Norfolk County ( ) is located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. At the 2020 census, the population was around 725,981. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Dedham. The county was named after the English county of the same name. Two towns, Cohasset and Brookline, are

exclaves An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

. Norfolk County is included in the

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 ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

- Newton, MA- NH Metropolitan Statistical Area. Norfolk County is the 24th highest-income county in the United States with a median household income of $107,361. It is the wealthiest county in Massachusetts.

History

One of the original counties of the Massachusetts Bay Colony created on May 10, 1643, was called Norfolk, and is unrelated to the current Norfolk County. It covered territory in what is now New Hampshire, and was abolished on September 18, 1679, when King Charles II separated the Colony of New Hampshire from Massachusetts.Massachusetts : Individual County Chronologies
/ref> Shortly after the Constitution of Massachusetts was adopted on October 25, 1780, a number of towns in Suffolk County, of which Dedham was then a part, elected delegates to a convention to decide upon some policy relative to the division of the county. The convention met at Gay's Tavern in Dedham on December 12, 1780, and adopted a resolution to the effect that the towns of Bellingham, Dedham, Foxborough, Franklin, Medfield,

Medway Medway is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Kent in South East England. It was formed in 1998 by merging the boroughs of City of Roche ...

, Needham, Stoughton, Stoughtonham, Walpole, and Wrentham, along with the Middlesex County towns of Holliston, Hopkinton, Natick, and Sherborn ought to be formed into a new county with Medfield as the shiretown. The Great and General Court did not look favorably upon the resolution, however, and no new county was then created. Norfolk County, Massachusetts was created on June 20, 1793. Legislation passed in March which separated off all the towns in Suffolk County except Boston and Chelsea (which at the time included what are now Revere and Winthrop). Dedham was designated as the "shire town". Hingham and Hull petitioned to remain in Suffolk County and on the day the law was to take effect, their removal to Norfolk County was repealed, making Cohasset an

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

. In 1803, they were moved into

Plymouth County, Massachusetts Plymouth County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, south of Boston. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 530,819. Its county seats are Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth and ...

. On June 22, 1797, the town of Natick was given to Middlesex County, and the town of Needham was transferred from Middlesex to Norfolk. The towns of Dorchester and Roxbury were part of Norfolk County when it was created but, as Boston annexed each town in stages from 1804 to 1912, they became part of Suffolk County again, leaving Brookline separated from the rest of Norfolk County. No other changes have been made to the territory of Norfolk County, other than new municipalities being created within its boundaries, and minor border adjustments. Norfolk County is the birthplace of four Presidents of the United States (

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

, John F. Kennedy, and

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

), resulting in the moniker "County of Presidents."

Jails

Following the creation of the county, Gay's Tavern was the site of a Court of General Sessions on August 25, 1794. They ordered that the committee on buildings proceed with collecting materials for building a jail. On the last day of September following this order, the court accepted from Timothy Gay the gift of a parallelogram lot of land to erect the Norfolk County Jail next to his tavern. It was replaced by a new Norfolk County Jail in 1817. The two story stone building was built in 1817 and was 33' square. Part of the jail was torn down in 1851 to erect a central, octagonal portion and two wings. It resulted in a building with the shape of a Latin cross, and featured

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

windows. The three tiers of cells radiated out like spokes from the central guardroom. There were two hangings in the central rotunda: George C. Hersey on August 8, 1862 and James H. Costley on June 25, 1875. Inmates were housed in the jail until 1992 when the Norfolk County Correctional Center was opened in 1992. A court forced the closure after 13 inmates escaped in 1989. There were at least 27 break outs during the prison's history. The current Norfolk County Correctional Center is located on the median of Route 128 in Dedham. The facility has 502 beds and opened in 1992.

Courthouses

After the creation of the county, the Court of Common Pleas and the Court of General Sessions of the Peace first met in Dedham's meetinghouse. Nathaniel Ames was chosen as the clerk of both and they met for the first time on September 23. When the court met on January 7, 1794, it was so cold in the building, which lacked any sort of heating, that they moved to the Woodward Tavern across the street. The

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

in town had also offered their building, but it was in such a state of disrepair that the offer was not accepted. The

First Church and Parish in Dedham The First Church and Parish in Dedham is a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Dedham, Massachusetts. It was the 14th church established in Massachusetts. The current minister, Rev. Rali M. Weaver, was called in March 2007, settled in July, and ...

then offered a piece of land on their Little Common, and a new courthouse was ordered to be constructed. Construction was sluggish, however, and the delays frustrated Ames. The court was still sitting in the meetinghouse in 1794 but the new courthouse was completed in 1795. It was found to be too small, however, and the ceilings were so low as to stifle people in the courtrooms.

