Southeastern Massachusetts

Southeastern Massachusetts
Southeastern Massachusetts
Region of Massachusetts
	A view from New Bedford overlooking Buzzards Bay
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
Largest city (population)	Brockton (105,643)
Largest town (area)	Plymouth (134 square miles)
Subregions	Cape Cod and Islands, South Coast, South Shore
Area
• Total	4,336.4 sq mi (11,231 km2)
• Land	2,352.3 sq mi (6,092 km2)
• Water	1,983.9 sq mi (5,138 km2)
Population
• Total	2,099,851
• Density	480/sq mi (190/km2)

Southeastern Massachusetts is a region of Massachusetts located south of Boston and east of Rhode Island. It is commonly used to describe areas with cultural ties to both Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, and includes the cities of New Bedford and Fall River and their respective suburbs. Despite the location of Cape Cod and the islands to its south, which are the southeasternmost parts of the state, they are not often grouped in this designation. At its broadest definition, it includes all of Massachusetts south of Boston, southeast of Worcester, and east of Providence, Rhode Island, while at its narrowest definition, it is Bristol County and the Western portion of Plymouth County. The region including Cape Cod roughly corresponds with the location of the historic Plymouth Colony, which became part of Massachusetts in 1691.

Definition

As Southeastern Massachusetts is not an official designation, its borders are not exactly defined.

At its broadest definition, it includes all of Plymouth and Bristol counties (particularly the South Coast along Buzzards Bay and the South Shore along Cape Cod Bay), most of the cities and towns in Norfolk County, and even some towns in Worcester County. At its narrowest definition, it includes all of Bristol County, the western part of Plymouth County and the southwestern part of Norfolk County, with the South Shore and Metro-South areas being counted separately.

The terms "Southeastern Massachusetts," "Southeastern New England", and "Southern New England" are much-used by Providence-area broadcasters and other local companies and organizations but are not used as frequently in other parts of Massachusetts.

Characteristics

The Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) task force, which concerns Southeastern Massachusetts in its broadest definition, describes:

For this effort, southeastern [sic] Massachusetts is defined as fifty-two cities and towns from Bristol, Plymouth and Norfolk Counties. The region is geographically defined by Massachusetts Bay, Buzzards Bay, The [sic] Taunton River watershed, and its location relative to Boston, Rhode Island and Cape Cod. Bristol County, Massachusetts and Bristol County, Rhode Island are contiguous and are the only counties in the nation where Portuguese Americans make up the plurality of the population. This is due to the Portuguese-American population, the Portuguese-Brazilian population, and the Portuguese-Cape Verdean population that came to Southern New England in the 19th century to do the much needed whaling work; in fact, New Bedford is called "the Whaling City."
...[it] is home to approximately one million people residing in over 1,300 square miles (3,400 km²). We have been adding 10,000 new residents and consuming 4.7 square miles (12 km²) of undeveloped land each year for the past thirty years, and new transportation improvements (commuter rail, Route 44 and Route 3 & 24 improvements) continue to attract more growth. Southeastern Massachusetts comprises several clearly defined sub-regions, including the South Shore, the South Coast and the Tri-City area around Brockton, Attleboro and Taunton. Despite the diversity within the region, the fifty-two cities and towns all have common concerns and opportunities.^[1]

Taunton, Brockton, Fall River, and New Bedford are the largest cities in Southeastern Massachusetts and are close to one another in size. All four have a strong Portuguese presence. In 2000, 43.9% of Fall River residents identified as being of Portuguese heritage. This is the highest percentage of Portuguese Americans in the country. Most of the population claims to be of Azorean origin, many from São Miguel Island. There are smaller, but significant presences of other Portuguese-speaking communities, such as other Azorean Islanders, Portuguese from mainland Portugal, Madeirans, Cape Verdeans, Brazilians, and Angolans. In 2000 New Bedford had the second highest percentage of Portuguese Americans with 38.6% of residents reporting that ancestry. New Bedford is also 8.0% Cape Verdean, 4.39% African American and 7.1% Puerto Rican, and 3% were other Hispanics, In 2000 it was 75% White alone.^[2]

