Colonial Towns

The Massachusetts Bay Company (and later the Royal Governor) granted entitlements to settle a new area to citizens with enough wealth or motivation to raise the odds of success. The Puritans (and later royal English governing bodies) were motivated to settle new areas to turn raw land into a base for taxation and trade, and as a defense against Indians and European rivals. Their support might include surveying, buying land from Indians, Puritan owners or settlers, or giving away the land the Company or Governor held. Often they awarded or sold some acerage to absentee investors.

The grantees often became influential in the affairs of the new town and profited from the sale of the lands within their grant as the value of their village grew. In this, their proprietorships established something akin to a modern-day IPO where even settlers of modest means wanted in on the early allocations to profit from the anticipated rise. In some communities, hard-working settlers could become land owners simply by fulfilling entrepreneurial necessities such as clearing land, building shelters, or helping to hire a minister.

Kingston 1620
Plymouth County

Plymouth 1620
Plymouth County

Weymouth 1622
Norfolk County

Gloucester 1623
Essex County

Rockport 1623
Essex County

Hull 1624
Plymouth County

Duxbury 1624
Plymouth County

Chelsea 1624
Suffolk County

Boston 1625
Suffolk County

Quincy 1625
Norfolk County

Salem 1626
Essex County

Peabody 1626
Essex County

Beverly 1626
Essex County

Manchester-by-the-Sea 1629
Essex County

Marblehead 1629
Essex County

Swampscott 1629
Essex County

Roxbury 1630
Suffolk County

Sandwich 1630
Barnstable County

Saugus 1630
Essex County

Scituate 1630
Plymouth County

Somerville 1630
Middlesex County

Watertown 1630
Middlesex County

West Roxbury 1630
Suffolk County

Revere 1630
Suffolk County

Nahant 1630
Essex County

Brighton 1630
Suffolk County

Cambridge 1630
Middlesex County

Charlestown 1630
Suffolk County

Dorchester 1630
Suffolk County

Everett 1630
Middlesex County

Hyde Park 1630
Suffolk County

Medford 1630
Middlesex County

Hanson 1632
Plymouth County

Marshfield 1632
Plymouth County

Ipswich 1633
Essex County

Chelmsford 1633
Middlesex County

Attleboro 1634
Bristol County

Braintree 1634
Norfolk County

Essex 1634
Essex County

Norwell 1634
Plymouth County

Waltham 1634
Middlesex County

Topsfield 1635
Essex County

Wenham 1635
Essex County

West Newbury 1635
Essex County

Westford 1635
Middlesex County

Winthrop 1635
Suffolk County

Newburyport 1635
Essex County

Newbury 1635
Essex County

Hingham 1635
Plymouth County

Dover 1635
Norfolk County

Dedham 1635
Norfolk County

Concord 1635
Middlesex County

Arlington 1635
Middlesex County

Agawam 1635
Hampden County

Springfield 1636
Hampden County

Seekonk 1636
Bristol County

Rehoboth 1636
Bristol County

Milton 1636
Norfolk County

Danvers 1636
Essex County

Belmont 1636
Middlesex County

Barnstable 1637
Barnstable County

Billerica 1637
Middlesex County

Tewksbury 1637
Middlesex County

Rowley 1638
Essex County

Salisbury 1638
Essex County

Sudbury 1638
Middlesex County

Taunton 1638
Bristol County

Wayland 1638
Middlesex County

Rochester 1638
Plymouth County

Merrimac 1638
Essex County

Berkley 1638
Bristol County

Brookline 1638
Norfolk County

Hamilton 1638
Essex County

Lynnfield 1638
Essex County

Maynard 1638
Middlesex County

Yarmouth 1639
Barnstable County

Wilmington 1639
Middlesex County

Wakefield 1639
Middlesex County

Reading 1639
Middlesex County

Newton 1639
Middlesex County

Groveland 1639
Essex County

Georgetown 1639
Essex County

Dennis 1639
Barnstable County

Woburn 1640
Middlesex County

Winchester 1640
Middlesex County

Westwood 1640
Norfolk County

New Bedford 1640
Bristol County

Malden 1640
Middlesex County

Lexington 1640
Middlesex County

Haverhill 1640
Essex County

Bourne 1640
Barnstable County

Bedford 1640
Middlesex County

Nantucket 1641
Nantucket County

Gosnold 1641
Dukes County

Burlington 1641
Middlesex County

Weston 1642
