Historical References: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Location in Bristol County in Massachusetts

 
 Easton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts.  Easton was first settled in 1694 and was officially incorporated in 1725.  In 1694, the first settler, Clement Briggs established his home near the Easton Green. In 1711, the Taunton North Purchase area became Norton. Prior to the settlers’ establishment, the area was occupied by Native Americans as a hunting area and a burial ground. During King Philip’s war. Metacom, also known as King Philip, used part of Easton as a headquarters for his troops.  In 1725, the area was incorporated as the Town of Easton; it was so named because it was formerly called the “East End” of the Taunton North Purchase and was shortened by pronunciation to Easton.

In 1803, the Ames Shovel Company was established and became nationally known as having provided the shovels which laid the Union Pacific Railroad and opened the west. The most notable of the Ames family were Oakes Ames, and Oliver Ames(R), governor of Massachusetts from 1887–1890.

The Ames family shaped the town’s economy, and was responsible for the presence of a number of landmark buildings in the town designed by H. H. Richardson, originator of the Richardsonian Romanesque style and designer of Trinity Church in Boston.

Richardson buildings in Easton include:                      

Oakes Ames Memorial Hall with Ames Free Library in background.
The Ames Free Library 
Oakes Ames Memorial Hall 
The Old Colony Railroad Station 
The Ames Gate Lodge 

The town has a total area of 29.2 square miles.  The town, in addition to its own smaller state forest, includes part of Borderland State Park at the northwest corner of town, Hockomock Swamp Wildlife Management Area at the southeast corner of town, and all of Wheaton Farm Conservation Area in the southwest. All of the town’s waterways are considered part of the Taunton River Watershed area, which in turn is the eastern section of the Narragansett Bay Watershed area. Easton makes the northeastern corner of Bristol County, where the county intersects with Plymouth County to the east and Norfolk County to the north

Easton is home to Stonehill College.