Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Chief town, Dedham. This county is bounded N.E. by Boston harbor, N. by Suffolk county, W. by the S.E. corner of Worcester county, S. by the N.E. corner of the state of Rhode Island, and S.S.E. and E. by the counties of Bristol and Plymouth. Area, about 400 square miles. Population, in 1820, 36,452; in 1830, 41,901; in 1837, 50,399. Taken from Suffolk county in 1793.
This county has a maritime coast on Boston harbor of about 12 miles, which is indented with many small bays and navigable rivers. Its surface is uneven and in some parts hilly. Its soil is generally strong and rocky. Much of the dark colored granite, or sienite, is found here. A large part of Norfolk county, particularly those towns near Boston, is under a high state of cultivation, and affords fruits and vegetables in great abundance.—The proximity of this county to the capital gives it many facilities; and the towns in this, and in the county of Middlesex, that border on Boston harbor, may be called the Gardens of Boston. It contains 22 towns, and 126 inhabitants to a square mile. The Charles, Neponset, and Manatiquot are its chief rivers.
In 1837, this town contained 2,054 sheep. The value of the manufactures in the county, the year ending April 1, 1837, was $6,466,010. The value of the fishery, the same year, was $244,927.
