Dartmouth, in southeastern Massachusetts, is a rural residential community whose roots go back to the first Pilgrim landing in nearby Plymouth. The town's historical beginning was as a result of tension between the ultra-conservative Puritan religion and those who wished to worship in their own way.
In 1652, Massasoit, Chief Sachem of the native Wampanoag Federation, sold the land that comprises what is now Dartmouth and four other towns, to elders of the Plymouth Colony, including Miles Standish, John Alden, and Governor William Bradford. These early settlers in turn sold the land off in smaller parcels to religious dissident Quakers and Baptists who were seeking refuge from the religious persecution at the hands of the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth Bay Colonies.
Dartmouth, named after an English port, was incorporated in 1664, but refused to pay the "ministers tax" which was levied on all communities to support Puritan clergy. The community grew quickly, and continued to attract others who sought escape from the Puritans. These early residents of Dartmouth worked in agriculture, salt-making and fishing.
Even today, Dartmouth retains some of its agricultural land, but for the past hundred years, has seen growth as a summer residential and resort community. Beginning in the 19th century, wealthy and middle-class residents from New Bedford built vacation homes here.
These days, the resort character has declined somewhat and Dartmouth is largely a bedroom community for commuters to the cities of Fall River and New Bedford. One major local asset however is a campus of the University of Massachusetts with an enrollment of 8000 undergraduate and graduate students.
Areas of Dartmouth still possess a wealth of colonial, federal and Greek revival architecture. In Dartmouth, the past and present blend together in farms, churches, villages and scenic rural roads that lead to commercial and industrial development along Route 6, notably, the North Dartmouth Mall. Towns surrounding Dartmouth include Westport on the west, Fall River on the north, and New Bedford and Buzzards Bay on the east and south. Dartmouth is also 53 miles south of Boston.
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