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95-506: On June 21, 1831, the Boston and Providence Railroad was incorporated, and was chartered the next day to build a rail line between its two namesake cities; construction began in late 1832, and the B&;P opened from Park Square to Canton in 1834, with intermediate stations at Readville and Roxbury station (the remaining section of the B&P main line, from Canton to Providence , opened

190-566: A Wôpanâak word muswachasut , segmented as mus(ây) "big" + wach "mountain" + -s "diminutive" + - ut "locative". This word has been translated as "near the great hill", "by the blue hills", "at the little big hill", or "at the range of hills", in reference to the Blue Hills —namely, the Great Blue Hill , located on the boundary of Milton and Canton . Massachusett has also been represented as Moswetuset . This comes from

285-580: A right to shelter law, and the first U.S. state, and one of the earliest jurisdictions in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriage . Harvard University in Cambridge is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States , with the largest financial endowment of any university in the world. Both Harvard and MIT , also in Cambridge, are perennially ranked as either

380-637: A branch of the main line to Attleboro and Providence. The Easton Branch Railroad was incorporated in 1854 and opened in 1855 as a continuation of the Stoughton Branch beyond Stoughton. In 1865, the Old Colony and Newport Railway bought the line and incorporated the majority of it into its main line. The Taunton Branch Railroad was incorporated in 1835 to build a branch from the B&P in Mansfield to Taunton , opening in 1836. The branch

475-586: A branch to Dedham , opened in 1834, and the rest on July 28, 1835 with the completion of the Canton Viaduct . Stations in Jamaica Plain allowed the development of one of the first commuter suburbs in America. The line was originally single track. A second track was extended from Boston to Roxbury in 1839 and to Readville in 1845. Double track was built between Sharon and Mansfield in 1846–47; it

570-722: A co-founder of the Special Olympics . In 1966, Massachusetts became the first state to directly elect an African American to the U.S. senate with Edward Brooke . George H. W. Bush , 41st President of the United States (1989–1993) was born in Milton in 1924. Other notable Massachusetts politicians on the national level included Joseph W. Martin Jr. , Speaker of the House (from 1947 to 1949 and then again from 1953 to 1955) and leader of House Republicans from 1939 until 1959 (where he

665-565: A frontrunner in the Democratic primaries for the 2020 presidential election. However, she later suspended her campaign and endorsed presumptive nominee Joe Biden . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, at around 2:49 pm local time ( EDT ). The explosions killed three people and injured an estimated 264 others. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) later identified

760-494: A large population of grey seals . Since 2009, there has been a significant increase in the number of Great white sharks spotted and tagged in the coastal waters off of Cape Cod . Freshwater fish species in Massachusetts include bass , carp , catfish , and trout , while saltwater species such as Atlantic cod , haddock , and American lobster populate offshore waters. Other marine species include Harbor seals ,

855-637: A new alignment along the Corridor in 1987 despite the cancellation of the project originally calling for its relocation. This included a new rapid transit station at Roxbury Crossing, on the site of the former NYNH&H station; the Washington Street Elevated was permanently closed on April 30, 1987, and Roxbury Crossing station, along with the eight other new stations on the southern Orange Line, opened four days later. Several bus routes which formerly ended at Dudley Square were extended to

950-542: A path to decarbonize the state's economy. On April 22, 2020, Kathleen A. Theoharides, the state's Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, released a Determination of Statewide Emissions limits for 2050. In her letter, Theoharides stresses that as of 2020, the Commonwealth has experienced property damage attributable to climate change of more than $ 60 billion. To ensure that the Commonwealth experiences warming no more than 1.5 °C of pre-industrialization levels,

1045-698: A second route into Providence, using the old alignment to East Providence and the Crook Point Bascule Bridge over the Seekonk River leading to the tunnel. The tunnel is no longer in use, having been disconnected on the downtown side, with its entrance underneath the What Cheer Building, owned by RISD . In 1939, the railroad filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission for reorganization in

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1140-436: A significant change to the state's built environment and ecosystems. In Boston alone, costs of climate change-related storms will result in $ 5 to $ 100 billion in damage. Warmer temperatures will also disrupt bird migration and flora blooming. With these changes, deer populations are expected to increase, resulting in a decrease in underbrush which smaller fauna use as camouflage. Additionally, rising temperatures will increase

