Plympton is a town in Plymouth County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States. The population was 2,930 at the 2020 census. The

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

William Bradford was born here.

History

Plympton was first settled in 1662 by Reverend Justin P. Daley as the western parish of Plymouth. Lands of the original town included all of Carver and Halifax, as well as small portions of

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

and

Middleborough Middleborough is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,405 as of 2023. The census-designated place of Middleborough Center corresponds to the main village and commercial center of the town. It is the seco ...

. The town was officially incorporated in 1707 and named for

Plympton Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient Stannary, stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down riv ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. In 1734, the town of Halifax separated and incorporated, and Carver did the same in 1790. The current boundaries of the town were set in 1862. Early residents of Plympton were mostly farmers, living off the land. The

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

brought about factories, which made shoes and shovels, as well as lumber and cotton mills. Today, the town is mostly rural and residential, with very little industry. The town's most famous resident was Deborah Sampson, born in the town in 1760. She is best known for pretending to be a man to fight in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. The town's newest addition is a

Sysco Sysco is an American multinational corporation that sells, markets, and distributes food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, sports stadiums, and other venues that serve food. It also sells foodservice supplies and ...

distribution plant located near

U.S. Route 44 U.S. Route 44 (US 44) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs for through four states in the Northeastern United States. The western terminus is at US 209 and New York State Route 55 (NY 55) in Kerhonks ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which are land and (2.31%) is water. Plympton is bordered by Halifax to the northwest, Pembroke to the north,

to the northeast, Carver to the southeast, and

to the southwest. Plympton is approximately south of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and east of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. Plympton is mostly rural, with much of the land covered by forests. The northern tip of town lies along Silver Lake, which also extends into Kingston, Pembroke and along the Halifax border. The Winnetuxet River and many other brooks, as well as several smaller ponds, lie within the town. Plympton also has its own town forest and conservation area.

Transportation

The new highway portion of

clips the southeastern corner of the town. Routes 58 and

106 106 may refer to: * 106 (number), the number * AD 106, a year in the 2nd century AD * 106 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 106 (emergency telephone number), an Australian emergency number * 106 (MBTA bus), a route of the Massachusetts Bay Transpor ...

pass through the town, Route 106 passing across the northern portion of town, and Route 58 passing from southeast to northwest. Just south of Silver Lake, the

of the

MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track on 12 lines to 142 stations. It ...

system passes through the town; the nearest station is . The nearest regional airport is Plymouth Municipal Airport; the nearest national and international airport is

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...

in Boston; the nearest general aviation airport is Cranland Municipal Airport in Hanson.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,637 people, 854 households, and 737 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 872 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.85%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.99%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.61% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.53% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population. There were 854 households, out of which 43.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.7% were non-families. 10.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.32. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.6% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 28.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $70,045, and the median income for a family was $75,000. Males had a median income of $45,531 versus $34,000 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $24,344. About 0.8% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Plympton is represented in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

as a part of the Twelfth Plymouth District, which includes Kingston and portions of Duxbury, Halifax, Middleborough and Plymouth. The town is represented in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

as a part of the Second Plymouth and Bristol District, which includes the city of Brockton and the towns of East Bridgewater, Easton, Halifax, Hanover, Hanson, Plympton, Whitman. The town is patrolled by its own full service

Police department The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citize ...

.Station D-4, SP Middleborough
/ref> On the national level, Plympton is a part of

Massachusetts's 9th congressional district Massachusetts's 9th congressional district is located in eastern Massachusetts. It is represented by Democrat Bill Keating. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+6, it is the least Democratic district in Massachusetts, a state with an al ...

, and is currently represented by William R. Keating. The state's senior ( Class II) member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, elected in 2012, is

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...

. The junior ( Class I) senator, elected in a special election replacing

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

in 2013, is

Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of ...

. Plympton is governed by the

open town meeting Town meeting, also known as an "open town meeting", is a form of local government in which eligible town residents can directly participate in an assembly which determines the governance of their town. Unlike representative town meeting where ...

form of government, led by a

board of selectmen The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the Executive (government), executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three ...

. The Town has its own police and fire departments, both of which are headquartered next to the town hall at the center of town. The town's post office is just south of the center of town along Route 58. Adjacent to the town hall on its southern side is the Plympton Public Library, a member of the SAILS Library Network.

Education

Plympton is a member of the Silver Lake Regional School District, which also includes the towns of Kingston and Halifax. Each town is responsible for its own elementary school, with a middle and high school shared between all three towns. Plympton operates the Dennett Elementary School for students from

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

through sixth grade. Both the Silver Lake Regional Middle School and the

Silver Lake Regional High School Silver Lake Regional High School is a public, regional high school in Massachusetts' South Shore region. It is the only secondary school in the Silver Lake Regional School District, comprising the towns of Kingston, Plympton and Halifax, Massa ...

are located in neighboring Kingston. The school's athletics teams are nicknamed the Lakers, and their colors are red and silver. There are no private schools in Plympton.

References

External links

*
Town of Plympton official website

Plympton Public Library

Plympton Historical Society
* Answer Book/Plympton
"Everything you need to know"
{{Authority control Towns in Plymouth County, Massachusetts Populated places established in 1662 1662 establishments in Plymouth Colony Towns in Massachusetts