Editing Attleboro, Massachusetts (section)

==History==
In 1634, English settlers first arrived in the territory that is now Attleboro.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cityofattleboro.us/historicalcommission/history.htm | title=Attleboro Timeline | publisher=City of Attleboro Historical Commission | access-date=2012-05-30 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811000625/http://www.cityofattleboro.us/historicalcommission/history.htm | archive-date=2011-08-11 | url-status=dead }}</ref> The deed that granted them the land was written by Native American [[Wamsutta]]. The land.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mocavo.com/Sketch-of-the-History-of-Attleborough-From-Its-Settlement-to-the-Present-Time/105905/28|title=Sketch of the History of Attleborough: From Its Settlement to the Present Time|work=Mocavo|access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> It included the towns of [[Cumberland, Rhode Island]], until 1747 and [[North Attleborough, Massachusetts]], until 1887. In 1643, Attleboro was part of the adjacent town of Rehoboth until it was separately incorporated as a town in 1694.<ref>Attleboro | Historic Town, Industrial City, Manufacturing Hub

https://www.britannica.com/place/Massachusetts</ref> In 1697 in response to an unwanted amount of disturbances, mainly from nearby tribes of natives, the town had a meeting and ended up deciding that selectmen would keep tabs on strangers and foreigners as well as banning certain ones from entering the town. The town was reincorporated in 1914 as the City of Attleboro, with the "-ugh" removed from the name, although North Attleborough kept it. In the 1600's many of the people who settled in this area were from Attleborough, England, after which the city is named.<ref>The History of the Attleboro Town Seal 

https://www.cityofattleboro.us/DocumentCenter/View/310/History-of-The-City-Seal-PDF#:~:text=In%20the%201600%27s%20many%20of,which%20our%20city%20is%20named</ref>{{Clarify|date=May 2025|reason=Which Attleborough, England?}}

During the Native American insurgency in the colonial era, Nathaniel Woodcock, the son of an Attleborough resident, was murdered, and his head was placed on a pole in his father's front yard. His father's house is now a historical site. It is rumored that [[George Washington]] once passed through Attleborough and stayed near the Woodcock Garrison House at the Hatch Tavern, where he exchanged a shoe buckle with Israel Hatch, a revolutionary soldier and the new owner of the Garrison House.

The city became known for jewelry manufacturing in 1913, particularly because of the [[L.G. Balfour Company]]. That company has since moved out of the city, and the site of the former plant has been converted into a riverfront park. Attleboro was once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World", and jewelry manufacturing firms continue to operate there. One such is the Guyot Brothers Company, which was started in 1904.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guyotbrothers.com/aboutus.htm |title=Brief history of jewelry findings manufacturer Guyot Brothers |publisher=Guyot Brothers Company, Inc. |year=2003–2007 |access-date=2007-06-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070615145755/http://www.guyotbrothers.com/aboutus.htm |archive-date=15 June 2007 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> General Findings, M.S. Company, James A. Murphy Co., Garlan Chain, Leach & Garner, and Masters of Design are jewelry manufacturing companies still in operation.

===Cancer cluster===
In late 2003, ''[[The Sun Chronicle]]'' reported that a state investigation had been launched into the deaths of three women in the city from [[Glioblastoma multiforme|glioblastoma]].{{r|SunChronicle_CancerCluster_2004}} In 2007, the State of Massachusetts issued a report concluding that although the diagnosis rate for brain and central nervous system (CNS) cancers was higher than expected when compared to statewide data, the increase was determined not to be statistically significant.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/environmental/investigations/attleboro-2007.pdf | title=Evaluation of Brain & CNS Cancer Incidents in Attleboro, MA 1999–Present | publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts | year=2007 }}</ref>

Scorecard, [[Environmental Defense]]'s online database of polluters, lists seven facilities contributing to cancer hazards in Attleboro, including Engineered Materials Solutions Inc., the worst offender in Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.scorecard.org/env-releases/state-facility-ranks.tcl?fips_state_code=25&type=tep&category=cancer&modifier=NA | title=Facilities Contributing to Cancer Hazards in Massachusetts | publisher=Scorecard | year=2005 | access-date=2007-06-09 | archive-date=November 19, 2004 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041119092901/http://www.scorecard.org/env-releases/state-facility-ranks.tcl?fips_state_code=25&type=tep&category=cancer&modifier=NA | url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Shpack Landfill contamination incident====
In 2002, the Massachusetts Public Health Department was asked to evaluate the former [[Shpack Landfill]], on the border of Norton and Attleboro, for its cancer risks. The investigation continued at least through 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cbs4boston.com/iteam/local_story_062160436.html |title=Cancer Clusters |date=March 2, 2004 |publisher=WBZ News (I-Team) |access-date=2007-06-09 }}{{dead link|date=December 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Massey, Joanna |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/01/25/norton_leaders_upset_at_us_delay_on_cleanup?mode=PF |title=Norton leaders upset at US delay on cleanup |date=January 25, 2004 |newspaper=The Boston Globe |access-date=2007-06-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313044840/http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/01/25/norton_leaders_upset_at_us_delay_on_cleanup?mode=PF |archive-date=March 13, 2007 }}</ref> The informal landfill included [[Enriched uranium|uranium fuel rods]], heavy metals, and [[volatile organic compounds]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.epa.gov/region01/superfund/sites/shpack/ | title=Waste Site Cleanup & Reuse in New England — Shpack Landfill | publisher=US Environmental Protection Agency | date=February 15, 2007 | access-date=2007-06-09}}</ref>