1235-462: Is Boston . Other major cities are Worcester , Springfield and Cambridge . Massachusetts is also home to the urban core of Greater Boston , the largest metropolitan area in New England and a region profoundly influential upon American history , academia , and the research economy . Massachusetts has a reputation for social and political progressivism ; becoming the only U.S. state with

1330-613: Is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States . It borders the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode Island to its south, New Hampshire and Vermont to its north, and New York to its west. Massachusetts is the sixth-smallest state by land area . With over seven million residents as of 2020, it is the most populous state in New England,

1425-474: Is its largest city. Despite its small size, Massachusetts features numerous topographically distinctive regions. The large coastal plain of the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern section of the state contains Greater Boston , along with most of the state's population, as well as the distinctive Cape Cod peninsula . To the west lies the hilly, rural region of Central Massachusetts , and beyond that,

1520-715: Is now known as Rhode Island , and Hutchinson joined him there several years later. Religious intolerance continued, and among those who objected to this later that century were the English Quaker preachers Alice and Thomas Curwen , who were publicly flogged and imprisoned in Boston in 1676. By 1641, Massachusetts had expanded inland significantly. The Commonwealth acquired the Connecticut River Valley settlement of Springfield , which had recently disputed with—and defected from—its original administrators,

1615-471: Is quite wet. Frosts are frequent all winter, even in coastal areas due to prevailing inland winds. Boston has a relatively sunny climate for a coastal city at its latitude, averaging over 2,600 hours of sunshine a year. Climate change in Massachusetts will affect both urban and rural environments, including forestry, fisheries, agriculture, and coastal development. The Northeast is projected to warm faster than global average temperatures; by 2035, according to

1710-680: The 16th-most-populous in the country, and the third-most densely populated , after New Jersey and Rhode Island. Massachusetts was a site of early English colonization . The Plymouth Colony was founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims of the Mayflower . In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Colony , taking its name from the Indigenous Massachusett people , also established settlements in Boston and Salem. In 1692,

1805-641: The American Human Development Index and the standard Human Development Index , first in per capita income , and as of 2023, first in median income . Consequently, Massachusetts typically ranks as the top U.S. state, as well as the most expensive state, for residents to live in. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was named after the Indigenous population, the Massachusett or Muhsachuweesut , whose name likely derived from

1900-863: The Cape Cod National Seashore and the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area . In addition, the Department of Conservation and Recreation maintains a number of parks , trails, and beaches throughout Massachusetts. The primary biome of inland Massachusetts is temperate deciduous forest . Although much of Massachusetts had been cleared for agriculture, leaving only traces of old-growth forest in isolated pockets, secondary growth has regenerated in many rural areas as farms have been abandoned. Forests cover around 62% of Massachusetts. The areas most affected by human development include

1995-552: The Connecticut Colony . This established Massachusetts's southern border in the west. However, this became disputed territory until 1803–04 due to surveying problems, leading to the modern Southwick Jog . In 1652 the Massachusetts General Court authorized Boston silversmith John Hull to produce local coinage in shilling, sixpence and threepence denominations to address a coin shortage in

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2090-639: The Connecticut River Valley . Along the western border of Western Massachusetts lies the highest elevated part of the state, the Berkshires , forming a portion of the northern terminus of the Appalachian Mountains . The U.S. National Park Service administers a number of natural and historical sites in Massachusetts . Along with twelve national historic sites, areas, and corridors, the National Park Service also manages

2185-473: The Massachusetts Bay Colony —now known as Boston—in 1630. The Puritans believed the Church of England needed to be further reformed along Protestant Calvinist lines, and experienced harassment due to the religious policies of King Charles I and high-ranking churchmen such as William Laud , who would become Charles's Archbishop of Canterbury , whom they feared were re-introducing "Romish" elements to

2280-677: The New England Railroad at Needham Junction . The Dedham Branch from Forest Hills to that connection is still in use as the Needham Branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail , but the rest of the Dedham loop has been abandoned. The Stoughton Branch Railroad was incorporated April 16, 1844 as a branch of the B&P from Canton Junction to Stoughton . It opened in early 1845, and is still in use for passengers as

