Attleboro is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It was once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World" for its many jewelry manufacturers. According to the 2020 census, Attleboro had a population of 46,461, its highest decennial count ever.
Attleboro is the fourth most populous municipality, but the least populous city, in Bristol County, behind New Bedford, Fall River, and Taunton.
History In 1634, English settlers first arrived in the territory that is now Attleboro. The deed that granted them the land was written by Native American Wamsutta. The land. It included the towns of Cumberland, Rhode Island, until 1747 and North Attleborough, Massachusetts, until 1887. In 1643, Attleboro was part of the adjacent town of Rehoboth until it was separately incorporated as a town in 1694.Attleboro | Historic Town, Industrial City, Manufacturing Hub
https://www.britannica.com/place/Massachusetts In 1697 in response to an unwanted amount of disturbances, mainly from nearby tribes of natives, the town had a meeting and ended up deciding that selectmen would keep tabs on strangers and foreigners as well as banning certain ones from entering the town. The town was reincorporated in 1914 as the City of Attleboro, with the "-ugh" removed from the name, although North Attleborough kept it. In the 1600's many of the people who settled in this area were from Attleborough, England, after which the city is named.The History of the Attleboro Town Seal
During the Native American insurgency in the colonial era, Nathaniel Woodcock, the son of an Attleborough resident, was murdered, and his head was placed on a pole in his father's front yard. His father's house is now a historical site. It is rumored that George Washington once passed through Attleborough and stayed near the Woodcock Garrison House at the Hatch Tavern, where he exchanged a shoe buckle with Israel Hatch, a revolutionary soldier and the new owner of the Garrison House.
The city became known for jewelry manufacturing in 1913, particularly because of the L.G. Balfour Company. That company has since moved out of the city, and the site of the former plant has been converted into a riverfront park. Attleboro was once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World", and jewelry manufacturing firms continue to operate there. One such is the Guyot Brothers Company, which was started in 1904. General Findings, M.S. Company, James A. Murphy Co., Garlan Chain, Leach & Garner, and Masters of Design are jewelry manufacturing companies still in operation.
Cancer cluster In late 2003, The Sun Chronicle reported that a state investigation had been launched into the deaths of three women in the city from glioblastoma. In 2007, the State of Massachusetts issued a report concluding that although the diagnosis rate for brain and central nervous system (CNS) cancers was higher than expected when compared to statewide data, the increase was determined not to be statistically significant.
Scorecard, Environmental Defense's online database of polluters, lists seven facilities contributing to cancer hazards in Attleboro, including Engineered Materials Solutions Inc., the worst offender in Massachusetts.
Shpack Landfill contamination incident In 2002, the Massachusetts Public Health Department was asked to evaluate the former Shpack Landfill, on the border of Norton and Attleboro, for its cancer risks. The investigation continued at least through 2004. The informal landfill included uranium fuel rods, heavy metals, and volatile organic compounds.
Geography
Attleboro has an area of , of which is land and , or 3.59%, is water. Its borders form an irregular polygon that resembles a truncated triangle pointing west. It is bordered by North Attleborough to the north, Mansfield and Norton to the east, Rehoboth, Seekonk, and Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to the south, and Cumberland, Rhode Island, to the west, as well as sharing a short border with Central Falls, Rhode Island through the Blackstone River. It includes the areas known as City Center, Briggs Corner, West Attleboro, East Corner, East Attleboro, North Corner, Maple Square, Camp Hebron, Oak Hill, Dodgeville, East Junction, Hebronville, Park Square, and South Attleboro.
Waterways in the city include the Ten Mile River, fed by the Bungay River, the Manchester Pond Reservoir, and several small ponds.
Attleboro's highest point is Oak Hill, in the southern part of the city, north of Oak Hill Avenue.U.S. Geological Survey Attleboro, MA 7.5 by 15-minute quadrangle, 1987.
Attleboro is on the border between the Massachusetts and Rhode Island regional dialects of New England English: the eastern part of the city is in the same dialect region as Boston, and the western part in the same dialect region as Providence.
Demographics
Attleboro is part of the Providence metropolitan area. It is a short distance from Boston, and is linked to the Boston metropolitan area.
