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Norfolk County, Massachusetts
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Norfolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2000, the population was 650,308. Its county seat is Dedham. It is the 28th highest income county in the United States with a per capita income of $32,484. The county was named after Norfolk, England, and means "northern folk."
olk County, Massachusetts was created on March 26, 1793 by legistation signed by Gov. John Hancock. Most of the towns were originally part of Suffolk County, Massachusetts.
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Encyclopedia
Norfolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2000, the population was 650,308. Its county seat is Dedham. It is the 28th highest income county in the United States with a per capita income of $32,484. The county was named after Norfolk, England, and means "northern folk."
History
Norfolk County, Massachusetts was created on March 26, 1793 by legistation signed by Gov. John Hancock. Most of the towns were originally part of Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The towns of Dorchester and Roxbury were part of Norfolk County when it was created but as Boston gradually annexed them and they returned to be part of Suffolk County. Hingham and Hull were originally part of the Norfolk County legislation but petitioned to remain in Suffolk county and in June 1793 their removal to Norfolk county was repealed. Later in 1803 they were moved into Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Property deeds stayed in the original courthouse at the time the deed or ownership transfer occurred. So in tracing historic deeds you should know the history of the town and the county it was in at the time of the deed or transaction.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 444 square miles (1,150 kmē), of which, 400 square miles (1,035 kmē) of it is land and 44 square miles (115 kmē) of it (10%) is water. The county is not fully contiguous; the towns of Brookline and Cohasset are each part of Norfolk County but are separated from the majority of Norfolk County (and each other) by either water or other counties. At the county's formation, Hingham and Hull were to be part of it, but joined Plymouth County instead, leaving Cohasset as an enclave of Norfolk County. Brookline became an exclave of Norfolk County in 1873 when the neighboring town of West Roxbury was annexed by Boston (thus leaving Norfolk County to join Suffolk County) and Brookline refused to be annexed by Boston after the Brookline-Boston annexation debate of 1873.
Adjacent counties
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 650,308 people, 248,827 households, and 165,967 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,628 people per square mile (628/kmē). There were 255,154 housing units at an average density of 639 per square mile (247/kmē). The racial makeup of the county was 89.02% White, 3.18% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 5.50% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.78% from other races, and 1.37% from two or more races. 1.84% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 28.6% were of Irish, 13.4% Italian, 7.7% English and 5.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 85.7% spoke English, 2.3% Chinese or Mandarin, 2.0% Spanish, 1.0% Italian and 1.0% French as their first language.
There were 248,827 households out of which 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.20% were married couples living together, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.30% were non-families. 26.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 31.60% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 14.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $63,432, and the median income for a family was $77,847. Males had a median income of $51,301 versus $37,108 for females. The per capita income for the county was $32,484. About 2.90% of families and 4.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.40% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.
Cities, towns, and villages
Note: West Roxbury(annexed to Boston 1874), Roxbury (annexed to Boston 1868), Dorchester(founded 1630, annexed to Boston 1870), and Hingham and Hull were originally part of Norfolk County when the county was incorporated in 1793.
* Villages are census divisions, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.
Trivia
Norfolk County, Massachusetts is the birthplace of four of the 43 individuals who have held the office of President of the United States: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John F. Kennedy, and George H.W. Bush. This has resulted in the moniker "County of Presidents." During the Bush presidency, it was the birthplace of four of the then 40 Presidents, a full ten percent.
It is the birthplace of both of the major parties' (Republican and Democratic) candidates in the 1988 U.S. Presidential election, Bush and Michael Dukakis.
It is the second Massachusetts county to bear the same name. The defunct "Old" Norfolk County, which was in a different part of the state, existed in the early colonial period in the seventeenth century. (See Norfolk County, Massachusetts Colony.)
The city of Franklin is located in Norfolk County. Unlike the municipalities of Barnstable, Essex, Hampden, Nantucket (coextensive with its namesake county), Plymouth, and Worcester, all of which are located in the similarly-named county, Franklin, MA is not located in Franklin County. It is approximately 60 mi/100 km, south-east to north-west, 'as the crow flies' between Franklin, MA and the closest point in Franklin County, MA.
External links
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- Wall 1858 Shows that Roxbury, West Roxbury, and Dorchester were then part of Norfolk County. A very large and detailed free map at DavidRumsey.com. You view online or download the entire large format map in MrSid format to your computer. Slide the left column down to the botton and see the MrSid download instructions.
- Wall & Gray. 1871 . . Counties - , , , , , , ,, , . Cities - , , , , , , , , , . . These 1871 maps of the Counties and Cities are useful to see the roads and rail lines.
- Beers,D.G. 1872 Atlas of Essex County . Click on the map for a very large image.
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