Freetown, Massachusetts


Freetown is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,206 at the 2020 census.
Freetown is one of the oldest communities in the United States, having been settled by the Pilgrims and their descendants in the latter half of the 17th century. The town once included the city of Fall River, and a portion of Acushnet. The town celebrated its tricentennial in 1983.
Freetown is currently divided into two villages, which historically developed almost entirely independent from one another: Assonet and East Freetown. Freetown lies on an old 18th century road and along old Indian trails from Freetown to Boston. Freetown is home to the Freetown-Fall River State Forest, and Profile Rock and is located approximately from Boston.
Freetown is a part of the South Coast region of Massachusetts which encompasses the communities that surround Buzzards Bay, Mount Hope Bay and the Sakonnet River.
Freetown is currently home to two Historic Districts of the National Register of Historic Places: the Assonet Village Historic District, and the East Freetown Historic District.

History

Freetown was first settled by the English on April 2, 1659, on the banks of the Assonet River, when the areas of Assonet and Fall River were purchased for 20 coats, two rugs, two iron pots, two kettles, one little kettle, eight pairs of shoes, six pairs of stockings, one dozen hoes, one dozen hatchets, and two yards of broadcloth from the Wampanoag Indians in an exchange known as Ye Freemen's Purchase. Its population slowly grew, and it existed as a Proprietary settlement of the Plymouth Colony until it was officially incorporated in July 1683. It remained a part of Plymouth Colony until that colony merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1692. The town was the fifth municipal corporation established in Bristol County.
Throughout the 18th century, the town continued to grow and prosper. In 1747, through the Pocasset Purchase, the village of East Freetown was acquired from Tiverton, Rhode Island. The townspeople fought against the Native Americans in King Philip's War and other local skirmishes. On May 28, 1778, during the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Freetown was fought in a part of the town that is now part of the city of Fall River.
In 1803, Fall River separated from the town, and incorporated as Troy. In 1815, a portion of the town was annexed by Fairhaven, which at the time controlled Acushnet, Massachusetts. That part of East Freetown remains part of Acushnet to this day.
Throughout the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, Freetown served as a very industrious area. Blast furnaces, fishing, textiles, and manufacturing all came to and left Freetown over time.
The population of Freetown remained around or under 2000 residents from the 1700s until 1950, and has expanded nearly fivefold since that time
One of the more well-known industries was N. R. Davis & Sons, a gun manufactory that provided many weapons for the Civil War.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which land is, and is water. The town is irregularly shaped, and is bordered by Berkley to the northwest, Lakeville to the northeast, Rochester to the east, Acushnet, New Bedford and Dartmouth to the southeast, Fall River to the southwest, and the Taunton River and Somerset to the west.
Within Freetown are various lakes, streams, and rivers. The more prominent are Fall Brook, the Assonet River and Long Pond which the Indians called Lake Apponequet. Also within Freetown are Breakneck Hill and Joshua's Mountain, site of Profile Rock. A vast area of land shared by Freetown and Fall River makes up the Freetown-Fall River State Forest.

Transportation

Freetown is serviced by three exits on Route 24 in Assonet and one exit on Route 140 in East Freetown. Assonet is also situated on Route 79, and East Freetown is situated on Route 18.
Freetown station in Assonet is served by the Fall River/New Bedford Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system.
Air transportation is provided locally by smaller aircraft in East Taunton, Berkley, and the regional airport in New Bedford. T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island is the closest national-service airport, being approximately 35 miles from Assonet. Logan International Airport is approximately fifty miles from the town.

