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Bristol County, Massachusetts

Bristol County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

 

County Seat: Taunton
Year Organized: 1685
Square Miles: 556
Court House:

9 Court Street
County Courthouse
Taunton, MA 02780-3223

Etymology - Origin of County Name

For its original county seat of Bristol, Massachusetts, which is named for the English port city of Bristol - when the city of Bristol joined Rhode Island, the name of the county was kept

 

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Bristol County was formed on 2 June 1685 when Old Plymouth Colony was divided into three counties, Plymouth, Bristol and Barnstable. Barnstable and Plymouth counties were named after their county seats. Bristol County, MA county seat is Taunton. Native Americans played a very important role before and during the "settlement" of the area.

Bristol County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, adjacent to the state of Rhode Island. The land that is now Bristol County was part of the Plymouth Colony, which pre-dates the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Part of the county's land has been transferred to Rhode Island over time

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 691 square miles (1,790 kmē), of which, 556 square miles (1,440 kmē) of it is land and 135 square miles (350 kmē) of it (19.56%) is water. The highest point in Bristol County is Sunrise Hill (Watery Hill) at 390 feet above sea level located in World War I Memorial Park in North Attleborough.

Neighboring Counties:
  • North: Norfolk County
  • Northeast: Plymouth County
  • Southeast: Buzzards Bay
  • Southwest: Newport County, R.I.; Bristol County, R.I.
  • West: Providence County, R.I.
Cities and Towns:
- Acushnet town  
- Attleboro city Incorporated Area
- Berkley town  
- Dartmouth town  
- Dighton town  
- Easton town  
- Fairhaven town  
- Fall River city Incorporated Area
- Freetown town  
- Mansfield town  
- New Bedford city Incorporated Area
- North Attleborough town  
- Norton town  
- Raynham town  
- Rehoboth town  
- Seekonk town  
- Somerset town  
- Swansea town  
- Taunton (County Seat) city Incorporated Area
- Westport town
County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

 

 

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

 

 

 

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