Middlesex County

West Boylston 1642
Worcester County

Oak Bluffs 1642
Dukes County

Methuen 1642
Essex County

Edgartown 1642
Dukes County

Andover 1642
Essex County

Lancaster 1643
Worcester County

North Andover 1644
Essex County

Longmeadow 1644
Hampden County

Eastham 1644
Barnstable County

Boxford 1645
Essex County

Stoneham 1645
Middlesex County

Cohasset 1647
Norfolk County

Medfield 1649
Norfolk County

Hanover 1649
Plymouth County

East Bridgewater 1649
Plymouth County

Sharon 1650
Norfolk County

Pembroke 1650
Plymouth County

Lincoln 1650
Middlesex County

Framingham 1650
Middlesex County

Dartmouth 1650
Bristol County

Carlisle 1650
Middlesex County

Canton 1650
Norfolk County

Bridgewater 1650
Plymouth County

North Reading 1651
Middlesex County

West Bridgewater 1651
Plymouth County

Sherborn 1652
Middlesex County

Raynham 1652
Bristol County

Chicopee 1652
Hampden County

Leominster 1653
Worcester County

Lowell 1653
Middlesex County

Amesbury 1654
Essex County

Clinton 1654
Worcester County

Northampton 1654
Hampshire County

Groton 1655
Middlesex County

Lawrence 1655
Essex County

FallRiver 1656
Bristol County

Dunstable 1656
Middlesex County

Brewster 1656
Barnstable County

Marlborough 1657
Middlesex County

Medway 1657
Norfolk County

Millis 1657
Norfolk County

Walpole 1659
Norfolk County

South Hadley 1659
Hampshire County

Middleton 1659
Essex County

Mansfield 1659
Bristol County

Holliston 1659
Middlesex County

Hadley 1659
Hampshire County

Acushnet 1659
Bristol County

Westfield 1660
Hampden County

West Springfield 1660
Hampden County

Wellesley 1660
Norfolk County

Tisbury 1660
Dukes County

Southborough 1660
Worcester County

Middleborough 1660
Plymouth County

Mendon 1660
Worcester County

Carver 1660
Plymouth County

Falmouth 1660
Barnstable County

Franklin 1660
Norfolk County

Hopedale 1660
Worcester County

Mashpee 1660
Barnstable County

Hatfield 1661
Hampshire County

Plainville 1661
Norfolk County

Tyngsborough 1661
Middlesex County

Uxbridge 1662
Worcester County

Plympton 1662
Plymouth County

Millville 1662
Worcester County

Milford 1662
Worcester County

Blackstone 1662
Worcester County

West Brookfield 1664
Worcester County

Warren 1664
Worcester County

North Brookfield 1664
Worcester County

Easthampton 1664
Hampshire County

East Brookfield 1664
Worcester County

Dracut 1664
Middlesex County

Brookfield 1664
Worcester County

Berlin 1665
Worcester County

Chatham 1665
Barnstable County

Swansea 1667
Bristol County

Ayer 1668
Middlesex County

Abington 1668
Plymouth County

Aquinnah 1669
Dukes County

North Attleborough 1669
Bristol County

Norton 1669
Bristol County

West Tisbury 1669
Dukes County

Wrentham 1669
Norfolk County

Whitman 1670
Plymouth County

Westport 1670
Bristol County

Harwich 1670
Barnstable County

Halifax 1670
Plymouth County

Fairhaven 1670
Bristol County

Chilmark 1671
Dukes County

Northborough 1672
Worcester County

Whately 1672
Franklin County

Worcester 1673
Worcester County

Sunderland 1673
Franklin County

Rockland 1673
Plymouth County

Northfield 1673
Franklin County

Deerfield 1673
Franklin County

Freetown 1675
Bristol County

Westborough 1675
Worcester County

Ashby 1676
Middlesex County

Townsend 1676
Middlesex County

*Dana 1676
Worcester County

Somerset 1677
Bristol County

Wareham 1678
Plymouth County

Norwood 1678
Norfolk County

Dighton 1678
Bristol County

Marion 1679
Plymouth County

Needham 1680
Norfolk County

Natick 1680
Middlesex County

Boxborough 1680
Middlesex County

Acton 1680
Middlesex County

Stow 1681
Middlesex County

Bolton 1682
Worcester County

Rutland 1686
Worcester County

Littleton 1686
Middlesex County

Greenfield 1686
Franklin County

Oxford 1687
Worcester County

Mount Washington 1692
Berkshire County

Orleans 1693
Barnstable County

Easton 1694
Bristol County

Hudson 1699
Middlesex County

Truro 1700
Barnstable County

Brockton 1700
Plymouth County

Avon 1700
Norfolk County

Provincetown 1700
Barnstable County

Amherst 1703
Hampshire County

