Taunton, Massachusetts

Taunton's nicknames are derived from its history. The moniker Silver City is born of Taunton's industrial past when companies such as F. B. Rogers/International Silver Co. as well as Poole Silver and Reed & Barton produced silver goods throughout the city. Christmas City is still evident each December with Christmas celebrations on the Taunton Green. The name Taunton means "town (or city) on the River Tone" or "Tone Town"; this refers to the location of the town of Taunton in England, which Taunton, Massachusetts is named after.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Government
- 4.1 Politics
5 Economy
6 Education
- 6.1 Primary and secondary
- 6.2 Higher education
7 Culture
8 Media
9 Healthcare and utilities
10 Transportation
11 Notable residents
12 Sister city
13 References
14 External links

[edit] History

Taunton was founded in 1637 by Elizabeth Pole, and officially incorporated as a town on September 3, 1639. Most of the town's settlers were originally from Taunton, Somerset, England, which led early settlers to name the settlement after that town. At the time of Taunton's incorporation, they explained their choice of name as being, in honor and love to our dear native country... and owning it a great mercy of God to bring us to this place, and settling of us, on lands of our own bought with our money in peace, in the midst of the heathen, for a possession for ourselves and for our posterity after us.^{[citation needed]} Prior to 1640, the Taunton area was called Cohannet.

Mayflower Hill Cemetery

The English founders of Taunton took possession of the land from the native Wampanoags. The Taunton area was the site of battles (on its soil or the surrounding area) during various conflicts, including King Philip's War and the American Revolution. Taunton was re-incorporated as a city on May 11, 1864.

Once a great industrial city, the "Silver City" was home to many silversmithing operations, including the Taunton Silversmiths, Reed & Barton, Poole Silver, and the F. B. Rogers Silver Co./International Silver Co. Various other industries operated throughout the city into the third quarter of the 20th century.

In October 2005, the nearby Whittenton Pond Dam threatened to fail following a week that brought nine inches of rain to the city. Over 2,000 city residents were evacuated^[1] and Mayor Robert Nunes issued a State of Emergency. It is estimated that if the dam had failed, the Mill River would have inundated the downtown area with up to six feet of water. In response, Governor Mitt Romney ordered an immediate inspection of high-risk dams throughout the Commonwealth.^[2]^[3]

Taunton once included many surrounding towns, including Norton, Easton, Mansfield, Dighton, Raynham, and Berkley. Possession of the latter is still noted by the naming of Taunton Hill in Assonet, which is now North Main Street, a street that heads into Berkley.

[edit] Geography

An abstract map of Taunton's watershed

Taunton is located at 41°54′5″N, 71°5′37″W (41.901491, -71.093628).^[4] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 48.0 square miles (124.2 km²), of which, 46.6 square miles (120.7 km²) of it is land and 1.4 square miles (3.5 km²) of it (2.81%) is water. This is the second largest city by area in Massachusetts.^{[citation needed]} Only Boston, at 48.42 square miles (125.41 km²) of land, is larger.

Taunton has one major river, the Taunton River, alongside with its tributaries including the Mill River and the Three Mile River. These rivers are within the Taunton River Watershed.

There are nine designated historic districts within the city:

Bay Road Historic District, which is also known as Post Road. The road runs from Taunton to Boston (1300 acres (5.3 km²), 1 structure, 2 objects)
Bristol County Courthouse Complex (13 acres, 3 buildings)
Church Green Historic District is also known as Meetinghouse Common (160 acres, 18 buildings, 1 object)
Hopewell Mills District (120 acres, 13 buildings)
Old Bay Road Historic District is also known as The Post Road; The King's Highway (150 acres, 1 structure, 3 objects)
Reed and Barton Historic District
Taunton Green Historic District (50 acres, 22 buildings, 3 objects)
Taunton State Hospital Historic District is also known as the Taunton Lunatic Asylum (1250 acres (5.1 km²), 38 buildings, 8 structures)

Municipalities (in grey) that were once part of Taunton

Due to the annexation of towns from the original town of Taunton, the city now is irregularly shaped, with it (along with neighboring Raynham) roughly making a triangle. The city is bordered by Norton to the northwest, Easton to the north, Raynham to the northeast, Lakeville to the east, Berkley and Dighton to the south, and Rehoboth to the west.

