Bristol County, Massachusetts

Bristol County, Massachusetts
Bristol County is a county in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 579,200. The shire town is Taunton. Some governmental functions are performed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, others by the county, and others by local towns and cities.
Bristol County is part of the Providence–Warwick, RI–MA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Boston–Worcester–Providence, MA–RI–NH–CT Combined Statistical Area. The county is adjacent to the state of Rhode Island. It is geographically adjacent to the Massachusetts counties of Plymouth, Norfolk, and Dukes (via water), and the Rhode Island counties of Bristol, Newport, and Providence.
History
Bristol County was created by the Plymouth Colony on June 2, 1685, and named after its "shire town" (county seat), Bristol. The Plymouth Colony, along with the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Maine Colony and several other small settlements were rechartered in 1691, by King William III, to become The Province of Massachusetts Bay.
The towns of Bristol, Barrington, and Warren were awarded to Rhode Island in 1746 as part of the settlement of a long-running boundary dispute (see History of Massachusetts), forming Bristol County, Rhode Island. At the same time, Cumberland, Rhode Island was carved out of Attleborough, Massachusetts and annexed to Providence County, Rhode Island; Tiverton and Little Compton were transferred to Newport County, Rhode Island. East Freetown was officially purchased by Freetown, Massachusetts, from Tiverton in 1747, and so remained on the Massachusetts side.
After the departure of Bristol, Taunton was made the shire town of the county. A second county courthouse was constructed in 1828 in the growing town of New Bedford (designed a "half-shire town"). In 1862, a part of Seekonk (that portion of which is now East Providence, Rhode Island) and the entirety of East Pawtucket were transferred to Providence County, Rhode Island. At the same time, land ceded from Rhode Island was added to Fall River and Westport. The growing Fall River became the site of the third county courthouse in 1877.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (20%) is water. The highest point in Bristol County is Sunrise Hill (Watery Hill) at above sea level located in World War I Memorial Park in North Attleborough. It is also to note that Bristol, Plymouth and Taunton are all places in South West England. Their Massachusetts cousins were named after the originals as South West England was the focal point for sailing and discovery at the time of America's discovery. John Cabot set sail from Bristol and sailed down the Severn on which lies Newport in Wales.
Adjacent counties
Norfolk County, Massachusetts—north
Plymouth County, Massachusetts—east
Newport County, Rhode Island—southwest
Bristol County, Rhode Island—west
Providence County, Rhode Island—northwest
To the south, Dukes County, Massachusetts is opposite Buzzards Bay from Bristol County.
National protected area
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
Demographics
2000 census
At the 2000 census there were 534,678 people, 205,411 households, and 140,706 families in the county. The population density was . There were 216,918 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.98% White, 2.03% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 1.26% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.12% from other races, and 2.34% from two or more races. 3.60% was Hispanic or Latino of any race. 29.7% were of Portuguese, 13.0% Irish, 8.9% French, 8.2% English, 6.8% Italian and 6.4% French Canadian ancestry according to Census 2000. 79.1% spoke English, 13.9% Portuguese, 2.9% Spanish and 1.6% French as their first language. The United States Census Bureau reported Bristol County as being one of two counties in the United States with a plurality of people of Portuguese ancestry (the other being the contiguous Bristol County, Rhode Island).
Of the 205,411 households 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.60% were married couples living together, 13.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.50% were non-families. Of all households 26.50% were one person and 11.00% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.08.
The age distribution was 24.60% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 30.50% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.50 males.
The median household income was $43,496 and the median family income was $53,733. Males had a median income of $39,361 versus $27,516 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,978. About 7.80% of families and 10.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.00% of those under age 18 and 12.00% of that age 65 or over.
2010 census
At the 2010 census, there were 548,285 people, 213,010 households, and 141,338 families in the county. The population density was . There were 230,535 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 88.4% white, 3.3% black, 1.9% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 3.4% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 6.0% of the population. The largest ancestry groups were:
30.1% Portuguese
19.2% Irish
13.1% French
12.5% English
9.3% Italian
5.7% French Canadian
5.0% German
4.5% Polish
3.4% Puerto Rican
3.3% Sub-Saharan African
2.5% American
2.0% Scottish
1.4% Swedish
1.3% Scotch-Irish
1.0% Arab
Of the 213,010 households, 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.5% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.6% were non-families, and 27.4% of households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.06. The median age was 39.8 years.
The median household income was $54,955 and the median family income was $70,161. Males had a median income of $51,785 versus $39,714 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,736. About 8.8% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.