Foxborough 1704
Norfolk County

Harvard 1704
Worcester County

Northbridge 1704
Worcester County

Sutton 1704
Worcester County

Boylston 1705
Worcester County

Brimfield 1706
Hampden County

New Braintree 1709
Worcester County

Holbrook 1710
Norfolk County

Randolph 1710
Norfolk County

Webster 1713
Worcester County

Stoughton 1713
Norfolk County

Leverett 1713
Franklin County

Leicester 1713
Worcester County

Bellingham 1713
Norfolk County

Auburn 1714
Worcester County

Dudley 1714
Worcester County

Hopkinton 1715
Middlesex County

Monson 1715
Hampden County

Montague 1715
Franklin County

Millbury 1716
Worcester County

Ware 1717
Hampshire County

Lakeville 1717
Plymouth County

Grafton 1718
Worcester County

Barre 1720
Worcester County

Pepperell 1720
Middlesex County

Shirley 1720
Middlesex County

Sterling 1720
Worcester County

Spencer 1721
Worcester County

Lunenburg 1721
Worcester County

Douglas 1721
Worcester County

Shrewsbury 1722
Worcester County

Holden 1723
Worcester County

Wellfleet 1724
Barnstable County

Holland 1725
Hampden County

Wales 1726
Hampden County

Sheffield 1726
Berkshire County

Great Barrington 1726
Berkshire County

Granby 1727
Hampshire County

Palmer 1727
Hampden County

Upton 1728
Worcester County

Sturbridge 1729
Worcester County

Egremont 1730
Berkshire County

Southbridge 1730
Worcester County

Wilbraham 1730
Hampden County

Fitchburg 1730
Worcester County

Belchertown 1731
Hampshire County

Southampton 1732
Hampshire County

Petersham 1733
Worcester County

Stockbridge 1734
Berkshire County

Hubbardston 1734
Worcester County

Athol 1735
Worcester County

Williamsburg 1735
Hampshire County

Tyringham 1735
Berkshire County

Shutesbury 1735
Franklin County

Otis 1735
Berkshire County

Colrain 1735
Franklin County

Charlton 1735
Worcester County

Blandford 1735
Hampden County

Ashburnham 1736
Worcester County

Granville 1736
Hampden County

Westminster 1737
Worcester County

North Adams 1737
Berkshire County

New Salem 1737
Franklin County

Hardwick 1737
Worcester County

Pelham 1738
Hampshire County

New Marlborough 1738
Berkshire County

Leyden 1738
Franklin County

Bernardston 1738
Franklin County

Monterey 1739
Berkshire County

*Greenwich 1739
Worcester County

Warwick 1739
Franklin County

Alford 1740
Berkshire County

Becket 1740
Berkshire County

East Longmeadow 1740
Hampden County

Hampden 1741
Hampden County

Charlemont 1742
Franklin County

Ashfield 1743
Franklin County

Princeton 1743
Worcester County

Holyoke 1745
Hampden County

Orange 1746
Franklin County

Oakham 1749
Worcester County

Paxton 1749
Worcester County

Williamstown 1749
Berkshire County

Lenox 1750
Berkshire County

Tolland 1750
Hampden County

Sandisfield 1750
Berkshire County

Mattapoisett 1750
Plymouth County

Ashland 1750
Middlesex County

Templeton 1751
Worcester County

Ludlow 1751
Hampden County

Phillipston 1751
Worcester County

Pittsfield 1752
Berkshire County

Lanesborough 1753
Berkshire County

Winchendon 1753
Worcester County

Wendell 1754
Franklin County

Dalton 1755
Berkshire County

Shelburne 1756
Franklin County

Washington 1760
Berkshire County

Richmond 1760
Berkshire County

Lee 1760
Berkshire County

Hawley 1760
Franklin County

Chester 1760
Hampden County

Chesterfield 1760
Hampshire County

Goshen 1761
Hampshire County

Cummington 1762
Hampshire County

Westhampton 1762
Hampshire County

Royalston 1762
Worcester County

Rowe 1762
Franklin County

Adams 1762
Berkshire County

Conway 1762
Franklin County

New Ashford 1762
Berkshire County

Hinsdale 1763
Berkshire County

Clarksburg 1764
Berkshire County

Gardner 1764
Worcester County

Worthington 1764
Hampshire County

Heath 1765
Franklin County

Cheshire 1766
Berkshire County

West Stockbridge 1766
Berkshire County

Peru 1767
Berkshire County

Montgomery 1767
Hampden County

Hancock 1767
Berkshire County

Windsor 1767
Berkshire County

Huntington 1769
Hampshire County

Plainfield 1770
Hampshire County

Southwick 1770
Hampden County

West Springfield 1774
Springfield County