Tom Kennedy
MASSACHUSETTS STATE SENATOR
SECOND PLYMOUTH AND BRISTOL DISTRICT
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About the District
The Massachusetts Senate’s Second Plymouth and Bristol District is comprised of the City of Brockton and the towns of East Bridgewater (precincts 1 thru 3), Easton (precincts 1 and 2), Halifax, Hanover, Hanson and Whitman.
Below is a brief narrative for each community, based on information provided by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Click on the respective town's or city's name to be directed to the community's website.
Brockton
The City of Brockton is a major urban community south of Boston with a rich industrial history. Brockton was the shoe manufacturing center of the region from the late 18th century through the 1950's. In the Civil War, it was claimed that half of the Union Army wore boots made in Brockton and at the height of the shoe industry in 1929, more than 30,000 people were employed by shoe manufacturers in a city which dominated the world footwear market until after World War II.
The city was the site of pioneering in electrical power in 1883 when the third electric power station in the country was opened under the supervision of Thomas Edison, and in 1884 when Edison returned to witness the opening of the City Theater, the first in the world to be lighted from a central power station. The city was also the site of the first fire station to be electrically operated.
The community prides itself on its diversity; of populations, of interests and of facilities. Brockton hosts the Fuller Craft Museum, viewed by residents as one of the finest small museums in the country, as well as the Brockton Historical Society Complex with museums devoted to shoes, firefighting artifacts, and Thomas Edison. Residents take special pride in their sports heroes, who include world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano and middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler. William H. McGunnigle, less well-known but of great importance, was a Brockton resident credited with inventing the first baseball glove.
East Bridgewater
The Town of East Bridgewater was an early industrial inland town located on the northern portion of the Taunton River system. Situated in Plymouth County, the town's European community had been heavily damaged in King Philip's war. Nine of the ten homes in the area were destroyed during the fighting. Its early economy was based on agriculture, but the community did have both grist and saw mills, iron forges and tanneries. The Keith brothers iron slitting mill is reportedly one of the earliest reported in southeastern Massachusetts. The first triphammer to make scythes, axes and other edged tools was established in town in 1740, and cannons and muskets for the revolution were made in East Bridgewater.
The late 19th and early 20th century saw residential development along the trolley lines in the community. The Bridgewater Branch Railroad from Whitman through East Bridgewater stimulated further industrial growth, and the town was the site of boot and shoe manufacturing and textile mills. The real population expansion, however, followed the Second World War, and the town now has a heavily residential population.
Easton
Easton is a pretty, pleasant suburban community now, but the town began its history as the rough frontier of
the Taunton North Purchase and acted as the hunting, fishing and lumbering preserve of early Taunton settlers. Permanent settlement by colonists about 1695 and formal establishment of the town in 1725 led to an impassioned controversy over the location of the town meeting house, which split the early community.
The town's industrial history essentially begins with the discovery of bog iron which made Easton part of an important late 17th and 18th century iron producing region in southwestern Massachusetts. The first commercial steel made in the colonies was said to have been made in Easton and was evidently used for muskets. In 1803 the Ames Shovel Company was established, and became nationally known as having provided the shovels which laid the Union Pacific Railroad and opened the west. In 1875 the shovel production of the Ames plant was worth $1.5 million. The Ames family not only shaped the town's economy but also its geography and architecture. In the late 19th century, the family created a remarkable legacy by donating several landmark buildings to the town. This was important not only for its benevolence, but for its architectural significance, since the nationally known architect H.H. Richardson designed Oakes Ames Memorial Hall, the library and the Old Colony Railroad building which now houses the Easton Historical Society, in the impressive Romanesque style. The community has carefully preserved these buildings, as part of the proud heritage of the town. The Ames family also built shops and company housing. In addition, Ames family estates effectively maintained large tracts of open space in the community.
Through most of its history the town has retained a small but healthy industrial base that featured the production of the Morse automobile between 1902 and 1914, cotton and thread mills, machine shops making piano casings and piano machinery, and the location of the spring supplying the oldest carbonated beverage company in the country. Despite this industrial activity, the town remained largely rural in feeling. Suburban development since World War II has brought in a significant number of new residents.
Halifax
The Town of Halifax is a pastoral community located in the geographic center of Plymouth County and was
first settled in 1669. Early colonists found extensive woods of white and pitch pine, cedar and oak and the first saw mill was built about 1728 to process this lumber. Agriculture and lumbering continued to be the basis of the community's economy and by 1794 there were five sawmills in operation. Lumber was sent south through the Taunton River system and east to the Jones River and North River shipyards. To the saw mills were added iron furnaces and a cotton factory by 1815 and a large woolen mill in 1822. Halifax was the site in 1795 of an early effort to construct a canal between Buzzards Bay and Massachusetts Bay by connecting the Taunton and North Rivers through the ponds of Halifax and Pembroke.
During the 19th century, as other communities became increasingly industrialized and Halifax's industries burned or closed, the town's economy shifted back to agriculture and substantial poultry and cranberry production was recorded. The residential character of the town became very pronounced as better roads like Routes 106 and 58 provided better access to the town. In addition, the scattered summer cottage colonies began conversions to year-round housing.
