Easton is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Bristol County, Massachusetts Bristol County is a county in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. 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, othe ...

, United States. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Boston area. Easton is governed by an elected

Select Board The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the 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 is the most common num ...

. Open Town Meeting acts as the legislative branch of the town. The Select Board chooses a Town Administrator to run the day-to-day operations of the town.

History

Easton was first settled in 1694 and was officially incorporated in 1725. In 1694, the first settler, Clement Briggs, established his home near the Easton Green. In 1711, the Taunton North Purchase area became Norton, and in 1713, the sixty-nine families settled in Easton and hired Elder William Pratt as their first minister. Prior to the settlers' establishment, the area was occupied by Native Americans as a hunting area and a burial ground. During

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

Metacom Metacomet (c. 1638 in Massachusetts – August 12, 1676), also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip,Ames Shovel Works was established and became nationally known as having provided the shovels which laid the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

and opened the west. In 1875, the shovel production of the Ames plant was worth $1.5 million. The most notable of the Ames family were

Oakes Ames Oakes Ames (January 10, 1804 – May 8, 1873) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. As a congressman, he is credited by many historians as being ...

, a key figure in the Crédit Mobilier of America scandal, and Oliver Ames (R), governor of Massachusetts from 1887 to 1890. The Ames family shaped the town's economy, and was responsible for the presence of a number of landmark buildings in the town designed by H. H. Richardson, originator of the

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...

style and designer of Trinity Church in Boston. Richardson buildings in Easton include: * The Ames Free Library (town library) * Oakes Ames Memorial Hall * The Old Colony Railroad Station (houses the Easton Historical Society) * The Ames Gate Lodge (privately owned by the Ames family) * The F. L. Ames Gardener's Cottage (privately owned by the Ames family) Though this school complex was not made by Richardson himself, it was dedicated to him and made in his style: * H. H. Richardson/F. L. Olmsted Intermediate School In addition, there is a commercial building at 69 Main Street which was designed and built in the nineteenth century by Richardson's office in a Richardsonian style. The Richardson buildings are all located within a compact area designated as the H. H. Richardson Historic District. The area also includes The Rockery, designed by

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

, who also landscaped grounds of Oakes Ames Memorial Hall and the Ames Free Library. Within a few blocks of the H. H. Richardson Historic District is Unity Church, built by the Ames family in 1875, and designed in the Gothic Revival Style by architect and publisher John Ames Mitchell. It includes an ornate oak frieze including sculptures of twenty-two angels playing music, carved by Wyatt Hopeboth (1860–1930), and two notable stained-glass windows, "Angel of Help," and "Figure of Wisdom," both by

John LaFarge John La Farge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American artist whose career spanned illustration, murals, interior design, painting, and popular books on his Asian travels and other art-related topics. La Farge made stained glass ...

(1835–1910). "Figure of Wisdom," completed in 1901, is the largest stained-glass work created by LaFarge.

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 is land and (2.54%) is water. The town, in addition to its own smaller town forest, includes part of Borderland State Park at the northwestern corner of town, Hockomock Swamp Wildlife Management Area at the southeastern corner of town, and all of Wheaton Farm Conservation Area in the southwest. All of the town's waterways are considered part of the Taunton River Watershed area, which in turn is the eastern section of the

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. S ...

Watershed area. Easton forms the northeastern corner of Bristol County, where the county intersects with Plymouth County to the east and Norfolk County to the north. The localities of Easton include Alger's Corner, Daley Corner, Easton Center, Easton Green, Eastondale, Five Corners, Furnace Village, Goward's Corner, Morris Corner, Morse Corner, Pratt's Corner. Although there is no official designation dividing "North Easton" from "South Easton," the terms are colloquially used by older residents of the town even though they have no governmental or legal standing. Easton is located in eastern Massachusetts. The roughly trapezoidal-shaped town is bordered by Brockton and West Bridgewater to the east,

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

and Raynham to the south, Norton to either side of its southwest corner,

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

to the west, and

Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...

and Stoughton to the north.