2375-816: The Old Colony Railroad in 1891. The Warren and Fall River Railroad was incorporated in Rhode Island in 1856, and the Fall River and Warren Railroad in Massachusetts in 1857. In 1860 the two were merged to form the Fall River, Warren and Providence Railroad , opening later in 1860 from Warren east to Somerset , across the Taunton River from Fall River . In 1875, the Boston and Providence Railroad Bridge opened, connecting to

2470-597: The Old Colony Railroad in Fall River. At that time, the company was leased by the Old Colony; before that it had been controlled by the B&P. This listing includes all stations that have existed along the post-1847 B&P alignment from Park Square, Boston to Providence. Mileage is from Park Square; distances to South Station are 0.8 miles longer. These mileages reflect the pre-realignment routings in Pawtucket and Providence. Some stations were not opened until after

2565-679: The Providence River connected Fox Point to the South Providence terminal of the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad (opened 1837). The former mainline became the primarily-freight East Junction Branch . In 1847, the Providence and Worcester Railroad opened between downtown Providence and Worcester, Massachusetts . At the same time, the B&P built a connection west from its main line in southern Attleboro to

2660-467: The Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad built a line from it in 1855. The Providence and Bristol Railroad was incorporated in 1850 and 1851, and reorganized in 1852 as the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad . It opened in 1855 from the old Seekonk Branch in East Providence southeast to Warren and south to Bristol . It was owned by the B&P through a majority of stock, and leased

2755-492: The common loon are becoming rare. A significant population of long-tailed ducks winter off Nantucket . Small offshore islands and beaches are home to roseate terns and are important breeding areas for the locally threatened piping plover . Protected areas such as the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge provide critical breeding habitat for shorebirds and a variety of marine wildlife including

2850-531: The first rail lines in the United States - with a more direct route into Providence built in 1847. Branches were built to Dedham in 1834, Stoughton in 1845, and North Attleboro in 1871. It was acquired by the Old Colony Railroad in 1888, which in turn was leased by the New Haven Railroad in 1893. The line became the New Haven's primary mainline to Boston; it was realigned in Boston in 1899 during

2945-496: The monarchy the former colonies were fighting against during the American Revolutionary War . The name "State of Massachusetts Bay" appeared in the first draft, which was ultimately rejected. It was also chosen to include the "Cape Islands" in reference to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket —from 1780 to 1844, they were seen as additional and separate entities confined within the Commonwealth. Massachusetts

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3040-403: The steam engine to power factories. Canals and railroads were being used in the state for transporting raw materials and finished goods. At first, the new industries drew labor from Yankees on nearby subsistence farms, though they later relied upon immigrant labor from Europe and Canada. Although Massachusetts was the first slave-holding colony with slavery dating back to the early 1600s,

3135-554: The "Atlas of Independence", was highly involved in both separation from Britain and the Constitution of Massachusetts , which effectively (the Elizabeth Freeman and Quock Walker cases as interpreted by William Cushing ) made Massachusetts the first state to abolish slavery. David McCullough points out that an equally important feature was its placing for the first time the courts as a co-equal branch separate from

3230-454: The 1870s. It was completed between Mount Hope and Hyde Park in 1882, finishing triple-tracking between Boston and Readville. In 1887, the railroad's Bussey Bridge collapsed while a morning commuter train was passing over it. The train was carrying about 300 passengers at the time, of which 24 died and 125 were seriously injured. Henry Austin Whitney was the president of the railroad at

3325-484: The 19th century, Massachusetts became a national leader in the American Industrial Revolution , with factories around cities such as Lowell and Boston producing textiles and shoes, and factories around Springfield producing tools, paper, and textiles. The state's economy transformed from one based primarily on agriculture to an industrial one, initially making use of water-power and later

3420-462: The 48 states. After the world war, the economy of eastern Massachusetts transformed from one based on heavy industry into a service-based economy . Government contracts, private investment, and research facilities led to a new and improved industrial climate, with reduced unemployment and increased per capita income. Suburbanization flourished, and by the 1970s, the Route 128 / Interstate 95 corridor

3515-477: The B&P had merged into the Old Colony. Currently open stations are lightlighted. Massachusetts Masshole Massachusite (traditional) Massachusetts ( / ˌ m æ s ə ˈ tʃ uː s ɪ t s / , /- z ɪ t s / MASS -ə- CHOO -sits, -⁠zits ; Massachusett : Muhsachuweesut [məhswatʃəwiːsət] ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ,