City neighborhoods include Clearview Estates, East Taunton, Elliot's Corner, Herring Run Estates, Linden Estates, Matthews Landing, North Taunton, Oakland, Pine Crest Estates, Pine Hill Estates, Wades Corner, Weir Village, Westville, Whittenton, Whittenton Junction, Britannia Village, Willis Lake Village and Woodward Estates. Taunton is also home to almost the entirety of the Massasoit State Park in East Taunton, and a large portion of the Hockomock Swamp Wildlife Management Area in North Taunton.

[edit] Demographics

Historical Populations^{[citation needed]}
Year	Pop.	Year	Pop.
1790		1900	31,036
1800		1910	34,259
1810		1920	37,137
1820		1930	37,355
1830		1940	37,395
1840		1950	40,109
1850		1960	41,132
1860		1970	43,756
1870		1980	45,001
1880		1990	49,832
1890		2000	55,976

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 55,976 people, 22,045 households, and 14,483 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,201.1 people per square mile (463.7/km²). There were 22,908 housing units at an average density of 491.5/sq mi (189.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city is 91.67% White, 2.74% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.59% from other races, and 2.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.93% of the population.

There are 22,045 households out of which 32.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% were married couples living together, 13.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,932, and the median income for a family was $52,433. Males had a median income of $36,895 versus $27,686 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,899. About 8.0% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.9% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

Bristol County Superior Courthouse with the Soper Fountain in the foreground.

The city has a Mayor-Council form of government. Taunton also has a School Committee and many boards and commissions. As the seat of Bristol County, Taunton is home to the county's few administrative offices and several of its courthouses, including the Bristol County Superior Courthouse. The Massachusetts State Police's Troop D (Southeast District), 4th Barracks, patrols Taunton and is located in Middleborough.

Taunton is a part of three separate state representative districts: Third Bristol (entirely located in Taunton), Fifth Bristol (which includes Dighton, Somerset and part of Swansea), and Twelfth Bristol (including all or parts of Freetown, Lakeville, Middleborough and New Bedford). It is a part of the First [Plymouth County|Plymouth] and [Bristol County|Bristol] state senate district, which also includes the towns of Berkley, Bridgewater, Carver, Dighton, Marion, Middleborough, Raynham and Wareham. On the national level, the town is part of Massachusetts Congressional District 4, which is represented by Barney Frank. The state's senior (Class I) Senator is Edward M. Kennedy, and the state's junior (Class II) Senator, up for re-election in 2008, is John F. Kerry.

[edit] Politics

Taunton has been a hotbed area of local, state, and national American politics for centuries. Many famous political or politically-controversial events occurred in Taunton's long history. This town was the first in Colonial America where a woman (Elizabeth Pole) was credited with its founding. Robert Treat Paine was a long-time Taunton resident and a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the first Attorney-General of Massachusetts. Part of King Phillip's War was fought on Taunton's limits.

Former U.S. presidents, such as Presidents James K. Polk, William H. Taft, Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman, and General Dwight Eisenhower, gave campaign speeches in Taunton. The city's former Camp Myles Standish during WWII was a prisoner-of-war camp, a welcoming area for about a million U.S. and Allied soldiers; and a candidate site for the U.N. Headquarters, soon after the military camp closed. Although the city hasn't been as much of a hotbed of politics as it once was, it still continues to be a politically active region of Massachusetts.

[edit] Economy

Taunton's economy has historically been based on silversmithing and shipbuilding. Reed & Barton produced the 1996 Summer Olympics medals and exclusively-used silverware for the White House. Also, the city produced the anchor for the USS Constitution. The nearby town of Raynham produced the anchor for the Civil War-era ironclad USS Monitor.

Today, the city's economy has many emphases on semiconductor, silicon, and electronics manufacturing. It is home to corporate headquarters of many leading corporations in various industries. Currently, the city is trying to attract biotechnology research companies to its industrial parks.

