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Stoughton (Official Name: Town of Stoughton) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 27,149 at the 2000 census.

History

Stoughton was first settled in 1713 and was officially incorporated in 1726. It was named after William Stoughton, who was the first Chief Justice of Colonial Courts and the notorious Chief Justice of the Salem Witch Trials.

In 1874 the Stoughton Public Library was established. ^[1]

The Suffolk Resolves were written in Old Stoughton (current day Milton, Massachusetts) at Doty's Tavern. ^[2] They are thought to be the basis for the Declaration of Independence. The meeting included Samuel Dunbar and Paul Revere, while the site was chosen by Samuel Adams and Dr. Joseph Warren.

The oldest choral society in the United States is located in Stoughton. Founded in 1786 as The Stoughton Musical Society, it is now known as the Old Stoughton Musical Society.

Stoughton's close proximity to Boston and Providence attracts a diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious population.

The citizens of Stoughton pride themselves on their social activism. The Save Our Stoughton campaign attracted national attention in the 1980s for their work picketing a local adult book store. Most recently, Stoughton became the first municipality in Massachusetts to declare itself a "No Place for Hate" town.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 27,149 people, 10,254 households, and 7,270 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,692.6 people per square mile (653.5/km²). There were 10,488 housing units at an average density of 653.9/sq mi (252.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 88.46% White, 5.70% African American, 0.10% Native American, 2.14% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.27% from other races, and 2.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.54% of the population.

There were 10,254 households out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $57,838, and the median income for a family was $69,942. Males had a median income of $44,853 versus $31,971 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,480. About 3.1% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

There is one public high school in Stoughton, one public middle school, 5 elementary schools, and several Catholic private schools in nearby towns. Stoughton High School has an award-winning music program, as well as an award-winning newspaper, The SHS Knight. It also has a healthy selection of sports teams. In 2005, the Stoughton High School Marching Black Knights marching band earned the title of best marching band in the NESBA championships, along with nabbing the award for best music. The school mascot is the Black Knight, and their colors are black and orange.

In 2007 the recently formed Jazz Choir, under the direction of Dan Davey, earned their first Gold medal at the state IAJE festival.