3610-549: The B&P in Attleboro northwest to North Attleborough . It was leased to the B&P, and was connected to a branch of the Old Colony Railroad in 1890. The Moshassuck Valley Railroad was chartered in 1874 and opened in 1876 as a branch from the joint B&P/P&W at Woodlawn, Rhode Island north to Saylesville . The company remained independent until 1981, when it was bought by the P&;W. The Seekonk Branch Railroad

3705-479: The B&P in 1888, and was itself acquired in 1893 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad ) raised the section of its main line through Roxbury and Jamaica Plain (extending from Massachusetts Avenue to the current location of Forest Hills station) onto a 4-track stone embankment to eliminate dangerous grade crossings. The project involved the building of five new stations in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain ;

3800-677: The British government, were a primary reason for the unity of the Thirteen Colonies and the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775. The Battles of Lexington and Concord , fought in Massachusetts in 1775, initiated the American Revolutionary War . George Washington , later the first president of the future country, took over what would become the Continental Army after the battle. His first victory

3895-859: The British monarchy, including open rebellion under the Dominion of New England in the 1680s. Protests against British attempts to tax the colonies after the French and Indian War ended in 1763 led to the Boston Massacre in 1770, and the 1773 Boston Tea Party escalated tensions. In 1774, the Intolerable Acts targeted Massachusetts with punishments for the Boston Tea Party and further decreased local autonomy, increasing local dissent. Anti-Parliamentary activity by men such as Samuel Adams and John Hancock , followed by reprisals by

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3990-636: The Civil War. Massachusetts was the first state to recruit, train, and arm a Black regiment with White officers, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment . In 1852, Massachusetts became the first state to pass compulsory education laws. Although the U.S. stock market had sustained steep losses the last week in October 1929, Tuesday, October 29 is remembered as the beginning of the Great Depression. The Boston Stock Exchange , drawn into

4085-517: The Colony of Georgia in 1735.) Later, Adams was active in early American foreign affairs and succeeded Washington as the second president of the United States . His son, John Quincy Adams , also from Massachusetts, would go on to become the nation's sixth president. From 1786 to 1787, an armed uprising led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays , now known as Shays' Rebellion , wrought havoc throughout Massachusetts and ultimately attempted to seize

4180-851: The Greater Boston area in the east and the Springfield metropolitan area in the west, although the latter includes agricultural areas throughout the Connecticut River Valley. There are 219 endangered species in Massachusetts. A number of species are doing well in the increasingly urbanized Massachusetts. Peregrine falcons utilize office towers in larger cities as nesting areas, and the population of coyotes , whose diet may include garbage and roadkill, has been increasing in recent decades. White-tailed deer , raccoons , wild turkeys , and eastern gray squirrels are also found throughout Massachusetts. In more rural areas in

4275-576: The Massachusetts Marijuana Legalization Initiative , also known as Question 4. Massachusetts is the seventh-smallest state in the United States . It is located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States . It has an area of 10,555 square miles (27,340 km ), 25.7% of which is water. Several large bays distinctly shape its coast, giving it the nickname "the Bay State". Boston

4370-673: The NYNH&;H's right-of-way and to replace the Washington Street Elevated (from 1967 known as the Orange Line ) with a rapid transit line running in the new highway's median; these plans led to the demolition of hundreds of homes (including the virtual obliteration of the Roxbury Crossing neighbourhood) and the clearing of a long strip of land (the Southwest Corridor ) extending through Roxbury and Jamaica Plain all

4465-435: The New Haven rail system or operation as an independent line. The Penn Central Transportation Company was created in 1968 through a merger that included the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad . The Penn Central bankruptcy in the early 1970s coincided with the creation of Amtrak . Penn Central merged the Boston and Providence Railroad into itself in 1972. The New Haven's former B&P Boston-New York City main line

4560-445: The Northeast United States has risen by ten percent from 1895 to 2011, and the number of heavy precipitation events has increased by seventy percent during that time. These increased precipitation patterns are focused in the winter and spring. Increasing temperatures coupled with increasing precipitation will result in earlier snow melts and subsequent drier soil in the summer months. The shifting climate in Massachusetts will result in