"Silver City Galleria Mall" is a large and beautiful shopping mall in Taunton catering to not just Taunton but also neighboring towns/cities of Easton, Raynham, Middleboro, Norton and others.

[edit] Education

Education in Taunton ranges from preschool through post-secondary education.

[edit] Primary and secondary

Taunton has ten public elementary schools and four public middle schools.^[6]

The city also has three Catholic elementary schools and one Catholic middle school:^[7]

Villa Fatima Pre School
Our Lady of Lourdes School
St. Mary's Primary School
Taunton Catholic Middle School

Taunton has two public high schools (Taunton High School and Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School) and one Catholic high school (Coyle and Cassidy High School).

[edit] Higher education

Taunton is home to a satellite campus of Bristol Community College, which meets at Taunton High School. In addition, the city houses career schools such as the RobRoy Academy beauty school.

[edit] Culture

See also: Published works about Taunton

The city is serviced by a central public library, the Taunton Public Library, which opened in 1903 and has undergone several expansions and renovations since that time. Also of note is the Old Colony Historical Society, which archives the city and region's past.

The Taunton Green is the name of the city square. Early in its history, "The Green" was used as a training ground for militias in the American Revolution. Some say it was also the site of the historic "Liberty & Union"/"Taunton" flag raising in 1774 by the Sons of Liberty, prior to the American Revolution.^[8] In the 20th and 21st century, the city square was temporarily transformed during the winter holiday season into a grand display of Christmas lights, scenes, and extravagant events. This is where and how the city earned its unofficial nickname in the surrounding areas as the "Christmas City."

"The Green" continues to provide a centralized location for city-wide Christmas activities, other holidays, events, and parades for the citizens of Taunton. A waterfall can sometimes be found at the center of the Taunton Green, although currently it is used only rarely, possibly to defray maintenance costs.

Always to be seen flapping together in emblematic unison, the "Liberty & Union" flag and the U.S. flag fly side-by-side on the flagpole at the city's center.

[edit] Media

Taunton is served by several publications including the Silver City Bulletin, The Taunton Call, Brockton Enterprise, and the Taunton Daily Gazette. Regional papers of importance such as the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Providence Journal, are also widely available.

Taunton has local cable television channels which include the Taunton Educational Network (channel 9), Taunton Community Access and Media, Inc. (channel 15), and Taunton Municipal Network (channel 17). Comcast's Taunton system carries all Providence and Boston stations as well and both markets are available over-the-air. The two radio stations based in Taunton are WPEP 1570 AM and WSNE 93.3 FM, the latter of which primarily serves and has its studios in Providence.

Some of the major Internet providers in Taunton are Comcast, EarthLink, SBC Yahoo! Dial, and Verizon. The Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant (TMLP), Taunton's electric company, is also an Internet service provider for the city and its surrounding towns.

[edit] Healthcare and utilities

Taunton is home to the Morton Hospital and Medical Center.

Taunton State Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located on Hodges Avenue. One of it's historical old buildings had to be brought down after it was severely damaged by fire in 2006. This hospital is now one of the very few mental health hospitals in Mass. for longer term in-patient care of psychiatric patinets.

Electricity is provided to residents by the Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant. Municipal water and sewer also service the city.

[edit] Transportation

See also: Old Colony Railroad

The Taunton Railway began in 1838 (201 years after its founding by Elizabeth Pole from Dorchester, The Dorchester Company started in 1623 as part of the Sheffield Patent settling at Stage Point, Gloucester, Cape Anne) as the main rail transportation system both industrial and passenger connecting Taunton with points south, east, north, and west including New Bedford and Cape Cod, Fall River and Newport, Somerset and Providence, Attleboro and Providence, Mansfield and Boston, Stoughton and Boston, Raynham Middleborough and Wareham as time went on. Taunton is the central highway hub of southeastern Massachusetts. Much of the eastern part of the state's major highways intersect and/or runs through the city, especially at its center. US 44, MA 138, and MA 140 intersect at a square at Taunton's center, which is called the Taunton Green. MA 140 is also accessible from the eastern neighborhood of the city, popularly referred to as "East Taunton." Additionally, MA 24 and MA 140 intersect near East Taunton, and it is at that junction that Route 140 ceases to be a 2-lane divided freeway from the south and becomes a smaller state highway to the north. Interstate 495 runs through the northern portion of Taunton, unofficially referred to as "North Taunton", and parallel to Myles Standish Industrial Park, Taunton's main industrial park.