Income breakdown by town
The ranking of unincorporated communities that are included on the list are reflective if the census designated locations and villages were included as cities or towns. Data is from the 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Politics and government
Bristol County has voted for the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in every election since 1960.
|}
Paul B. Kitchen—County Commissioner
John R. Mitchell—County Commissioner
John T. Saunders—County Commissioner
Thomas M. Quinn, III—District Attorney
Thomas M. Hodgson—Sheriff
Christopher T. Saunders—County Treasurer
Barry Amaral—Register of Deeds, Northern District
Bernard McDonald—Register of Deeds, Fall River District
Frederick M. Kalisz—Register of Deeds, Southern District
Marc Santos—Clerk of Courts
The Bristol County Sheriff's Office maintains its administrative headquarters and operates several jail facilities in the Dartmouth Complex in North Dartmouth in Dartmouth. Jail facilities in the Dartmouth Complex include the Bristol County House Of Correction and Jail, the Bristol County Sheriff's Office Women's Center, and the C. Carlos Carreiro Immigration Detention Center. The office also operates the Ash Street Jail and Regional Lock-Up and the Juvenile Secure Alternative Lock Up Program (JALP) in New Bedford.
The Bristol County House Of Correction and Jail has room for 1,100 prisoners. It houses men convicted of crimes who have been sentenced to years or less. It also houses high-security male pre-trial prisoners, high-security female prisoners, and pre-trial female prisoners.
The women's center, a medium security jail, can house up to 106 women. The self-contained women's center had opened as a minimum security pre-release center for male prisoners in 1990 which could house up to 106 prisoners. When it was a pre-release facility it only housed an average of 60 prisoners because the county sheriff imposed strict conditions upon the pre-release program. In 1999 the sheriff received a federal grant to convert the pre-release center into a women's center, and he moved the pre-release program to modular units at the main jail.
The Carreiro jail houses detained individuals who are scheduled for deportation and individuals who are engaging in proceedings with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Ash Street jail houses over 200 pre-trial prisoners and a few sentenced inmate workers for the system. JALP houses up to 12 pre-arraingment juvenile prisoners.
Twin town
The county is twinned with the municipality of Lagoa in the Azores.
Transportation
Transportation authorities providing public bus service include the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority; and the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority serving the Fall River and New Bedford areas.
Airports include the Mansfield Municipal Airport, Myricks Airport, New Bedford Municipal Airport and Taunton Municipal Airport; of these, the New Bedford airport is a commercial airport, with flights serving the Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard area.
The Providence/Stoughton Line of the MBTA commuter rail has stops in Mansfield, Attleboro, and South Attleboro. The line provides connections to Providence and Boston (at Back Bay Station and South Station), as well as intermediate stops. An extension has been completed that connects to T. F. Green Airport.
Major highways
Communities
Cities
Attleboro
Fall River
New Bedford
Taunton (county seat)
Towns
Acushnet
Berkley
Dartmouth
Dighton
Easton
Fairhaven
Freetown
Mansfield
North Attleborough
Norton
Raynham
Rehoboth
Seekonk
Somerset
Swansea
Westport
Census-designated places
Acushnet Center
Bliss Corner
Mansfield Center
North Seekonk
North Westport
Norton Center
Ocean Grove
Raynham Center
Smith Mills
Other villages
Assonet
Bowensville
Britannia
East Freetown
East Taunton
Fall River Station
Five Corners
Flint Village
Four Corners
Globe Village
Gushee Pond
Highlands
Hixville
Hornbine
Hortonville
Kingmans Corner
Myricks
North Attleborough Center
North Dighton
North Easton
North Raynham
North Rehoboth
North Taunton
Oakland
Padanaram
Pecks Corner
Perrys Corner
Perryville
Pleasantfield
Pleasant Street
Pottersville
Prattville
Ramblewood
Rehoboth
Sassaquin
South Attleboro
South Rehoboth
South Easton
Squawbetty
Steep Brook
Titicut
Tracy Corner
Wade's Corner
Weir Village
Westville
Whittenton
Whittenton Junction
Ghost town
Norton Furnace
Education
School districts include:
K–12:
Attleboro School District
Bridgewater-Raynham School District
Dartmouth School District
Dighton-Rehoboth School District
Easton School District
Fairhaven School District - Takes Acushnet for secondary school
Fall River School District
Freetown-Lakeville School District
Mansfield School District
New Bedford School District - Takes Acushnet for secondary school
North Attleborough School District
Norton School District
Seekonk School District
Swansea School District
Taunton School District
Westport School District
Secondary:
Somerset-Berkley School District
Elementary:
Acushnet School District
Berkley School District
Somerset School District
Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School is also in the county.
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is in the county.
See also
Administrative divisions of Massachusetts
Registry of Deeds (Massachusetts)
Bristol Community College
Horseneck Beach State Reservation
Freetown-Fall River State Forest
National Register of Historic Places listings in Bristol County, Massachusetts
Southern New England School of Law
Taunton River
Taunton River Watershed
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Wheaton College
References
Further reading
History of Bristol County, Massachusetts with Biographical Sketches of many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 1 edited by Duane Hamilton Hurd. J.W. Lewis and Co., 1883.
A history of Bristol County, Massachusetts, Volume 1 by Frank Walcott Hutt. Lewis Historical Pub. Co., Inc., 1924.
External links
1685 establishments in Plymouth Colony
Counties of Plymouth Colony
Counties in Greater Boston
Massachusetts counties
Populated places established in 1685
Portuguese-American culture in Massachusetts
Providence metropolitan area