4655-431: The P&W in Central Falls . The B&P and P&W jointly owned the line south of Central Falls into downtown Providence. (In 1848, the NYP&B connected its line south of downtown Providence to downtown, removing the gap through Providence.) On April 1, 1888, the Old Colony Railroad leased the B&P for 99 years. The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad leased the Old Colony on March 1, 1893, and assumed

4750-434: The U. S. Global Change Research Program, the Northeast is "projected to be more than 3.6°F (2°C) warmer on average than during the preindustrial era". As of August 2016, the EPA reports that Massachusetts has warmed by over two degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.1 degrees Celsius. Shifting temperatures also result in the shifting of rainfall patterns and the intensification of precipitation events. To that end, average precipitation in

4845-406: The broad transition zone to Humid Subtropical climates. The warm to hot summers render the oceanic climate rare in this transition, only applying to exposed coastal areas such as on the peninsula of Barnstable County . The climate of Boston is quite representative for the commonwealth, characterized by summer highs of around 81 °F (27 °C) and winter highs of 35 °F (2 °C), and

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4940-414: The colony did not move to renew his contract or appoint a new mintmaster. The coinage was a contributing factor to the revocation of the Massachusetts Bay Colony charter in 1684. In 1691, the colonies of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth were united (along with present-day Maine , which had previously been divided between Massachusetts and New York ) into the Province of Massachusetts Bay . Shortly after,

5035-454: The colony. Before that point, the colony's economy had been entirely dependent on barter and foreign currency, including English, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese and counterfeit coins. In 1661, shortly after the restoration of the British monarchy , the British government considered the Boston mint to be treasonous. However, the colony ignored the English demands to cease operations until at least 1682, when Hull's contract as mintmaster expired, and

5130-594: The construction of South Station , and in Pawtucket and Central Falls in 1916 for grade crossing elimination. The line became part of the Penn Central system in 1969; the section in Massachusetts was purchased by the state in 1973, while Amtrak acquired the Rhode Island section in 1976. The line was electrified in 2000; it is now the far northern leg of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor , used by high-speed Acela Express service, intercity Northeast Regional service, and MBTA Commuter Rail Providence/Stoughton Line local service. The rapid transit MBTA Orange Line shares

5225-439: The departure of several manufacturing companies, the state's industrial economy began to decline during the early 20th century. By the 1920s, competition from the American South and Midwest , followed by the Great Depression , led to the collapse of the three main industries in Massachusetts: textiles, shoemaking, and precision mechanics. This decline would continue into the latter half of the 20th century. Between 1950 and 1979,

5320-448: The early 1600s, European colonists caused virgin soil epidemics such as smallpox , measles , influenza , and perhaps leptospirosis in what is now known as the northeastern region of the United States. Between 1617 and 1619, a disease that was most likely smallpox killed approximately 90% of the Massachusetts Bay Native Americans . The first English colonists in Massachusetts Bay Colony landed with Richard Vines and spent

5415-402: The endangered North Atlantic right whales , as well as humpback whales , fin whales , minke whales , and Atlantic white-sided dolphins . The European corn borer , a significant agricultural pest, was first found in North America near Boston, Massachusetts in 1917. Most of Massachusetts has a humid continental climate , with cold winters and warm summers. Far southeast coastal areas are

5510-449: The exclusion of same-sex couples from the right to a civil marriage was unconstitutional. In 2004, Massachusetts senator John Kerry , who won the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, lost to incumbent George W. Bush . Eight years later, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (the Republican nominee) lost to incumbent Barack Obama in 2012. Another eight years later, Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren became

5605-414: The executive. (The Constitution of Vermont , adopted in 1777, represented the first partial ban on slavery among the states. Vermont became a state in 1791 but did not fully ban slavery until 1858 with the Vermont Personal Liberty Law. The Pennsylvania Gradual Abolition Act of 1780 made Pennsylvania the first state to abolish slavery by statute - the second English colony to do so; the first having been

5700-526: The existing stations at Roxbury Crossing, Jamaica Plain , and Forest Hills were replaced with new elevated stations, while two additional commuter stations were built at Heath Street and Boylston Street . The new Roxbury Crossing station opened on June 1, 1897, along with the other four new stations. On November 22, 1909, the Washington Street Elevated was extended south along Washington Street from its original southern terminus at Dudley Square , with new stations at Egleston and Forest Hills . Although