Charles Bulfinch Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.Baltzell, Edward Digby. ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia''. Tra ...

was hired in 1795 to design a turret for the building and

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, military officer and industrialist who played a major role during the opening months of the American Revolutionary War in Massachusetts, ...

was commissioned to cast a bell. When it became apparent that the Courthouse was out of date, the County Commissioners ordered a new one to be built. They originally were seeking a utilitarian building that would be fireproof and safe to store important documents. Local boosters, however, wanted a building that aligned with the town's rapidly improving self-image. The land for the courthouse, across the street from the existing one, was purchased from Frances Ames for $1,200. Ames later refused to sell the lot to the east at an asking price of $400, however. Masonic ceremonies, bell ringing and cannon fire accompanied the laying of the cornerstone on July 4, 1825. In 1827, the old courthouse was sold at public auction. The new building was designed by Solomon Willard and was dedicated on February 20, 1827. It was a basic rectangular granite-walled structure, 48' by 98' and two stories tall, with Greek-temple porticoes at either end. Each 10' portico was supported by four Doric pillars. A bell made by

was moved from the old courthouse to the new north portico, where it was tolled to announce court sessions. The interior had a hall running through the center paved with brick. On the eastern side were the offices of the Country Treasurer and the Clerk of Courts. On the western side were the Registry of Deeds and Probate Court. The courtroom was upstairs and featured an arched ceiling. The high sheriff had a desk in the room. From the outside it was an attractive building, but it was not a comfortable place to work. The only water was provided by a well on Court Street, and it did not have an adequate heating system. One employee complained that it was "barren and destitute of every convenience, demanded for health, comfort and decency." In 1846, an iron fence was installed around the perimeter.

Registry of Deeds

The Registry was originally housed in one of the first floor rooms of the home of Eliphalet Pond, the first registrar, at 963 Washington Street in Dedham. A sign was nailed to a tree out front informing the public of its location. It then moved to the original Norfolk County Courthouse and remained there for about three decades. When the new Norfolk County Courthouse was built in 1827, the middle office on the west side of the lower level was used by the Registry. When the population of the county grew and the number of real estate transactions increased apace, a new building was constructed for the Registry across the street at 649 High Street. The Boston firm Peabody & Stearns was hired to design the current Registry of Deeds, built in 1905. The main section of the building measures 52 feet by 186 feet, is two stories high with a copper hipped roof, and is built of Indiana limestone with details made of granite from Deer Isle, Maine.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (11%) is water. It is the third-smallest county in Massachusetts by total area. The county is not completely

contiguous Contiguity or contiguous may refer to: *Contiguous data storage, in computer science *Contiguity (probability theory) *Contiguity (psychology) *Contiguous distribution of species, in biogeography *Geographic contiguity Geographic contiguity is t ...

; the towns of Brookline and Cohasset are each part of Norfolk County but are separated from the majority of Norfolk County (and each other) by either water or other counties. At the county's formation, Hingham and Hull were to be part of it, but joined Plymouth County instead, leaving Cohasset as the initial

of Norfolk County and an

enclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...

of Plymouth County. Brookline became the second exclave of Norfolk County in 1873 when the neighboring town of

West Roxbury West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the village of Chestnut Hill and the town of Brookline to the north, the city of Newton to the northwest, t ...

was annexed by

(thus leaving Norfolk County to join Suffolk County) and Brookline refused to be annexed by Boston after the Brookline-Boston annexation debate of 1873.

Adjacent counties

* Middlesex County (northwest) * Suffolk County (north) * Plymouth County (southeast) * Bristol County (south) * Providence County, Rhode Island (southwest) * Worcester County (west)

National protected areas

* Adams National Historical Park * Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (part) * Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site * John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Demographics

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 650,308 people, 248,827 households, and 165,967 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 255,154 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 89.02%

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 ...

European American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

, 3.18%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.13% Native American, 5.50% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.78% from other races, and 1.37% from two or more races. 1.84%. were

