HISTORY:
Taunton was founded in 1637 by Elizabeth Pole, and officially incorporated as a town on September 3, 1639. Most of the town's settlers were originally from Taunton, Somerset, England, which led early settlers to name the settlement after that town. At the time of Taunton's incorporation, they explained their choice of name as being, in honor and love to our dear native country... and owning it a great mercy of God to bring us to this place, and settling of us, on lands of our own bought with our money in peace, in the midst of the heathen, for a possession for ourselves and for our posterity after us.[citation needed] Prior to 1640, the Taunton area was called Cohannet. The English founders of Taunton took possession of the land from the native Wampanoags. The Taunton area was the site of battles (on its soil or the surrounding area) during various conflicts, including King Philip's War and the American Revolution. Taunton was re-incorporated as a city on May 11, 1864. The Myles Standish Industrial Park in the Taunton's north end is currently one of the largest in New England. The National Weather Service operates a Regional Forecast Office there. Several major companies operate within the Industrial Park, and in other parts of the city.  In October 2005, the nearby Whittenton Pond Dam threatened to fail following a week that brought nine inches of rain to the city. Over 2,000 city residents were evacuated[1] and Mayor Robert Nunes issued a State of Emergency. It is estimated that if the dam had failed, the Mill River would have inundated the downtown area with up to six feet of water. In response, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney ordered an immediate inspection of high-risk dams throughout the Commonwealth.  In March 2008, famed Hollywood director Martin Scorsese filmed a portion of the upcoming film Ashecliffe on location at the Whittenton Mills Complex. The movie is expected to be released in October 2009.

DEMOGRAPHICS:
As of the census of 2000, there were 55,976 people, 22,045 households, and 14,483 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,201.1 people per square mile (463.7/km2). There were 22,908 housing units at an average density of 491.5/sq mi (189.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city is 91.67% White, 2.74% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.59% from other races, and 2.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.93% of the population.   There are 22,045 households out of which 32.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% were married couples living together, 13.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.09.  In the city the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.  The median income for a household in the city was $42,932, and the median income for a family was $52,433. Males had a median income of $36,895 versus $27,686 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,899. About 8.0% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.9% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.

GOVERNMENT:
The city has a Mayor-Council form of government. Taunton also has a School Committee and many boards and commissions. As the seat of Bristol County, Taunton is home to the county's few administrative offices and several of its courthouses, including the Bristol County Superior Courthouse. The Massachusetts State Police's Troop D (Southeast District), 4th Barracks, patrols Taunton and is located in Middleborough.  Taunton is a part of three separate state representative districts: Third Bristol (entirely located in Taunton), Fifth Bristol (which includes Dighton, Somerset and part of Swansea), and Twelfth Bristol (including all or parts of Freetown, Lakeville, Middleborough and New Bedford). It is a part of the First [Plymouth County|Plymouth] and [Bristol County|Bristol] state senate district, which also includes the towns of Berkley, Bridgewater, Carver, Dighton, Marion, Middleborough, Raynham and Wareham. On the national level, the town is part of Massachusetts Congressional District 4, which is represented by Barney Frank. The state's senior (Class I) Senator is Edward M. Kennedy, and the state's junior (Class II) Senator is John F. Kerry.

TRANSPORTATION:
The Taunton Railway began in 1838 (201 years after its founding by Elizabeth Pole from Dorchester, The Dorchester Company started in 1623 as part of the Sheffield Patent settling at Stage Point, Gloucester, Cape Ann) as the main rail transportation system both industrial and passenger connecting Taunton with points south, east, north, and west including New Bedford and Cape Cod, Fall River and Newport, Somerset and Providence, Attleboro and Providence, Mansfield and Boston, Stoughton and Boston, Raynham Middleborough and Wareham as time went on. Taunton is the central highway hub of southeastern Massachusetts. Much of the eastern part of the state's major highways intersect and/or runs through the city, especially at its center. US 44, MA 138, and MA 140 intersect at a square at Taunton's center, which is called the Taunton Green. MA 140 is also accessible from the eastern neighborhood of the city, popularly referred to as "East Taunton." Additionally, MA 24 and MA 140 intersect near East Taunton, and it is at that junction that Route 140 ceases to be a 2-lane divided freeway from the south and becomes a smaller state highway to the north. Interstate 495 runs through the northern portion of Taunton, unofficially referred to as "North Taunton", and parallel to Myles Standish Industrial Park, Taunton's main industrial park.  Various smaller routes run through other parts of the city. These include a small portion of MA 104, close to the Taunton-Raynham city limits, and MA 79, close to the Taunton-Berkley-Lakeville (Plymouth County) city-town-county limits. Taunton is the western terminus of MA 104. It merges into US 44 after entering the city.  Several freight rails pass through the city on their way towards Fall River, New Bedford and a link-up with the line in Middleborough. There are plans being worked on to link up parts of this rail with the Stoughton line of the MBTA commuter rail system to Boston. The Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority, or GATRA, provides bus mass transit.   Taunton also has its own municipal airport, serving mostly smaller craft and occasional commuter jets. The nearest airport with national airline service is at T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island, and the nearest international service is at Logan International Airport in Boston.

EDUCATION:
Education in Taunton ranges from preschool through post-secondary education.  Taunton has ten public elementary schools and four public middle schools.  The city also has three Catholic elementary schools and one Catholic middle school; Villa Fatima Pre School, Our Lady of Lourdes School, St. Mary's Primary School, Taunton Catholic Middle School.   Taunton has two public high schools (Taunton High School and Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School) and one Catholic high school (Coyle and Cassidy High School).  Taunton is home to a satellite campus of Bristol Community College, which meets at Taunton High School. In addition, the city houses career schools such as the RobRoy Academy beauty school.

Electricity is provided to residents by the Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant (TMLP), located in the south end. The City has a Municipal water system, with a treatment plant and water supply in nearby Lakeville, as well as a public sewer system with a treatment plant on West Water Street in the south end of the city, discharging into the Taunton River.