Sixth Plymouth District

The Sixth Plymouth district includes the towns of Pembroke and Hanson as well as precincts 2-5 in Duxbury and precinct 2 in Halifax. If you're not sure what precinct you live in you can check your address here. 

Halifax

The Town of Halifax is a pastoral community located in the geographic center of Plymouth County and was first settled in 1669. Early colonists found extensive woods of white and pitch pine, cedar and oak and the first saw mill was built about 1728 to process this lumber. Agriculture and lumbering continued to be the basis of the community's economy and by 1794 there were five sawmills in operation.  Lumber was sent south through the Taunton River system and east to the Jones River and North River shipyards. To the saw mills were added iron furnaces and a cotton factory by 1815 and a large woolen mill in 1822.  Halifax was the site in 1795 of an early effort to construct a canal between Buzzards Bay and Massachusetts Bay by connecting the Taunton and North Rivers through the ponds of Halifax and Pembroke.

During the 19th century, as other communities became increasingly industrialized and Halifax's industries burned or closed, the town's economy shifted back to agriculture and substantial poultry and cranberry production was recorded.  The residential character of the town became very pronounced as better roads like Routes 106 and 58 provided better access to the town. In addition, the scattered summer cottage colonies began conversions to year-round housing.

– Mass. Dept. Housing and Community Development

Hanson

Hanson is a rural pastoral community incorporated in 1820.  Residents of the town established a preserve for the native population of the area on  100 acres of land in 1662 when they purchased the land on which the town is situated.  Early settlers farmed and lumbered, setting up the first saw mill in 1695 on the Indian Head Brook near the present town hall.  There were some early 19th century textile mills in Hanson, as well as shoemakers and lumber mills.  Lumbering, making shingles and the cranberry industry dominated the town's economy in the 19th century.  In 1912, a huge  cranberry packing house was built in Hanson.  This, with many later additions, eventually became the national Ocean Spray Corporation.  By 1915 there were 21 cranberry growers and 20 poultry farms in a community which has to this day remained significantly agricultural.

The town was named for Alexander Conte Hanson, a Maryland newspaper publisher who upheld the rights of a free press in the early 1800's when he defended his right to condemn the War of 1812.  But Hanson, residents say, is much quieter and more peaceful than its namesake was and that, they note, is how they like it.

– Mass. Dept. Housing and Community Development

Duxbury

Duxbury, which originally included land that is now Pembroke and Bridgewater, was incorporated in 1637. Duxbury was primarily a farming community throughout the 17^th and 18^th centuries. The most remarkable period in Duxbury’s history, the shipbuilding era, began immediately after the Revolution. By the 1840s, Duxbury boasted about 20 shipyards and was the largest producer of sailing vessels on the South Shore. The shipbuilding era in Duxbury ended as quickly as it began.  By the 1850s sailing vessels were made obsolete by other modes of transportation such as steamships and railroads. While other Massachusetts towns grew, Duxbury went into a long economic decline.

By the 1870s, Duxbury’s rural character and unspoiled bay began to attract summer visitors.  Duxbury soon gained a reputation as an idyllic summer resort. With the completion of the Duxbury and Cohasset railroad line, large numbers of city-folk from Boston could pay their $1.50 for a round trip ticket and enjoy Duxbury’s refreshing environment.  Boarding houses sprang up everywhere. 

This pattern continued in Duxbury well into the 20^th century.  It was not until the construction of Route 3 that transportation to Boston became expedient and the town’s population exploded with the arrival of thousands of year-round residents.

– Duxbury Rural and Historical Society

Pembroke

The Town of Pembroke is a rural community located approximately 30 miles South of Boston. Pembroke was formerly part of Duxbury and was established in the year 1712. Its geography and natural resources provided the basis for its settlement patterns, commerce and recreation. The earliest settlers of Pembroke were Robert Barker and Dolor Davis who settled in the area of Herring Brook in 1650. At the time, Indians wintered along the North River and grew a variety of crops.

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the ponds became an attraction for summer vacationers seeking relief from the heat in the cities. By the early twentieth century box factories were producing large quantities of shoe boxes for the shoe industry in Brockton, Abington, Whitman and Bridgewater as well as crates for the cranberry and poultry industry.

Most notable of the town’s resources are its water resources which include the North River and Indian Head River; its ponds, Oldham, Furnace, Great Sandy Bottom, Little Sandy Bottom, and Stetson Ponds; and Silver Lake. The Town’s ponds, streams and marshes are the home of herring that were prized so much that in 1741, the Town began regulating the taking and preservation of the fish. The herring are celebrated each year at the Town’s annual “Grande Old Fish Fry.”

The Pembroke Iron Works was established in 1720 and used iron dredged from the bottom of the ponds. Ice was cut from the ponds, stored in icehouses, and used in the summer months for food preservation. The ponds and streams also provided power for various mills, including grist, flour and sawmills. Later, shipbuilding and box manufacturing became important factors in the development of the town.

The Town of Pembroke has experienced what can be described as spectacular growth over the seventy-year period 1930 to 2000. During that time the town has increased by over one thousand percent, from a population level of 1,492 in 1930 to 16,927 in the year 2000. Most of the growth occurred during the 1950’s when the population almost doubled from 2,579 to 4,919 and from 1960 to 1970 when the population more than doubled again, increasing from 4,919 to 11,193. In the seventy years, the town has grown from a small rural community into a bustling suburban community. In 2008, the current population is over 18,549.

– Mass. Dept. Housing and Community Development