5795-435: The federal Springfield Armory . The rebellion was one of the major factors in the decision to draft a stronger national constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation . On February 6, 1788, Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the United States Constitution . In 1820, Maine separated from Massachusetts and entered the Union as the 23rd state due to the ratification of the Missouri Compromise . During

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5890-424: The five NYNH&H stations in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain continued to operate for over three decades following the southward extension of the Washington Street Elevated, they were ultimately unable to compete with the Elevated, and Roxbury Crossing, along with the other four stations, was closed on September 29, 1940 due to a lack of passengers. In the 1960s, plans took hold to extend I-95 into downtown Boston along

5985-433: The following year with the completion of the Canton Viaduct ). In 1867, the Massachusetts legislature authorized the railroad to move the station building north to Ruggles Street, but this was not done. A new station building was completed in December 1888. Originally, the station (along with the entire B&P main line north of Readville) was at ground level. Starting in 1891, the Old Colony Railroad (which had acquired

6080-448: The lease. The New Haven used the B&P as part of its main Boston - New York City Shore Line . When Boston's South Station opened in 1899, a new line was built along the south side of the Boston and Albany Railroad to it, near the B&A's terminal. The old line to Park Square was abandoned. The East Side Railroad Tunnel opened in 1908 between the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island and downtown Providence . This provided

6175-415: The most or among the most highly regarded academic institutions in the world. Massachusetts's public-school students place among the top tier in the world in academic performance. Massachusetts is the most educated and one of the most highly developed and wealthiest U.S. states, ranking first in the percentage of population 25 and over with either a bachelor's degree or advanced degree , first on both

6270-415: The name of the Moswetuset Hummock (meaning "hill shaped like an arrowhead") in Quincy , where Plymouth Colony commander Myles Standish (a hired English military officer) and Squanto (a member of the Patuxet band of the Wamponoag people , who have since died off due to contagious diseases brought by colonists) met Chief Chickatawbut in 1621. Although the designation "Commonwealth" forms part of

6365-568: The national church. They decided to colonize to Massachusetts, intending to establish what they considered an "ideal" religious society. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was colonized under a royal charter, unlike the Plymouth colony, in 1629. Both religious dissent and expansionism resulted in several new colonies being founded, shortly after Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, elsewhere in New England. The Massachusetts Bay banished dissenters such as Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams due to religious and political conflict. In 1636, Williams colonized what

6460-474: The new Ruggles station , with a connection to Roxbury Crossing station at the intersection of Tremont Street and Columbus Avenue. The entire Orange Line, including Roxbury Crossing station, was closed from August 19 to September 18, 2022, during maintenance work. The MBTA plans to modify bus stops at the station in 2024 as part of the construction of bus lanes on Columbus Avenue and Tremont Street. The bus stops for route 66 on Tremont Street will be improved, while

6555-469: The new province's first governor, William Phips , arrived. The Salem witch trials also took place, where a number of men and women were hanged for alleged witchcraft . The most destructive earthquake known to date in New England occurred on November 18, 1755, causing considerable damage across Massachusetts. Massachusetts was a center of the movement for independence from Great Britain . Colonists in Massachusetts had long had uneasy relations with

6650-456: The number of Massachusetts residents involved in textile manufacturing declined from 264,000 to 63,000. The 1969 closure of the Springfield Armory , in particular, spurred an exodus of high-paying jobs from Western Massachusetts, which suffered greatly as it de-industrialized during the century's last 40 years. Massachusetts manufactured 3.4 percent of total United States military armaments produced during World War II , ranking tenth among

6745-428: The number of reported Lyme disease cases in the state. Ticks can transmit the disease once temperatures reach 45 degrees, so shorter winters will increase the window of transmission. These warmer temperatures will also increase the prevalence of Asian tiger mosquitoes , which often carry the West Nile virus . To fight this change, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has outlined

6840-466: The re-routing of several other major highways. The project was often controversial, with numerous claims of graft and mismanagement, and with its initial price tag of $ 2.5   billion increasing to a final tally of over $ 15   billion. Nonetheless, the Big Dig changed the face of Downtown Boston and connected areas that were once divided by elevated highway. Much of the raised old Central Artery