Government and infrastructure

Town government

Freetown is governed in the traditional New England style with a Board of Selectmen overseeing day-to-day operations of the town and at least one town meeting per year to handle all major decisions including, but not limited to, budgets, by-laws, and zoning. In 2004, provisions for a Town Administrator were put in place, and in 2007, E. Winn Davis of Falmouth, Massachusetts was hired as the town's first administrator. Mr. Davis announced his retirement in February 2009, and former Middleborough Town Manager John Healey was hired as the interim town administrator in March 2009. He was replaced by former East Providence manager Richard Brown in January 2012, who left on June 30, 2014, with Mr. Healey returning on July 8.
The executive branch of town government is the Board of Selectmen, a popularly elected board made up of three members who are elected for terms of three years. One selectman is up for re-election every year. The current board is Trevor R. Matthews, Jared Zager and Carlos Lopes.
Selectmen currently serve terms of three years each, and those terms are staggered to ensure that only one member is up for re-election in any given year. Through the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, the number of Selectmen was not set in law, and therefore varied, sometimes greatly. In 1988, Barbara Trainor became the first woman to hold the position of Selectman in Freetown, giving the town a record of 305 years of all-male leadership. After her defeat in 1991, no woman was again elected to the board until 2006.
In 2005, attempts to expand the Board of Selectmen to five members failed. Also failing in 2005 was an attempt to limit Selectmen to a total of two terms. Attempts to expand the board to five members have been frequent in recent years.
The legislative branch of town government is the town meeting, which in Freetown is an open town meeting.
Various other officers, boards, committees, and commissions round out the variety of services provided to residents, including scattered municipal water, trash collection, fire, ambulance, police, education, recreation, voter registration, etc.
As of the Annual Town Meeting held on May 7, 2007, elections in Freetown are held on the first Monday in April.

Seal

The Seal of the Town of Freetown, Massachusetts is an official device used on documents originating from the town as well as on municipal equipment and buildings. It was devised in 1890 by the chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Col. Silas P. Richmond.
Along the top of the seal are the words "Town of Freetown, Mass." in all capital letters. Before the T in "Town" and after the final S in "Mass." are stars. Along the bottom of the seal are the words "Incorporated 1683". The image of a kettle over a cooking fire is meant to invoke Ye Freemen's Purchase, the agreement by which the lands now known as Assonet and Fall River were purchased by the English settlers from the local Wampanoag Indians.

County government

Freetown is a part of Bristol County, Massachusetts. Where county governments in some states collect taxes or manage schools, these functions are carried out at the municipal level in Massachusetts. However, some minimal county government does still exist; especially in the court system.
The Bristol County Commission is made up of John T. Saunders, Paul B. Kitchen and John R. Mitchell. The current District Attorney for Bristol County is Thomas M. Quinn III. The sheriff of Bristol County is Paul Heroux.

State government

As a small town, Freetown is often divided and attached to neighboring cities and towns to form representative districts for the Massachusetts House of Representatives. These divisions are made along precinct lines. The representative for Precinct I, which is in the 6th Bristol District, is Carole Fiola. The representative for Precincts II and III, which are in the 8th Bristol District, is Paul Schmid.
The town as a whole is represented in the Massachusetts Senate by Michael J. Rodrigues. Freetown is a part of the 1st Bristol and Plymouth District. Likewise, the town as a whole is represented on the Governor's Council by Joseph Ferreira, councillor for the 1st District.

Federal government

Freetown is a part of Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District, and is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Jake Auchincloss Senator Ed Markey and Senator Elizabeth Warren.
YearDemocraticRepublicanThird partiesTotal VotesMargin
202045.10% 2,48352.78% 2,9062.12% 1175,5067.68%
201641.26% 2,03553.71% 2,6495.03% 2484,93212.45%
201249.60% 2,31848.08% 2,2472.31% 1084,6731.52%
200850.32% 2,40546.62% 2,2283.06% 1464,7793.70%
200455.26% 2,45443.64% 1,9381.10% 494,44111.62%
200057.86% 2,29735.97% 1,4286.17% 2453,97021.89%
199656.64% 2,10726.48% 98516.88% 6283,72030.16%
199238.60% 1,58425.88% 1,06235.53% 1,4584,1043.07%
198845.90% 1,60053.16% 1,8530.95% 333,4867.26%
198439.24% 1,19360.39% 1,8360.36% 113,04021.15%
198032.18% 96850.13% 1,50817.69% 5323,00817.95%
197656.51% 1,33339.64% 9353.86% 912,35916.87%
197244.88% 76254.59% 9270.53% 91,6989.72%
196847.92% 73747.27% 7274.81% 741,5380.65%
196465.49% 90734.44% 4770.07% 11,38531.05%
196046.80% 65152.98% 7370.22% 31,3916.18%
195626.92% 31973.00% 8650.08% 11,18546.08%
195226.26% 26173.44% 7300.30% 399447.18%
194831.98% 22966.34% 4751.68% 1271634.36%
194434.33% 24065.09% 4550.57% 469930.76%
194035.88% 26863.86% 4770.27% 274727.98%