Patios, Walkways, Fire Pits
Sharon MA

History

The first settled as part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637, 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 Rockridge Cemetery. A street in Sharon is named Deborah Sampson Street in her honor.

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:

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.

1974 Cobb’s Tavern becomes a National Historic Landmark. Located at 41 Bay Road, it becomes
Sharon’s Second Historic District in 1991.

1980 Stoneholm, located at 188 Ames Street, becomes a National Historic Landmark.

1984 The Stoughtonham Furnace Site (partially in Foxborough) becomes a National Historic Landmark.

1997 Borderland State Park (partially in Easton) becomes a National Register District.

2004 Sharon’s Third Historic District is approved by Town Meeting and accepted by the Commonwealth.
This includes the Charles R. Wilber School, the Pleasant Street School(owned by the Sharon Housing
Authority) and the Kate Morrell Park.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 24.2 square miles (62.6 km²), of which, 23.3 square miles (60.4 km²) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.2 km²) (3.56%) is water. This includes Lake Massapoag, which is one of the town’s most prominent features and a popular recreational site for swimming and boating. It was largely responsible for the town’s early development as a summer resort location. Sharon is drained by the Canoe River to the south, and Massapoag Brook to the north.

Climate

This section needs expansion with: more information in the weather box. You can help by adding to it. (August 2012)

Sharon is located in a continental climate, like most of New England and most of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. It is cooler than coastal New England locations because it is inland. The town has warm to hot summers and cold winters. It is often humid in the summer. Sharon receives about 50 inches of precipitation every year on average.

Adjacent towns

Sharon is located in eastern Massachusetts, bordered by the following towns:

• Canton to the northeast
• Norwood to the north
• Walpole to the northwest
• Foxborough to the west
• Stoughton to the east
• Easton to the southeast
• Mansfield a small portion to the southeast

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.

Exit 8 of Interstate 95 is on the Sharon/Foxborough border, with access to both the northbound and southbound directions of the highway. Exit 10 of Interstate 95 is on the Sharon/Walpole line, with access to the northbound direction of the highway and from the southbound direction. Exit 9 of Interstate 95 is also in Sharon, located on Route 1. This exit allows North or Southbound access to I95.

In addition, Massachusetts Route 27 runs through the center of the town and leads to Route 1.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sharon, Massachusetts.

• Town of Sharon
• Sharon Public Library
• Sharon Historical Society
• SCTV
• Sharon Community Website
• Answer Book/Sharon: Everything you need to know (published by GateHouse Media of Perinton, New York)