6935-602: The right-of-way for several miles in the 1987-built Southwest Corridor section in Boston. The Stoughton Branch is also used for Providence/Stoughton Line service, and the northern section of the Dedham Branch is used by the Needham Line . The Boston and Providence Railroad was incorporated June 21, 1831, and chartered to build a railroad between Boston and Providence, Rhode Island . Construction began in late 1832. The first section, from Boston to Canton with

7030-488: The state became a center of progressivist and abolitionist (anti-slavery) activity in the years leading up to the American Civil War . Horace Mann made the state's school system a national model. Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson , both philosophers and writers from the state, also made major contributions to American philosophy. Furthermore, members of the transcendentalist movement within

7125-616: The state emphasized the importance of the natural world and emotion to humanity. Although significant opposition to abolitionism existed early on in Massachusetts, resulting in anti-abolitionist riots between 1835 and 1837, abolitionist views there gradually increased throughout the next few decades. Abolitionists John Brown and Sojourner Truth lived in Springfield and Northampton, respectively, while Frederick Douglass lived in Boston and Susan B. Anthony in Adams . The works of such abolitionists contributed to Massachusetts's actions during

7220-416: The state's official name, it has no practical implications in modern times, and Massachusetts has the same position and powers within the United States as other states. John Adams may have chosen the word in 1779 for the second draft of what became the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution ; unlike the word "state", the word " commonwealth " had the connotation of a republic at the time. This was in contrast to

7315-536: The stops for routes 22 and 29 on Columbus Avenue will be removed (as those routes have transfers to the Orange Line at Jackson Square and Ruggles). [REDACTED] Media related to Roxbury Crossing station at Wikimedia Commons Boston and Providence Railroad The Boston and Providence Railroad was a railroad company in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island which connected its namesake cities. It opened in two sections in 1834 and 1835 - one of

7410-509: The suspects as brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev . The ensuing manhunt ended on April 19 when thousands of law enforcement officers searched a 20-block area of nearby Watertown . Dzhokhar later said he was motivated by extremist Islamic beliefs and learned to build explosive devices from Inspire , the online magazine of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula . On November 8, 2016, Massachusetts voted in favor of

7505-609: The time. Until 1899, when South Station opened, the Boston terminal was at Park Square , with a crossing at grade of the Boston and Worcester Railroad at the current merge at Back Bay station (also opened in 1899, serving only the B&P). The original Providence terminal was at Fox Point, from which it ran east along the Seekonk River shore and over the river via the India Point Railroad Bridge into East Providence (then part of Seekonk, Massachusetts ) before turning north towards Boston. A ferry across

7600-669: The town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of America's most infamous cases of mass hysteria , the Salem witch trials . In the late 18th century, Boston became known as the "Cradle of Liberty" for the agitation there that later led to the American Revolution . In 1786, Shays' Rebellion , a populist revolt led by disaffected American Revolutionary War veterans, influenced the United States Constitutional Convention . Originally dependent on agriculture , fishing , and trade , Massachusetts

7695-542: The way up to Green Street, before the project was halted by highway revolts in 1969 and the February 11, 1970 announcement by Governor Francis W. Sargent of a moratorium on new highway construction within the Route 128 corridor, and eventually cancelled by Governor Sargent in 1972. The cleared strip of land was eventually developed into the Southwest Corridor Park , and the Orange Line was moved to

7790-475: The western part of Massachusetts, larger mammals such as moose and black bears have returned, largely due to reforestation following the regional decline in agriculture. Massachusetts is located along the Atlantic Flyway , a major route for migratory waterfowl along the eastern coast. Lakes in central Massachusetts provide habitat for many species of fish and waterfowl, but some species such as

7885-625: The whirlpool of panic selling that beset the New York Stock Exchange, lost over 25 percent of its value in two days of frenzied trading. The BSE, nearly 100 years old at the time, had helped raise the capital that had funded many of the Commonwealth's factories, railroads, and businesses. " Governor of Massachusetts Frank G. Allen appointed John C. Hull the first Securities Director of Massachusetts. Hull would assume office in January 1930, and his term would end in 1936. With

7980-705: The winter in Biddeford Pool near Cape Porpoise (after 1820 the State of Maine) in 1616. The Puritans , arrived at Plymouth in 1620. This was the second permanent English colony in the part of North America that later became the United States, after the Jamestown Colony . The "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated by the Puritans after their first harvest in the " New World " and lasted for three days. They were soon followed by other Puritans, who colonized