Like most of the state, Southeastern Massachusetts is ethnically, racially, linguistically, and religiously diverse. However, Portuguese-speakers are especially well represented in this area (especially Bristol County) due to a pattern of immigration that began in the 19th century and was tied to the whaling industry. Today, many people in Southeastern Massachusetts, most notability Bristol County, trace their ancestry to mainland Portugal and the Azores. Quincy, Milton, and Randolph are all in Norfolk County and are included in the Southeastern Massachusetts definition; they are populated by Irish Americans, British Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans and Latin Americans. Irish Americans dominate Norfolk County, Bristol County and Plymouth County which has been known as the "Irish Riviera". Cape Verdean Americans, Brazilian Americans, Angolan Americans, African Americans, Arab Americans, Irish Americans, British Americans, Portuguese Americans, Asian Americans, Latin Americans, Spanish Americans, Chinese Americans, Russian Americans, Turkish Americans, German Americans, Polish Americans, Swedish Americans, French Americans, Lebanese Americans, Italian Americans, and Greek Americans preside over Brockton, Taunton, Fall River and New Bedford.^[3]^[4]

Cities and towns

Municipality	Type^[5]	County^[6]	Form of government^[5]	Population (2010)^[6]	Year established^[7]
Abington	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	15,985	1712
Acushnet	Town	Bristol	Open town meeting	10,303	1860
Aquinnah	Town	Dukes	Open town meeting	311	1870
Attleboro	City	Bristol	Mayor-council	43,593	1694
Avon	Town	Norfolk	Open town meeting	4,356	1888
Barnstable	City^[8]	Barnstable	Council-manager	45,193	1639
Bellingham	Town	Norfolk	Open town meeting	16,332	1719
Berkley	Town	Bristol	Open town meeting	6,411	1735
Blackstone	Town	Worcester	Open town meeting	9,026	1845
Bourne	Town	Barnstable	Open town meeting	19,754	1884
Braintree	City^[8]	Norfolk	Mayor-council	35,744	1640
Brewster	Town	Barnstable	Open town meeting	9,820	1803
Bridgewater	City^[8]	Plymouth	Council-manager	26,563	1656
Brockton	City	Plymouth	Mayor-council	105,643	1821
Canton	Town	Norfolk	Open town meeting	21,561	1797
Carver	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	11,509	1790
Chatham	Town	Barnstable	Open town meeting	6,125	1712
Chilmark	Town	Dukes	Open town meeting	866	1714
Cohasset	Town	Norfolk	Open town meeting	7,542	1775
Dartmouth	Town	Bristol	Representative town meeting	34,032	1664
Dedham	Town	Norfolk	Representative town meeting	24,729	1636
Dennis	Town	Barnstable	Open town meeting	14,207	1793
Dighton	Town	Bristol	Open town meeting	7,086	1712
Douglas	Town	Worcester	Open town meeting	8,471	1775
Dover	Town	Norfolk	Open town meeting	5,589	1836
Duxbury	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	15,059	1637
East Bridgewater	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	13,794	1823
Eastham	Town	Barnstable	Open town meeting	4,956	1646
Easton	Town	Bristol	Open town meeting	23,112	1725
Edgartown	Town	Dukes	Open town meeting	4,067	1671
Fairhaven	Town	Bristol	Representative town meeting	15,873	1812
Fall River	City	Bristol	Mayor-council	88,857	1803
Falmouth	Town	Barnstable	Representative town meeting	31,531	1686
Foxborough	Town	Norfolk	Open town meeting	16,865	1778
Franklin	City^[8]	Norfolk	Council-administrator	31,635	1778
Freetown	Town	Bristol	Open town meeting	8,870	1683
Grafton	Town	Worcester	Open town meeting	17,765	1735
Gosnold	Town	Dukes	Open town meeting	75	1864
Halifax	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	7,518	1734
Hanover	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	13,879	1727
Hanson	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	10,209	1820
Harwich	Town	Barnstable	Open town meeting	12,243	1694
Hingham	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	22,157	1635
Holbrook	Town	Norfolk	Representative town meeting	10,791	1872