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 22,299 people, 7,489 households, and 5,571 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 7,631 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 91.94%

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 ...

, 1.59%

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 ...

, 0.04% Native American, 1.39% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 4.13% from other races, and 0.91% 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 1.58% of the population. There were 7,489 households, out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% 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, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.6% were non-families. Of all households, 20.7% were made up of individuals, and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.21. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 13.1% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% 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 91.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $89,144, and the median income for a family was $112,190. Males had a median income of $51,429 versus $35,912 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 $40,732. About 0.7% of families and 2.0% 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 0.6% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public schools

Easton's public school system includes one early-elementary school serving kindergarten through second grade: Blanche A. Ames Elementary School; there are two elementary schools serving grades 3–5: Frederick Law Olmsted School and Henry Hobson Richardson School (now considered one school, known as "Richardson-Olmsted."); meanwhile grades 6 through 8 attend Easton Middle School, and high school students attend Oliver Ames High School (OA). Oliver Ames High School's athletic teams' mascot is the tiger. The school colors are orange and black. The OA girls varsity basketball team won the Division II state basketball championship in 2006 and 2010. The Oliver Ames Varsity Baseball team won the Division II State Baseball Championship in June 2007. In November 2007, Oliver Ames girls' varsity soccer team won the Division II state soccer championship. In November 2015 the Oliver Ames boys soccer team won the state championship game. The high school also boasts an impressive music department, complete with a jazz band, marching band, concert band, show choir, concert choir and chamber orchestra. The Oliver Ames Marching Band won the 2008 Division 2 New England championships for USSBA, and placed fifth out of 29 bands competing. The town is also home to Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School, which serves all the bordering towns (except Taunton and Raynham), plus Foxborough. Students may choose to attend Southeastern or Oliver Ames free of charge.

Higher education

Easton is home to Stonehill College, a private, non-profit, coeducational, Roman Catholic, liberal arts college. Their mascot is "Ace" the Skyhawk.

Transportation

Easton is served by the following highways that run through the town: Routes 106, 123 and 138. Additionally, the town is served by two major highways which run just outside its border, Route 24 to the east and Interstate 495 to the south. Easton receives limited bus service from the Brockton Area Transit Authority, with Route 9 making stops adjacent to Stonehill College and the Easton Industrial Park. Bloom Bus Lines also offers commuter bus service to Taunton and Boston, with a flag stop at the corner of Route 138 and Route 106. Easton is the site of two proposed

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 ...

stations, North Easton and Easton Village, on the Stoughton Branch option of the MBTA's South Coast Rail project. In March 2011, following the release of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Draft Environmental Impact Report, Gov.

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was the first African Americans, African-American Governor of Massachusetts and the first Democratic Pa ...

's administration and the MBTA announced this alternative as the best option for achieving all the goals of the project. As of 2019, the Easton stations have been moved to Phase 2 of the project, which will not be completed until 2030.

Points of interest

* Ames Free Library * Borderland State Park * Governor Oliver Ames Estate * Oakes Ames Memorial Hall * Stonehill College * The Rockery

Notable people

Athletes

* Austin Causey, soccer player * Jim Craig, goaltender for the gold medal winning 1980 "Miracle on Ice" U.S. Olympic hockey team * Corey Dillon, former NFL player; lived in Easton while playing for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

* Irving Fryar, lived in Easton while playing for the Patriots * Scott Gordon, former US Olympic and

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

hockey goalie, AHL and NHL coach * Nick Green, lived in Easton while playing for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

* Russ Hochstein, lived in Easton while playing for the Patriots * Cedric Green, lived in Easton while playing as a wide receiver for the Patriots * Ronnie Lippett, former Patriots player who still lives in Easton * David MacKinnon, former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

First Baseman who spent time with the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

* John Marino, NHL defenseman for the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

* Stanley Morgan, former Patriots player; lived in Easton * Andre Tippett, lived in Easton for a part of his career while playing for the Patriots * Mo Vaughn, former Red Sox first baseman; lived in Easton * Erik Vendt, three-time Olympic Medalist for swimming (two silver, one gold) in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics *

Mike Vrabel Michael George Vrabel ( ; born August 14, 1975) is an American professional American football, football coach and former linebacker who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college footba ...

