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List of municipalities in Massachusetts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

List of municipalities in Massachusetts
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Massachusetts is a state located in the Northeastern United States. Municipalities in the state are classified as either towns or cities, distinguished by their form of government under state law. Towns have an open town meeting or representative town meeting form of government; cities, on the other hand, use a mayor-council or council-manager form. Based on the form of government, as of 2023,[1] there are 292 towns and 59 cities in Massachusetts. Over time, many towns have voted to become cities; 14 municipalities still refer to themselves as "towns" even though they have a city form of government.[1]

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The Census Bureau classifies towns in Massachusetts as a type of "minor civil division" and cities as a type of "populated place". However, from the perspective of Massachusetts law, politics, and geography, cities and towns are the same type of municipal unit, differing primarily in their form of government and some state laws which set different rules for each type.

There is no unincorporated land in Massachusetts. The land area of the state is completely divided up among the 351 municipalities.

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Largest cities

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List of municipalities

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Massachusetts towns by population, where darker towns are more populous, according to 2020 census data.
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Geography of towns at formation

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Many municipalities have at some point been divided into two or more smaller municipalities. For example, Dorchester was incorporated in 1630 and originally included all of the current Dorchester, now the largest neighborhood of Boston, plus the Boston neighborhood of Mattapan, and all of present-day Quincy, Milton, Braintree, Randolph, Holbrook, Canton, Sharon, Stoughton, Avon and the northeast portion of Foxboro. Nearly all of Massachusetts territory had been incorporated by 1815, with the final three areas of Erving (1838), Gay Head (now Aquinnah) and Mashpee (both 1870) being incorporated from previously Native American land.

CommunityYear incorporated as a town[5]Notes
Medfield1651The first town to leave Dedham.
Natick1659Established as a community for Christian Indians.
Wrentham1673Southeast corner of town was part of the Dorchester New Grant of 1637.
Deerfield1673Land was granted to Dedham in return for giving up Natick.[6]
Needham1711
Medway1713Separated from Medfield. The land was granted to Dedham in 1649.[7]
Bellingham1719
Walpole1724
Stoughton1726Part of the Dorchester New Grant of 1637. Separated from Dorchester.
Sharon1775Part of the Dorchester New Grant of 1637. Separated from Stoughton.
Foxborough1778Part of the Dorchester New Grant of 1637.
Franklin1778Separated from Wrentham.
Canton1797Part of the Dorchester New Grant of 1637. Separated from Stoughton.
Dover1836Then known as Springfield, it became a precinct of Dedham by vote of Town Meeting in 1729;[8] relegated to a parish the same year by the General Court.[9] Created the Fourth Precinct by the General Court in 1748.[10]
Hyde Park1868800 acres taken from Dedham, along with land from Dorchester and Milton.[11]
Norfolk1870Separated from Wrentham.
Norwood1872Created a precinct with Clapboard Trees (Westwood) in 1729.[9] Became its own precinct in 1734.[9]
Wellesley1881Separated from Needham
Millis1885Separated from Medway.
Avon1888Part of the Dorchester New Grant of 1637. Separated from Stoughton.
Westwood1897Joined with South Dedham (Norwood) to create Second Precinct in 1729.[9] Returned to First Precinct in 1734.[9] In 1737 became Third Precinct.[9][12] Last community to break away directly from Dedham.
Plainville1905Eastern section of town was part of the Dorchester New Grant of 1637. Separated from Wrentham.
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Former municipalities

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Some towns and cities were annexed to others; disincorporated; or ceded to another state in their entirety. This list does not include territory changes affecting only part of a municipality; see History of Massachusetts.

Annexations

The following formerly independent municipalities have been annexed to Boston:

The town of Bradford was annexed to Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1897.

Disincorporations

The following towns were disincorporated in 1938 due to the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir; all their territory was absorbed into surrounding towns:

Cessions

Ceded to New Hampshire

Due to general lack of colonial government there, all four towns in colonial New Hampshire chose to become part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1641. They were ceded to the re-formed Province of New Hampshire in 1680, under a newly issued royal charter:

Numerous towns were ceded to New Hampshire after the Northern boundary of Massachusetts was defined by royal decree in 1741:

Those towns were later disincorporated and reincorporated under New Hampshire laws on the same day in 1746.

Ceded to Rhode Island

The following towns were ceded to the Rhode Island colony in 1747 as part of a border dispute:

Ceded to Connecticut

Due to a 1642 surveying error and long-running political disputes, the following Massachusetts towns joined the Connecticut Colony in late 1749:

Ceded to Maine

All settlements in the District of Maine were ceded when the State of Maine gained its independence from Massachusetts in 1820 as part of the Missouri Compromise:

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Archaic names

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Many municipalities have changed names.[13]

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See also

Notes

    References

    External links

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