dog and their colors are red and black. Brockton is known for its excellent athletics program, having won many state championships, as well as its facilities, including Campanelli Stadium, a fieldturf stadium used for high school championship games. (The use as a site became controversial in 2006, when a 6-6 Brockton team "visited" 10-0 Dartmouth High School in a semifinal game at the stadium, winning on a last second play.) Brockton traditionally plays New Bedford High School and B.M.C. Durfee High School of Fall River as part of the "Big Three," representing the three largest cities in southeastern Massachusetts. Their traditional rival for Thanksgiving Day football games is Waltham High School, although the school has played twelve different teams throughout its 106 years of playing on that day, including several out of state high school teams and, most frequently after Waltham, Weymouth High.
Brockton is also home to three parochial schools (Sacred Heart, Saint Casimir and Saint Edward), two Christian schools (Brockton Christian and South Shore Christian), and Cardinal Spellman High School, a Catholic high school named for Francis Cardinal Spellman, Brockton area native and former Archbishop of New York. There is also a charter high school, Champion Charter School. Students may also choose to attend Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School in South Easton free of charge. Brockton is the site of Massasoit Community College, and Stonehill College in Easton and Bridgewater State College are also nearby.
[edit] Transportation
Massachusetts Route 24, a six-lane divided freeway, passes through the west side of the town, with exits at Route 27 to the north and Route 123 to the south. The two routes pass through the center of town, crossing at that point. Massachusetts Route 28 passes from north to south through the center of town, The western end of Route 14 (at its intersection with Route 27) and the southern end of Route 37 (at its intersection with Route 28) both are in the town.
Brockton is home to the headquarters of the Brockton Area Transit (BAT) bus line, which serves Brockton and the surrounding communities. The Middleborough-Lakeville line of the MBTA's commuter line passes through the town on the eastern side, with stops in the Montello and Campello neighborhoods, as well as in the city center, providing service to points south and South Station in Boston north of the city. There is no airport in the city; the nearest national air service can be reached at Logan International Airport in Boston.
[edit] Notable residents
- "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler, middleweight boxing champion of the world
- Rocky Marciano, heavyweight boxing champion of the world
- Robbie Sims, middleweight boxer
- Goody Petronelli, boxing trainer
- Pat Petronelli, boxing trainer
- Kenneth Feinberg, attorney
- Shawn Fanning, creator of Napster
- Kristian Alfonso, actress
- Kevin Stevens, pro hockey player
- Steve Balboni, professional baseball player
- Al Davis, owner of the NFL's Oakland Raiders
- Greg McMurtry, professional football player
- Rudy Harris, professional football player
- Ken McAfee, professional football player
- Ken Kaplan, professional football player
- Dave Wedge, journalist for Boston Herald
- Max Kaminsky, musician
- George V. Higgins, author
- Garfield Bright, pop singer for Shai
- Chris Bender, R & B singer
- John Doucette, Western actor
- Bill McGunnigle, inventor of the baseball glove
- Pooch Hall, actor
- Art Whitney, professional baseball player
- Christine Reino, voice-over actress and comedienne, former professional hockey player
- Krisanthi Pappas, jazz vocalist
[edit] References
- ^ Index of Legislative Representation by City and Town, from Mass.gov
- ^ Station D-4, SP Middleborough
[edit] External links
- Official Brockton, MA Web Page
- Brockton's Community Networking Site
- Official Website of Brockton Area Transit Authority
- Brockton Public Library
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