Hopedale	Town	Worcester	Open town meeting	5,911	1886
Hull	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	10,293	1644
Kingston	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	12,629	1726
Lakeville	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	10,602	1853
Mansfield	Town	Bristol	Open town meeting	23,184	1775
Marion	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	4,907	1852
Marshfield	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	25,132	1640
Mashpee	Town	Barnstable	Open town meeting	14,006	1870
Mattapoisett	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	6,045	1857
Medfield	Town	Norfolk	Open town meeting	12,024	1651
Medway	Town	Norfolk	Open town meeting	12,752	1713
Mendon	Town	Worcester	Open town meeting	5,839	1667
Middleborough	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	23,116	1669
Milford	Town	Worcester	Representative town meeting	27,999	1780
Millbury	Town	Worcester	Open town meeting	13,261	1813
Millis	Town	Norfolk	Open town meeting	7,891	1885
Millville	Town	Worcester	Open town meeting	3,190	1916
Milton	Town	Norfolk	Representative town meeting	27,003	1662
Nantucket	Town	Nantucket	Open town meeting	10,172	1671
New Bedford	City	Bristol	Mayor-council	95,072	1787
Norfolk	Town	Norfolk	Open town meeting	11,227	1870
North Attleborough	Town	Bristol	Representative town meeting	28,712	1887
Northbridge	Town	Worcester	Open town meeting	15,707	1775
Norton	Town	Bristol	Open town meeting	19,031	1711
Norwell	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	10,506	1849
Norwood	Town	Norfolk	Representative town meeting	28,602	1872
Oak Bluffs	Town	Dukes	Open town meeting	4,527	1880
Orleans	Town	Barnstable	Open town meeting	5,890	1797
Pembroke	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	17,837	1712
Plainville	Town	Norfolk	Open town meeting	8,264	1905
Plymouth	Town	Plymouth	Representative town meeting	56,468	1620
Plympton	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	2,820	1707
Provincetown	Town	Barnstable	Open town meeting	2,942	1727
Quincy	City	Norfolk	Mayor-council	92,271	1792
Randolph	City^[8]	Norfolk	Council-manager	32,112	1793
Raynham	Town	Bristol	Open town meeting	13,383	1731
Rehoboth	Town	Bristol	Open town meeting	11,608	1645
Rochester	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	5,232	1686
Rockland	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	17,489	1874
Sandwich	Town	Barnstable	Open town meeting	20,675	1638
Scituate	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	18,133	1636
Seekonk	Town	Bristol	Open town meeting	13,722	1812
Sharon	Town	Norfolk	Open town meeting	17,612	1775
Somerset	Town	Bristol	Open town meeting	18,165	1790
Stoughton	Town	Norfolk	Representative town meeting	26,962	1726
Sutton	Town	Worcester	Open town meeting	8,963	1714
Swansea	Town	Bristol	Open town meeting	15,865	1667
Taunton	City	Bristol	Mayor-council	55,874	1639
Tisbury	Town	Dukes	Open town meeting	3,949	1671
Truro	Town	Barnstable	Open town meeting	2,003	1709
Upton	Town	Worcester	Open town meeting	7,542	1735
Uxbridge	Town	Worcester	Open town meeting	13,457	1727
Walpole	Town	Norfolk	Representative town meeting	24,070	1724
Wareham	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	21,822	1739
Wellfleet	Town	Barnstable	Open town meeting	2,750	1775
West Bridgewater	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	6,916	1822
West Tisbury	Town	Dukes	Open town meeting	2,740	1892
Westport	Town	Bristol	Open town meeting	15,532	1787
Westwood	Town	Norfolk	Open town meeting	14,618	1897
Weymouth	City^[8]	Norfolk	Mayor-council	53,743	1635
Whitman	Town	Plymouth	Open town meeting	14,489	1875
Wrentham	Town	Norfolk	Open town meeting	10,955	1673
Yarmouth	Town	Barnstable	Open town meeting	23,793	1639

The following tabular list shows the 12 government divisions of Southeastern Massachusetts which have been officially granted the right to use the city form of government along with the official name in use by each municipality.^{[Note 1]}