, former NFL linebacker lived in Easton while playing for the Patriots * Brent Williams, former Patriots player; lives in Easton

Historical

* Blanche Ames Ames (1878–1969), Inventor/painter, suffragette, and first president of the Birth Control League of Massachusetts. Maiden name was Ames, married Oakes Ames (below) and kept both names, although no relation until married *

(1804–1873), manufacturer, United States Congressman *

(1874–1950), specialist in orchids * Oliver Ames Sr. (1779–1863), patriarch of Ames family * Oliver Ames Jr. (1807–1877), president of the Union Pacific railroad *

Frederick Lothrop Ames Frederick Lothrop Ames (June 8, 1835 – September 13, 1893) was heir to a fortune in railroads and shovel manufacturing. He was Vice President of the Old Colony Railroad, a director of the Union Pacific railroad, and a co-founder of General Ele ...

(1835–1893), Vice President of the Old Colony Railroad and director of the Union Pacific railroad * Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr. (1876–1939), Son of Frederick Lothrop Ames * Ruth Graves Wakefield, Creator of the chocolate chip cookie *

Winthrop Ames Winthrop Ames (November 25, 1870 – November 3, 1937) was an American theatre director and producer, playwright and screenwriter. For three decades at the beginning of the 20th century, Ames was an important force on Broadway, whose repertoir ...

(1870–1937), theater director, producer, playwright and screenwriter.

Writers

* Joseph Nassise, author

Politicians

* Oliver Ames (1831–1895),

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of Massachusetts * Claire Cronin, 25th

United States Ambassador to Ireland The United States ambassador to Ireland is the ambassador, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is considered a highly prestigious position within the United States F ...

, and former Majority Leader of the Massachusetts House of Representatives * George Van Ness Lothrop (1817–1897), Michigan Attorney General * Martin V. Pratt (1828–1898), Wisconsin State Assemblyman

Actors

Kristian Alfonso Kristian-Joy Alfonso (born September 5, 1963) is an American actress, former figure skater, and fashion model. She is best known for playing the role of Hope Williams Brady on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' (1983 to 1987, 1990, 1994 ...

, soap opera star

Government

Easton is represented by Gerald Cassidy (D) and Carol Doherty (D) 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 ...

. Easton is represented by Walter Timilty (D). Easton is represented by

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 ...

(D) and

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 ...

(D) in 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 ...

. In the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

Easton is represented by Jake Auchincloss (D).

Local government

Easton is governed by an elected committee of select board members and a town administrator. Easton's "Board of Selectmen" was renamed a Select Board via Town Meeting in 2019. The Easton Select Board as of September 2019: * Dottie Fulginiti (Chair) * Craig Barger (Vice-Chair) * Marc Lamb * Jennifer Stacy * Jamie Stebbins The Easton Town Administrator as of September 2019: * Connor Read

Media

Easton does not have a daily newspaper, but is served by ''The Enterprise'' of Brockton, a

GateHouse Media GateHouse Media Inc. was an American publisher of locally based print and digital media. It published 144 daily newspapers, 684 community publications, and over 569 local-market websites in 38 states. Its parent company, New Media Investment Group ...

company. Easton's last town-specific newspaper, a weekly called the ''Easton Journal'', published its final issue in 2019, combining with three other local weekly newspapers to create a regional weekly called the ''Journal News Independent'' (also owned by GateHouse Media). Easton Community Access Television serves as the public access station for the town, with many town board meetings and school events televised on the channel. Because of Easton's proximity to both Boston and Providence, town residents have access to television networks in both media markets.

Religion

Easton has 13 houses of worship, including two

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

churches, two

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

churches, two

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

churches, and two Jewish temples.

References

External links

Easton Official Website
* ''History of the Town of Easton'' by William L. Chaffin {{authority control 1694 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay Populated places established in 1694 Providence metropolitan area Towns in Bristol County, Massachusetts Towns in Massachusetts