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. 28.6% were of Irish, 13.4% Italian, 7.7% English and 5.0% descendants of colonists ancestry according to Census 2000. 85.7% spoke only English at home, while 2.3% spoke Chinese in any dialect, 2.0% Spanish, 1.0% Italian and 1.0% French at home. Of the 248,827 households 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.20% were married couples living together, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.30% were non-families. 26.80% of households were one person and 10.80% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.14. The age distribution was 23.40% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 31.60% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 14.40% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.60 males. The median household income was $63,432 and the median family income was $77,847 (these figures had risen to $77,294 and $95,243 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $51,301 versus $37,108 for females. The per capita income for the county was $32,484. About 2.90% of families and 4.60% 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 4.40% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 670,850 people, 257,914 households, and 168,903 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 270,359 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 82.3% white, 8.6% Asian, 5.7% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 1.3% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.3% of the population. The largest ancestry groups were: * 31.8% Irish * 15.5% Italian * 11.0% English * 7.0% German * 4.6% French * 4.3% Chinese * 4.1% Polish * 3.2% Russian * 3.1% American * 2.8% Scottish * 2.6% French Canadian * 2.4% Scotch-Irish * 2.0% West Indian * 2.0% Sub-Saharan African * 1.9% Portuguese * 1.8% Swedish * 1.6% Indian * 1.4% Arab * 1.4% Greek * 1.2% Canadian * 1.1% Vietnamese * 1.1% Lithuanian Of the 257,914 households, 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.5% were non-families, and 27.6% of households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.15. The median age was 40.7 years. The median income for a household in the county was $81,027 and the median family income was $101,870. Males had a median income of $68,070 versus $51,870 for females. The per capita income for the county was $42,371. About 4.1% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the

, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over. Norfolk County MA population density

Demographic breakdown by town

Income

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.

Religion

*congregations
**adherents

Government

The county has offices in Dedham Square. It runs the Norfolk County Correctional Center, the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, and the Norfolk County Courthouse.

Current elected officials

All eligible voters of Norfolk County vote for three County Commissioners, a

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

, a Clerk of Courts, a Register of Deeds, a

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

, a County Treasurer, and a Register of Probate. County Commissioners are elected for a four-year term; two Commissioners are elected to coincide with presidential elections, and one Commissioner is elected during the midterm elections. All three Commissioners must hail from a different municipality. The District Attorney is elected every four years coinciding with the midterm elections. The Clerk of Courts and Register of Deeds are elected every six years coinciding with the elections of Class I US Senators. The County Treasurer and Register of Probate are elected every six years coinciding with the elections of Class II US Senators. The Sheriff is elected every six years coinciding with the elections of Class III US Senators.

Sheriffs

There have been 21 sheriffs of Norfolk County.

Treasurers

Politics

Like the rest of Massachusetts, Norfolk County is a Democratic stronghold in terms of federal politics. The last time it voted for a Republican presidential candidate was in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, during

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

's landslide victory in which he carried every state except

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. In contrast, at the state level the county frequently supports Republican gubernatorial candidates, having done so all but once between 1990 and 2018.

Communities

Cities

* Braintree * Franklin * Quincy (largest city) * Randolph * Weymouth

Towns

* Avon * Bellingham * Brookline * Canton * Cohasset * Dedham (traditional county seat) *

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

* Foxborough * Holbrook * Medfield *

* Millis * Milton * Needham *

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

* Norwood * Plainville *

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, ...

* Stoughton * Walpole * Wellesley * Westwood * Wrentham Note:

(annexed to Boston 1874), Roxbury (annexed to Boston 1868), Dorchester (founded 1630, annexed to Boston 1870), Hyde Park (incorporated 1868 from Dorchester, Milton, and Dedham, annexed to Boston 1912), and Hingham and Hull were originally part of Norfolk County when the county was incorporated in 1793. As of August 2012, Hingham's Precinct 2 will be part of the Fourth Norfolk District.

Census-designated places

* Bellingham *

* Foxborough * Medfield * Millis-Clicquot *

* Walpole

Education

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> K-12: * Avon School District * Bellingham School District * Braintree School District * Brookline School District * Canton School District * Cohasset School District * Dedham School District * Foxborough School District * Franklin School District * Holbrook School District * Medfield School District * Medway School District * Millis School District * Milton School District * Needham School District * Norwood School District * Quincy School District * Randolph School District * Sharon School District * Stoughton School District * Walpole School District * Wellesley School District * Westwood School District * Weymouth School District Secondary: * Dover-Sherborn School District * King Philip School District Elementary: * Dover School District * Norfolk School District * Plainville School District * Wrentham School District Regional vocational High Schools: * Blue Hills Regional Technical * Norfolk County Agricultural * Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical

Notes

References

Works cited

* * * * *

Bibliography

History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts
With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, by Duane Hamilton Hurd. Published by J.W. Lewis & Co., 1884. 1001 pages.
History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, 1622-1918
by Louis Atwood Cook. Published by The S.J. Clarke publishing company, 1918. Volume 1.

External links

* *
Norfolk County official site
{{coord, 42.17, -71.19, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MA_source:UScensus1990 Massachusetts counties Counties in Greater Boston 1793 establishments in Massachusetts Populated places established in 1793