Interior House Painter Sharon MA

Sharon, Massachusetts
Town
Sharon’s town center in 2009
Seal
Location in Norfolk County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°6′46″N 71°11′2″W / 42.11278°N 71.18389°W / 42.11278; -71.18389
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Norfolk
Settled	1650
Incorporated	1775
Government
• Type	Open town meeting
• Town Administrator	Frederic Turkington
• Select Board	Hanna R. Switlekowski Emily E. Smith-Lee William A. Heitin
Area
• Total	62.6 km (24.2 sq mi)
• Land	60.4 km2 (23.3 sq mi)
• Water	2.2 km (0.9 sq mi)  3.56%
Elevation	76 m (249 ft)
Population  (2020)
• Total	18,575
• Density	307.5/km2 (797.2/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code	02067
Area code	339 / 781
FIPS code	25-60785
GNIS feature ID	0618329
Website	https://www.townofsharon.net/

Sharon is a New England town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,575 at the 2020 census. Sharon is part of Greater Boston, about 17 miles (27 km) southwest of downtown Boston, and is connected to both Boston and Providence by the Providence/Stoughton Line.

History

The Town of Sharon was first settled as part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637 and was deemed the 2nd precinct of Stoughton in 1740. It was established as the district of Stoughtonham on June 21, 1765, incorporated as the Town of Stoughtonham on August 23, 1775, and was named Sharon on February 25, 1783, after Israel’s Sharon plain, due to its high level of forestation. Several towns in New England were given this name. Part of Stoughtonham went to the new town of Foxborough on June 10, 1776. During the American Revolution, the townspeople of Sharon made cannonballs and cannons for the Continental Army at a local foundry.

In front of the Sharon Public Library stands a statue of Deborah Sampson, Sharon’s town heroine. Sampson disguised herself as a man to fight in the Revolutionary War. After the war, she married Benjamin Gannett, a farmer and lived in Sharon until the end of her life. Sampson began a campaign in 1790 to secure a pension from her time in the Revolutionary War, which earned the support of well known public figures, including Paul Revere. In 1804, Revere visited Sampson (then Sampson Gannett) at her farm in Sharon and wrote to the congressman of her district, William Eustis, that he found her “much more deserving than hundreds to whom Congress have been generous.” Sampson was placed on the United States pension list a year later, and awarded an annual payment. She is buried in the local Rock Ridge Cemetery. A street in Sharon is named Deborah Sampson Street in her honor. In 1983, the Massachusetts General Court designated Sampson as the official State Heroine of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The Unitarian and Congregational churches in the center of Sharon both have church bells manufactured by Paul Revere.

The recipient of letters from across the United States in Stanley Milgram’s small-world experiment lived in Sharon.

Sharon is the former home of the Kendall Whaling Museum, founded by Henry P. Kendall in 1955. In 2001, the museum was merged with the New Bedford Whaling Museum, and its collection is now part of that museum, though the archives of the museum are still held in Sharon.

In Sharon there are six historical properties or districts that are registered with the state. Of the six, five are listed on the National Register and three are certified local historic districts:

In 1970, Sharon’s First Historic District becomes an LHD. This is the area on North Main Street from Post Office Square to School Street and includes the Library and the Unitarian and Congregational Churches. It becomes a National Register District in 1975. In 1974 Cobb’s Tavern becomes a National Historic Landmark. Located at 41 Bay Road, it becomes Sharon’s Second Historic District in 1991. In 1980, Stoneholm, located at 188 Ames Street, becomes a National Historic Landmark. In 1984, the Stoughtonham Furnace Site (partially in Foxborough) becomes a National Historic Landmark. In 1997, Borderland State Park (partially in Easton) becomes a National Register District. In 2004, Sharon’s Third Historic District was approved by Town Meeting and accepted by the Commonwealth. This includes the Charles R. Wilber School, the Pleasant Street School, and the Kate Morrell Park.

Transportation

Commuter rail service from Boston’s South Station is provided by the MBTA with a stop in Sharon on its Providence/Stoughton Line. There are no public bus or subway lines in Sharon.