Various smaller routes run through other parts of the city. These include a small portion of MA 104, close to the Taunton-Raynham city limits, and MA 79, close to the Taunton-Berkley-Lakeville (Plymouth County) city-town-county limits. Taunton is the western terminus of MA 104. It merges into US 44 after entering the city.

Several freight rails pass through the city on their way towards Fall River, New Bedford and a link-up with the line in Middleborough. There are plans being worked on to link up parts of this rail with the Stoughton line of the MBTA commuter rail system to Boston. The Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority, or GATRA, provides bus mass transit.

Taunton also has its own municipal airport, serving mostly smaller craft and occasional commuter jets. The nearest airport with national airline service is at T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island, and the nearest international service is at Logan International Airport in Boston.

[edit] Notable residents

Main article: List of people from Taunton, Massachusetts

[edit] Sister city

Taunton shares a sister city status with:

Taunton, Somerset, United Kingdom
Angra do Heroismo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal

[edit] References

^ Town Braces For Massive Flood. CBS News (October 18, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
^ Mass. Dam Continues To Hold. CBS News (October 18, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
^ Officials still fear dam collapse. CNN (October 18, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ Taunton High District Report Card. Taunton Public Schools (2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
^ Catholic Education Center. Diocese of Fall River (2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
^ Taunton, Massachusetts. Encyclopedia Britannica 11th Edition at LoveToKnow Classic Encyclopedia (1911/2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-09.

History of Taunton, Massachusetts from Its Settlement to the Present Time by Samuel Hopkins Emery, published 1893.

[edit] External links

City of Taunton's Home Page
Taunton Area Chamber of Commerce's Official Home Page
Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development's Official Home Page
Taunton Public Library's Official Home Page
Vital Records of Taunton Mass. to 1850
Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Report on Taunton PDF format. Good Federally funded review of Taunton's history especially its industrial history. Published 1981. Google HTML version.
History of Bristol County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many Pioneers and Prominent Men. Part 1. Part 2. Taunton Chapter 58 page 728. By Duane Hamilton Hurd, published 1883.
Wall & Gray. 1871 Atlas of Massachusetts. Map of Massachusetts. USA. New England. Counties - Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden, Worcester, Middlesex, Essex and Norfolk, Boston - Suffolk,Plymouth, Bristol, Barnstable and Dukes (Cape Cod). Cities - Springfield, Worcester, Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill, Newburyport, Salem, Lynn, Taunton, Fall River. New Bedford. These 1871 maps of the Counties and Cities are useful to see the roads and rail lines.
Beers,D.G. 1872 Atlas of Essex County Map of Massachusetts Plate 5. Click on the map for a very large image. Also see detailed map of 1872 Essex County Plate 7.

The Beer Can Museum

Taunton, Massachusetts is at coordinates 41°54′05″N 71°05′37″W / 41.901491, -71.093628 (Taunton, Massachusetts)Coordinates: 41°54′05″N 71°05′37″W / 41.901491, -71.093628 (Taunton, Massachusetts)

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Bristol County, Massachusetts

County seat: Taunton

Cities	Attleboro \| Fall River \| New Bedford \| Taunton

Towns	Acushnet \| Berkley \| Dartmouth \| Dighton \| Easton \| Fairhaven \| Freetown \| Mansfield \| North Attleborough \| Norton \| Raynham \| Rehoboth \| Seekonk \| Somerset \| Swansea \| Westport

CDPs	Acushnet Center \| Bliss Corner \| Mansfield Center \| North Attleborough Center \| North Seekonk \| North Westport \| Norton Center \| Ocean Grove \| Raynham Center \| Smith Mills

Villages	Assonet \| East Freetown \| Padanaram \| South Attleboro