Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population size was recorded as 94,304 in the 2000 census; the size has roughly stayed about the same since. The city and Plymouth, Massachusetts are the county seats of Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Brockton is the 6th largest city in Massachusetts and is sometimes referred to the'City of Champions'', mainly due to the success of native boxers Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, as well as its successful Brockton High School sports programs.

History
In 1649, Ousamequin (Massasoit) sold the surrounding land, then known as Saughtucket, to Myles Standish as an...

Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population size was recorded as 94,304 in the 2000 census; the size has roughly stayed about the same since. The city and Plymouth, Massachusetts are the county seats of Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Brockton is the 6th largest city in Massachusetts and is sometimes referred to the'City of Champions'', mainly due to the success of native boxers Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, as well as its successful Brockton High School sports programs.

History
In 1649, Ousamequin (Massasoit) sold the surrounding land, then known as Saughtucket, to Myles Standish as an addition to Duxbury. Brockton was part of this area, which the English renamed Bridgewater, Massachusetts, until 1821, when it became the town of North Bridgewater. Its name changed in 1874, after a contentious process finally decided on naming it after Isaac Brock, after a local merchant heard of Brockville, Ontario, on a trip to Niagara Falls. The town of Brockton became a city on April 9, 1881. During the American Civil War, Brockton was America's largest producer of shoes, and until the latter parts of the 20th century Brockton had a large shoe and leather products industry.

= Historical Firsts =
Brockton has claim to three'Firsts'in the world, and two in the country. On October 1, 1883, Brockton became the first place in the world to have a three wire underground electrical system when Thomas Edison threw a switch to activate it. For the other two firsts for electricity, Brockton was home to the first theater in the world to be tied into the three wire electrical system. The City Theater opened on October 24, 1894. On December 30, 1884, the first electrically operated fire station in the United States opened in Brockton.

In addition, the department store Santa Claus, now a main-stay of the Christmas season everywhere, appeared in Brockton in December 1890, when James Edgar, of Edgar's Department Store, suited up for the first time.

Also of some note, Brockton became the first city in the country to abolish grade crossings in 1896.