Hanover
The Town of Hanover is a suburban community in Plymouth County which was first settled in 1649
and incorporated in 1727. The town's early economy was based on agriculture and lumbering. The lumber was used for house building and shipbuilding while other early industries included grist mills and iron forges. By the 18th century, the town had made itself a very self-sufficient community on a sturdy agricultural and industrial foundation, with a wealth of water power resources and a shipbuilding complex on the North River. Hanover was in fact one of the major industrial centers of southeastern Massachusetts at the time. Thirty ships were built in 1801 on the North River and the town's anchor forges made the anchors for the United States Navy and are said to have supplied the anchor for the U.S. Constitution.
Unfortunately, a market for larger ships than the North River could hold ended the shipbuilding industry in Hanover. The town was the site of the invention of the first tack-making machine, and making tacks and fireworks were among the industries of the later 19th century for Hanover. These manufacturing jobs brought immigrants from Lithuania and Poland, who established their own settlements within the town. However, the most significant post-civil war movement was toward residential subdivision development as the main roads from Brockton and Boston were improved in the 20th century. Residents are proud of the Four Corners Section of Hanover, which retains its authentic period village character, and of their close-knit and friendly town.
Hanson
Hanson is a rural community incorporated in 1820. Residents of the town established a preserve for
the native population of the area on 100 acres of land in 1662 when they purchased the land on which the town is situated. Early settlers farmed and lumbered, setting up the first saw mill in 1695 on the Indian Head Brook near the present town hall. There were some early 19th century textile mills in Hanson, as well as shoemakers and lumber mills. Lumbering, making shingles and the cranberry industry dominated the town's economy in the 19th century. In 1912, a huge cranberry packing house was built in Hanson. This, with many later additions, eventually became the national Ocean Spray Corporation. By 1915, there were 21 cranberry growers and 20 poultry farms in a community which has to this day remained significantly agricultural.
The town was named for Alexander Conte Hanson, a Maryland newspaper publisher who upheld the rights of a free press in the early 1800's when he defended his right to condemn the War of 1812. But Hanson, residents say, is much quieter and more peaceful than its namesake was and that, they note, is how they like it.
Whitman
Whitman is home of the famous Toll House and the Toll House cookie. A quiet and friendly community, Whitman has an outstanding youth organizatio
n that offers a variety of activities. The town is proud of their girls' soccer team, who won the state championship, and its recreation program. The Town Park, home to the baseball field, also features an outdoor swimming pool. The bandstand from which summer concerts are held is a very popular attraction. Whitman hosts an annual Fourth of July Field Day at the park, with a road race, carriage or bike decorating, pie eating contests and other events. The town is a very rural community situated on the South Shore and is mostly residential.
Below is a brief narrative for each community, based on information provided by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Click on the respective town's or city's name to be directed to the community's website.
Brockton
The City of Brockton is a major urban community south of Boston with a rich industrial history. Brockton was the shoe manufacturing center of the region from the late 18th century through the 1950's. In the Civil War, it was claimed that half of the Union Army wore boots made in Brockton and at the height of the shoe industry in 1929, more than 30,000 people were employed by shoe manufacturers in a city which dominated the world footwear market until after World War II. The city was the site of pioneering in electrical power in 1883 when the third electric power station in the country was opened under the supervision of Thomas Edison, and in 1884 when Edison returned to witness the opening of the City Theater, the first in the world to be lighted from a central power station. The city was also the site of the first fire station to be electrically operated.
The community prides itself on its diversity; of populations, of interests and of facilities. Brockton hosts the Fuller Craft Museum, viewed by residents as one of the finest small museums in the country, as well as the Brockton Historical Society Complex with museums devoted to shoes, firefighting artifacts, and Thomas Edison. Residents take special pride in their sports heroes, who include world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano and middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler. William H. McGunnigle, less well-known but of great importance, was a Brockton resident credited with inventing the first baseball glove.
East Bridgewater
The Town of East Bridgewater was an early industrial inland town located on the northern portion of the Taunton River system. Situated in Plymouth County, the town's European community had been heavily damaged in King Philip's war. Nine of the ten homes in the area were destroyed during the fighting. Its early economy was based on agriculture, but the community did have both grist and saw mills, iron forges and tanneries. The Keith brothers iron slitting mill is reportedly one of the earliest reported in southeastern Massachusetts. The first triphammer to make scythes, axes and other edged tools was established in town in 1740, and cannons and muskets for the revolution were made in East Bridgewater. The late 19th and early 20th century saw residential development along the trolley lines in the community. The Bridgewater Branch Railroad from Whitman through East Bridgewater stimulated further industrial growth, and the town was the site of boot and shoe manufacturing and textile mills. The real population expansion, however, followed the Second World War, and the town now has a heavily residential population.
