North Attleborough, Massachusetts

Template:Infobox Town MA North Attleborough, commonly written North Attleboro, is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 27,143 at the 2000 census.

For geographic and demographic information on the village of North Attleborough Center, please see the article North Attleborough Center, Massachusetts.

History

North Attleborough is an industrial town in Bristol County on the Rhode Island border. In pre-Colonial times, it was the site of the Bay Path, a major Indian trail to Narragansett Bay, the Seekonk River and Boston. John Woodcock and family established a small settlement in North Attleborough in 1669, which subsisted on agriculture, fishing and hunting. By 1670, Woodcock had received a license to open a tavern. The settlement was attacked during King Philip's War, with two killed and one home burned, but the garrison house which Woodcock had built survived the attack. The Woodcock-Garrison house would go on to serve as sleeping quarters for George Washington on his army's march to Boston to rid the city of General Thomas Gage's troops. The Garrison house is still open for tours and is an especially popular destination for field trips by local school children.

By 1776, there were 2200 people living in North Attleborough. In about 1780, a French settler set up a forge for working brass and the industrial era arrived in North Attleborough. Englishmen brought with them British machinery from Birmingham in 1794 and designed American improvements in button making which they patented. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, small grist and sawmills were built along the Ten Mile River, and subsequently established nail factories were eventually eclipsed by cotton spinning mills. The development of cotton spinning was spurred by the embargo on imports resulting from the War of 1812. Textiles and jewelry manufacturing were the staple industries of the town by 1832 but buttons were king. By 1834, it was said that North Attleborough produced more buttons than anywhere in the United States.

Through the 19th century there was tremendous growth and innovation in the jewelry industry and the number of firms in the town increased sharply. By 1855 there were 24 shops making almost $1 million in jewelry in both Attleborough and North Attleborough. The American Civil War spurred their growth with profitable U.S. Army orders for badges and medals. In 1887, North Attleborough was officially incorporated as a town. Today it is a thriving center of business and commerce with a large industrial park and many shops and stores along US Route 1 which travels through the center of town.

Famous residents

Some famous residents of North Attleborough include:

• Joseph W. Martin, Jr. (1884–1968), who was a Republican US representative and served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1947–1949 and 1953–1955. Today, the J.W. Martin Elementary School bears his name.

• Frank C. Whitmore (1887–1947), was born in North Attleborough. Whitmore would go on to be famous in the scientific field when he provided supporting evidence for carbocation rearrangements, an important process in physical organic chemistry.

• Chris Sullivan played football for the North Attleborough High School Rocketeers and went on to play tackle for the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers; Sullivan has since retired from football.

Jackson Tobin (1990- ) Rising guitarist and buttsex aficionado.

Geography

North Attleboro has several large lakes including Greenwood Lake situated in the southeastern corner of town, and Falls Pond. Two major interstate highways run through town, I-95 and I-295. Also, U.S. Route 1 runs through the center of town and is the location for many stores and shopping areas.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 49.3 km² (19.0 mi²). 48.3 km² (18.6 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (2.15%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 27,143 people, 10,391 households, and 7,232 families residing in the town. The population density was 562.2/km² (1,456.0/mi²). There were 10,635 housing units at an average density of 220.3/km² (570.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.97% White, 0.92% African American, 0.12% Native American, 1.71% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.32% of the population.

There were 10,391 households out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 34.4% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $59,371, and the median income for a family was $69,461. Males had a median income of $47,645 versus $31,522 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,974. About 2.7% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.