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Attleboro had a population of 46,461. The median age was 41.7 years. 20.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.2 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 18,256 households in Attleboro, of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.3% were married-couple households, 18.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 19,097 housing units, of which 4.4% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.4%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 35,842 77.1% Black or African American 2,704 5.8% American Indian and Alaska Native 160 0.3% Asian 2,196 4.7% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 14 0.0% Some other race 2,100 4.5% Two or more races 3,445 7.4% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 4,140 8.9%
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 46,461 people and 17,781 households in the city; the population density was . There were 19,097 housing units in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 77.14% White, 5.82% African American, 0.34% Native American, 4.73% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 4.52% some other race, and 7.41% from two or more races. Hispanic and Latino people of any race made up 8.91% of the total population.
Of the 17,781 households, 33.1% had someone under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 26.5% had a female householder with no spouse present, 17.3% had a male householder with no spouse present, 12.1% were individuals, and 5.4% were people aged 65 or older living alone. The average size of household was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.12.
The age distribution in the city was: 23.1% under 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% 65 or older. The median age was 39.4 years.
The estimated median annual income for a household in the city was $93,266, and the median income for a family was $106,104. Per capita income was $42,224. About 9.2% of the population was below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under 18 and 9.3% of those aged 65 or over.
Economy Revitalization efforts
In 2011, Attleboro was awarded $5.4 million in state and federal funding to support revitalization efforts in its historic downtown area. The funds were intended to transform underutilized industrial and commercial parcels into areas of mixed use that included commercial, recreational, and residential space, as well as improvements to MBTA rail and GATRA bus services, and road improvements.
Arts and culture Attractions Attleboro has four museums. The Attleboro Arts Museum The Attleboro Area Industrial Museum, The Women at Work Museum The Museum at the Mill.
Other places of interest in the city include:
Capron Park Zoo; L.G. Balfour Riverwalk, which was once the site of the L.G. Balfour jewelry plant, adjacent to the downtown business district La Salette Shrine, which has a display of Christmas lights, as well as one of the largest museums of Nativity scenes in North America Oak Knoll Wildlife Sanctuary, 75 acres owned by the Massachusetts Audubon Society with a visitor center Triboro Youth Theatre / Triboro Musical Theatre; Attleboro Community Theatre; *Dodgeville Mill. Skyroc Brewery Attleboro Farmers Market
In 2017, Attleboro began hosting the annual Jewelry City Steampunk Festival.
The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette
In 1942, the Missionaries of La Salette purchased and a castle in Attleboro for use as a seminary. The shrine opened to the public in 1953 with a Christmas manger display. The annual Christmas Festival of Lights has grown to 300,000 lights and attracts about 250,000 visitors each year. A devastating fire destroyed the castle on November 5, 1999. A new welcome center opened in 2007 which includes a 600-seat concert hall. In addition to the Christmas Festival, the shrine offers programs, concerts, workshops and events throughout the year. The grounds also include Our Lady's Chapel of Lights, an outdoor chapel, and a church.
Parks and recreation There are over 20 conservation areas amounting to more than 600 acres of walkable woods: the Antony Lawrence Preserve, Coleman Reservation, Attleboro Springs, and the Bungay River Conservation Area in the north of the city.
Government Municipal Attleboro has a mayor-council government. The city council acts as the legislative body, and the mayor handles traditional day-to-day chief executive functions. City councilors can run as either a representative of a city ward or at large. There are 11 councilors: five at-large and six ward councilors. The mayor is former City Councilor At-Large Cathleen DeSimone. Kate Jackson serves as clerk of the Municipal Council.
State and federal Attleboro is represented in the state legislature by officials elected from the following districts: Massachusetts Senate's Bristol and Norfolk district Massachusetts House of Representatives' 2nd Bristol district Massachusetts House of Representatives' 14th Bristol district
Elected members: Massachusetts House of Representatives: Adam Scanlon (D) and Jim Hawkins (D) Massachusetts Senate: Paul Feeney (D) United States House of Representatives: Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-04) United States Senate: Elizabeth Warren (D) and Ed Markey (D) Attleboro is relatively liberal. The last Republican to win the city in a Presidential election was George H. W. Bush in 1988.