Easton
Easton is a pretty, pleasant suburban community now, but the town began its history as the rough frontier of
the Taunton North Purchase and acted as the hunting, fishing and lumbering preserve of early Taunton settlers. Permanent settlement by colonists about 1695 and formal establishment of the town in 1725 led to an impassioned controversy over the location of the town meeting house, which split the early community. The town's industrial history essentially begins with the discovery of bog iron which made Easton part of an important late 17th and 18th century iron producing region in southwestern Massachusetts. The first commercial steel made in the colonies was said to have been made in Easton and was evidently used for muskets. In 1803 the Ames Shovel Company was established, and became nationally known as having provided the shovels which laid the Union Pacific Railroad and opened the west. In 1875 the shovel production of the Ames plant was worth $1.5 million. The Ames family not only shaped the town's economy but also its geography and architecture. In the late 19th century, the family created a remarkable legacy by donating several landmark buildings to the town. This was important not only for its benevolence, but for its architectural significance, since the nationally known architect H.H. Richardson designed Oakes Ames Memorial Hall, the library and the Old Colony Railroad building which now houses the Easton Historical Society, in the impressive Romanesque style. The community has carefully preserved these buildings, as part of the proud heritage of the town. The Ames family also built shops and company housing. In addition, Ames family estates effectively maintained large tracts of open space in the community.
Through most of its history the town has retained a small but healthy industrial base that featured the production of the Morse automobile between 1902 and 1914, cotton and thread mills, machine shops making piano casings and piano machinery, and the location of the spring supplying the oldest carbonated beverage company in the country. Despite this industrial activity, the town remained largely rural in feeling. Suburban development since World War II has brought in a significant number of new residents.
Halifax
The Town of Halifax is a pastoral community located in the geographic center of Plymouth County and was
first settled in 1669. Early colonists found extensive woods of white and pitch pine, cedar and oak and the first saw mill was built about 1728 to process this lumber. Agriculture and lumbering continued to be the basis of the community's economy and by 1794 there were five sawmills in operation. Lumber was sent south through the Taunton River system and east to the Jones River and North River shipyards. To the saw mills were added iron furnaces and a cotton factory by 1815 and a large woolen mill in 1822. Halifax was the site in 1795 of an early effort to construct a canal between Buzzards Bay and Massachusetts Bay by connecting the Taunton and North Rivers through the ponds of Halifax and Pembroke. During the 19th century, as other communities became increasingly industrialized and Halifax's industries burned or closed, the town's economy shifted back to agriculture and substantial poultry and cranberry production was recorded. The residential character of the town became very pronounced as better roads like Routes 106 and 58 provided better access to the town. In addition, the scattered summer cottage colonies began conversions to year-round housing.
Hanover
The Town of Hanover is a suburban community in Plymouth County which was first settled in 1649
and incorporated in 1727. The town's early economy was based on agriculture and lumbering. The lumber was used for house building and shipbuilding while other early industries included grist mills and iron forges. By the 18th century, the town had made itself a very self-sufficient community on a sturdy agricultural and industrial foundation, with a wealth of water power resources and a shipbuilding complex on the North River. Hanover was in fact one of the major industrial centers of southeastern Massachusetts at the time. Thirty ships were built in 1801 on the North River and the town's anchor forges made the anchors for the United States Navy and are said to have supplied the anchor for the U.S. Constitution. Unfortunately, a market for larger ships than the North River could hold ended the shipbuilding industry in Hanover. The town was the site of the invention of the first tack-making machine, and making tacks and fireworks were among the industries of the later 19th century for Hanover. These manufacturing jobs brought immigrants from Lithuania and Poland, who established their own settlements within the town. However, the most significant post-civil war movement was toward residential subdivision development as the main roads from Brockton and Boston were improved in the 20th century. Residents are proud of the Four Corners Section of Hanover, which retains its authentic period village character, and of their close-knit and friendly town.
Hanson
Hanson is a rural community incorporated in 1820. Residents of the town established a preserve for
the native population of the area on 100 acres of land in 1662 when they purchased the land on which the town is situated. Early settlers farmed and lumbered, setting up the first saw mill in 1695 on the Indian Head Brook near the present town hall. There were some early 19th century textile mills in Hanson, as well as shoemakers and lumber mills. Lumbering, making shingles and the cranberry industry dominated the town's economy in the 19th century. In 1912, a huge cranberry packing house was built in Hanson. This, with many later additions, eventually became the national Ocean Spray Corporation. By 1915, there were 21 cranberry growers and 20 poultry farms in a community which has to this day remained significantly agricultural. The town was named for Alexander Conte Hanson, a Maryland newspaper publisher who upheld the rights of a free press in the early 1800's when he defended his right to condemn the War of 1812. But Hanson, residents say, is much quieter and more peaceful than its namesake was and that, they note, is how they like it.
Whitman
Whitman is home of the famous Toll House and the Toll House cookie. A quiet and friendly community, Whitman has an outstanding youth organizatio
n that offers a variety of activities. The town is proud of their girls' soccer team, who won the state championship, and its recreation program. The Town Park, home to the baseball field, also features an outdoor swimming pool. The bandstand from which summer concerts are held is a very popular attraction. Whitman hosts an annual Fourth of July Field Day at the park, with a road race, carriage or bike decorating, pie eating contests and other events. The town is a very rural community situated on the South Shore and is mostly residential.