Municipality	Official name	Web reference
Attleboro	City of Attleboro	^[9]
Barnstable	Town of Barnstable	^[10]
Braintree	Town of Braintree	^[11]
Bridgewater	Town of Bridgewater	^[12]
Brockton	City of Brockton	^[13]
Fall River	City of Fall River	^[14]
Franklin	Town of Franklin	^[15]
New Bedford	City of New Bedford	^[16]
Quincy	City of Quincy	^[17]
Randolph^[18]	Town of Randolph	^[19]
Taunton	City of Taunton	^[20]
Weymouth	Town of Weymouth	^[21]

Census-designated places

Education

Institutions of higher learning which serve Southeastern Massachusetts communities include:

Notes

^ The main source for the table is the Massachusetts Municipal Association 2009-2010 Municipal Directory Archived 2013-06-15 at the Wayback Machine. The MMA Directory is not an official state document, but is more up to date and specific than the official list from the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth's office, which is dated 03-11-2008 and does not include Palmer, Randolph and Winthrop, which have since adopted the city form of government.

References

^ (SRPEDD) task force
^ Largest Cities in Massachusetts
^ Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers
^ University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
^ ^a ^b "2009-10 Municipal Directory". Massachusetts Municipal Association. Archived from the original on 2013-06-15. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
^ ^a ^b "Population and Housing Occupancy Status: 2010 - State -- County Subdivision, 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-03-23.^{[dead link]}
^ "Massachusetts City and Town Incorporation and Settlement Dates". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f One of 14 municipalities with a city form of government that refers to itself as "The Town of". "Citizen Information Service: Massachusetts City and Town Incorporation and Settlement Dates". Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
^ http://www.cityofattleboro.us/
^ http://www.town.barnstable.ma.us/
^ http://www.townofbraintreegov.org/
^ http://www.bridgewaterma.org/
^ http://www.brockton.ma.us/
^ http://www.fallriverma.org/
^ http://www.franklinma.gov/
^ http://www.newbedford-ma.gov/
^ http://www.quincyma.gov/
^ "Chapter 147 of the Acts of 2009". Boston: Massachusetts General Court. November 19, 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
^ https://www.randolph-ma.gov/
^ http://www.taunton-ma.gov
^ http://www.weymouth.ma.us/

[9] The main source for the table is the Massachusetts Municipal Association 2009-2010 Municipal Directory Archived 2013-06-15 at the Wayback Machine. The MMA Directory is not an official state document, but is more up to date and specific than the official list from the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth's office, which is dated 03-11-2008 and does not include Palmer, Randolph and Winthrop, which have since adopted the city form of government.

[1] (SRPEDD) task force

[2] Largest Cities in Massachusetts

[3] Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers

[4] University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth

[MMA-5] "2009-10 Municipal Directory". Massachusetts Municipal Association. Archived from the original on 2013-06-15. Retrieved 2010-01-25.

[census-6] "Population and Housing Occupancy Status: 2010 - State -- County Subdivision, 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-03-23.^{[dead link]}

[CIS-7] "Massachusetts City and Town Incorporation and Settlement Dates". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2009-05-06.

[TC-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f One of 14 municipalities with a city form of government that refers to itself as "The Town of". "Citizen Information Service: Massachusetts City and Town Incorporation and Settlement Dates". Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2016-08-11.

[10] ttp://www.cityofattleboro.us/

[11] ttp://www.town.barnstable.ma.us/

[12] ttp://www.townofbraintreegov.org/

[13] ttp://www.bridgewaterma.org/

[14] ttp://www.brockton.ma.us/

[15] ttp://www.fallriverma.org/

[16] ttp://www.franklinma.gov/

[17] ttp://www.newbedford-ma.gov/

[18] ttp://www.quincyma.gov/

[generalcourt-147-2009-19] "Chapter 147 of the Acts of 2009". Boston: Massachusetts General Court. November 19, 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2010.

[20] ttps://www.randolph-ma.gov/

[21] ttp://www.taunton-ma.gov

[22] ttp://www.weymouth.ma.us/

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[Note 1]

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