8075-525: Was a short spur on the east side of the Seekonk River , from the B&P south to a dock on the river. It was incorporated in 1836 and opened soon after, with the hope that it would run its own trains over the B&P, as with a highway. As a result of this, the Massachusetts State Legislature passed a law that a railroad company could refuse any traffic on its road, and the company was a failure. The B&P bought it in 1839, and

8170-642: Was dotted with high-tech companies who recruited graduates of the area's many elite institutions of higher education. In 1987, the state received federal funding for the Central Artery/Tunnel Project. Commonly known as "the Big Dig ", it was, at the time, the biggest federal highway project ever approved. The project included making the Central Artery , part of Interstate 93 , into a tunnel under downtown Boston, in addition to

8265-434: Was extended north to Readville in 1860 and south to Providence in 1865. In May 1869, the state legislature authorized the railroad to build a third track from Boston to Readville. It was completed as far as Forest Hills in late 1871, allowing for an increase in service. The section between Hyde Park and Readville was increased to four tracks in 1873; the third track was extended south from Forest Hills to Mount Hope later in

8360-816: Was included with the former Pennsylvania Railroad 's New York City-Washington, D.C. main line as a new high-speed passenger route for Amtrak , the Northeast Corridor . It hosts the Acela , the only high-speed rail service in North America. In 1973, the MBTA purchased the portion of the B&P main line in Massachusetts, including the Stoughton Branch, forming what is now the Providence/Stoughton Line . The portion in Rhode Island

8455-584: Was operated by the B&P until 1840, when the New Bedford and Taunton Railroad opened, continuing the line past Taunton. In 1870, the Mansfield and Framingham Railroad opened, continuing the Taunton Branch northwest on the other side of the B&P. A connection between the Taunton Branch northwest of Taunton and the B&P in Attleboro opened in 1871, built by the Taunton Branch. The Attleborough Branch Railroad opened in 1870, running from

8550-545: Was originally inhabited by tribes of the Algonquian language family , including Wampanoag , Narragansett , Nipmuc , Pocomtuc , Mahican , and Massachusett . While cultivation of crops like squash and corn were an important part of their diet, the people of these tribes hunted , fished , and searched the forest for most of their food. Villagers lived in lodges called wigwams as well as longhouses . Tribes were led by male or female elders known as sachems . In

8645-556: Was replaced with the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway . The project also improved traffic conditions along several routes. The Kennedy family was prominent in 20th-century Massachusetts politics. The children of businessman and ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. included John F. Kennedy , who was a senator and U.S. president before his assassination in 1963; Ted Kennedy , a senator from 1962 until his death in 2009; and Eunice Kennedy Shriver ,

8740-462: Was sold to Amtrak in 1976. The first branch was the Dedham Branch to Dedham from Readville , opened in 1834 with the first section of the railroad. The Norfolk County Railroad opened in 1849, continuing from Dedham to the southwest. In 1850, a second branch to Dedham opened from Forest Hills , forming a loop. Another outlet for the Dedham Branch opened in 1906, with a connection west to

8835-706: Was the siege of Boston in the winter of 1775–76, after which the British were forced to evacuate the city. The event is still celebrated in Suffolk County only every March 17 as Evacuation Day . On the coast, Salem became a center for privateering . Although the documentation is incomplete, about 1,700 letters of marque , issued on a per-voyage basis, were granted during the American Revolution. Nearly 800 vessels were commissioned as privateers, which were credited with capturing or destroying about 600 British ships. Bostonian John Adams , known as

8930-720: Was the only Republican to serve as Speaker between 1931 and 1995), John W. McCormack , Speaker of the House in the 1960s, and Tip O'Neill , whose service as Speaker of the House from 1977 to 1987 was the longest continuous tenure in United States history. On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage . This followed the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court 's decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health in November 2003, which determined that

9025-674: Was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution . Before the American Civil War , the state was a center for the abolitionist , temperance , and transcendentalist movements. During the 20th century, the state's economy shifted from manufacturing to services ; and in the 21st century, Massachusetts has become the global leader in biotechnology , and also excels in artificial intelligence , engineering , higher education , finance , and maritime trade . The state's capital and most populous city , as well as its cultural and financial center ,

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