Bridgewater, Massachusetts

== History == This area was established as a part of Duxbury in 1645 by purchase from the Native Americans by 54 proprietors—most who did not settle there.

Bridgewater was established as a Township on June 3, 1656 from Duxbury in Plymouth Colony.

The township expanded by annexation between 1662 and 1798, and the town proper was bounded in 1846.

The town was placed in Plymouth County when counties were formed in 1685.

For a brief time, the town was part of the Dominion of New England from 1686 to 1689.

The town is still in Plymouth County, though was in limbo, until the "Colony" was merged with Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691 that became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

=== Early demographics === Populations from 1765 through 1840, and 1855 are from a non-government source.

Bruce Gray, sculptor and artist Elijah Hayward (1786–1864), politician and judge who was born and raised in Bridgewater.

From 1820 forward, the population excludes North, West and East Bridgewater.

The town is also home to Bridgewater State University, a public liberal arts university that was founded as a "normal school" (now teachers' school) in 1840.

The majority of the Iron Works factory was torn down in 1994 and turned into Ironworks Park.

The boot and shoe factory still stands today, as of 1998, off Broad Street, adjacent to the MBTA Commuter Train rail tracks.

== Demographics == As of the census of 2000, there were 25,185 people, 7,526 households, and 5,584 families residing in the town.

The town of Bridgewater was formerly a census-designated place (CDP) until 2010, when Bridgewater was granted city status.

== Government == === Local government === Bridgewater was formerly governed on the local level by the open town meeting form of government, led by a Board of Selectmen until ...

The Commonwealth's senior member of the United States Senate, elected in 2012, is Elizabeth Warren.

=== Federal representation === On the national level, Bridgewater is a part of Massachusetts's 9th congressional district, which has been represented in the United States House ...

In 2015 during February vacation, the roof of the Mitchell Elementary school collapsed due to heavy snow.

As of 2022, approximately 8,000 undergraduate students and 1,500 postgraduate students were enrolled at the university.