For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Bridgewater, please see the article Bridgewater (CDP), Massachusetts.

Bridgewater is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, 28 miles (43 km) south of Boston, Massachusetts. At the 2000 Census, the population was 25,185. It is named after Bridgwater, Somerset, England.

History
Bridgewater was one of the first interior towns in Massachusetts. First settled in 1650 as Nunkatateset, part of Duxbury, Massachusetts, it was officially incorporated in 1656 as Bridgewater. At its greatest historical extent, the town included large parts of...

For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Bridgewater, please see the article Bridgewater (CDP), Massachusetts.

Bridgewater is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, 28 miles (43 km) south of Boston, Massachusetts. At the 2000 Census, the population was 25,185. It is named after Bridgwater, Somerset, England.

History
Bridgewater was one of the first interior towns in Massachusetts. First settled in 1650 as Nunkatateset, part of Duxbury, Massachusetts, it was officially incorporated in 1656 as Bridgewater. At its greatest historical extent, the town included large parts of the modern towns of Abington, Massachusetts, West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, Pembroke, Massachusetts, and Hanson, Massachusetts as well as the City of Brockton, Massachusetts. The exact origin of the town's name is not known, although there are some clues. The town seal includes the Bridgwater, England, England coat of arms. A story told says that the origin of the name could be from when the town was first settled, the only way to enter from the south was by going over the Taunton River.

Brick production was the town's most prominent industry, and still is to this day. The Stiles and Hart Conservation Area has the remains of the old brick factory as well as many piles of bricks scattered throughout the property. With several hiking trails the Stiles and Hart conservation area is a great place to walk, hike, and fish. In the center of town, many former mills have been converted into retail space.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.2 square miles (73.1 km²), of which, 27.5 square miles (71.2 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.9 km²) of it (2.62%) is water. Bridgewater is 99th out of the 351 communities in the Commonwealth, and eighth out of the twenty-seven towns in Plymouth County in terms of land area. The town is bordered by West Bridgewater, Massachusetts to the northwest, East Bridgewater, Massachusetts to the northeast, Halifax, Massachusetts to the east, Middleborough, Massachusetts to the south, and Raynham, Massachusetts to the west. Bridgewater is approximately seven miles south of Brockton, Massachusetts, ten miles northeast of Taunton, Massachusetts, and twenty-seven miles south of Boston, Massachusetts.