Editing Brockton, Massachusetts (section)

==History==

In 1649, Ousamequin ([[Massasoit]]) sold the surrounding [[Wampanoag]] land—then known as Saughtucket—to [[Myles Standish]] as an addition to [[Duxbury, Massachusetts|Duxbury]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cline |first=Sara |title=Massasoit and Myles Standish signed it -- Bridgewater saved it |url=https://www.enterprisenews.com/story/news/2017/09/08/massasoit-myles-standish-signed-it/18853923007/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=Enterprise News |language=en-US}}</ref> Brockton was part of this area, which [[Colonial history of the United States|the English]] renamed [[Bridgewater, Massachusetts|Bridgewater]].  On June 15, 1821, a portion of the then Bridgewater Township was established as North Bridgewater.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/388219-vital-records-of-bridgewater-massachusetts-to-the-year-1850-vol-1|title=Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts to the year 1850|publisher=New England Historic Genealogical Society|year=1916|editor-last=Scott|editor-first=Henry Edwards|volume=1 - Births|location=Boston, Massachusetts|pages=3|access-date=19 Nov 2021|url-access=registration}}</ref>  Brockton is named after [[Isaac Brock]]. He was the British commanding general at [[Battle of Queenston Heights|Queenston Heights]]—the first major battle of the [[War of 1812]]—where invading American troops retreated in defeat. Because Brock was a [[Loyalism|loyalist]], naming the town after him was a subject of contention among its colonial residents. Ultimately, it was given the name Brockton in 1874, and officially became a [[city]] on April 9, 1881.

Brockton was a stop on the [[Underground Railroad]], a network of secret routes and safe houses that helped enslaved people escape to freedom in the North and Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Black history comes alive in the hands and voices of prominent Brocktonians |url=https://www.enterprisenews.com/story/news/history/2023/02/10/brockton-black-history-month-naacp-library-martin-luther-king-malcolm-x-kamala-harris-harriet-tubman/69873734007/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=Enterprise News |language=en-US}}</ref>  Famous [[Abolitionism|abolitionist]] [[Frederick Douglass]], spoke to a crowd at the Liberty Tree in Brockton during the pre-Civil War period.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Saint-Ciel |first=Alisha |title=5 influential African Americans with ties to Brockton area |url=https://www.enterprisenews.com/story/news/local/2021/02/18/african-american-brockton-west-bridgewater-frederick-douglass-jacob-talbot-eugene-marrow-mary-baker/6781214002/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=Enterprise News |language=en-US}}</ref> During the [[American Civil War]], Brockton was America's largest producer of shoes, and until the latter parts of the 20th century, Brockton had a large shoe and leather products industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wickedlocal.com/x1959832707/Once-known-as-Shoe-City-Brockton-loses-its-last-factory|title=Once known as 'Shoe City,' Brockton loses its last factory|first=Elaine|last=Allegrini}}</ref>

Since the company's 1898 founding, Brockton has been the headquarters city of [[office supplies]] retailer [[W.B. Mason]], itself founded to provide those supplies to the city's shoe industry. The city's economy was once based on the shoe industry, but it has since diversified to include other industries such as healthcare, education, and manufacturing. Brockton has faced a number of challenges, including poverty, crime, and regional and local racial segregation.<ref name=":0">[https://www.bostonindicators.org/-/media/indicators/boston-indicators-reports/report-files/changing-faces-2019/indicators-changing-facesf2web.pdf Boston Indicators Project, 2018, pp. 37-40]</ref> Despite these challenges, the city has made progress in recent years,<ref name=":0" /> particularly in the development of its downtown area, by highlighting its diversity and rich history, and working toward a more welcoming atmosphere for businesses and residents.<ref>{{Citation |last=CityBrockton |title=Brockton: Where Better Begins |date=2022-11-09 |url=https://vimeo.com/769246635 |access-date=2023-04-15}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:1906 Brockton station postcard.JPG|Brockton station on a 1906 postcard
File:Oldest House in Brockton Heights, MA.jpg|Oldest house in 1910
File:Main Street, Looking North From Crescent, Brockton, MA.jpg|Main Street {{circa|1910}}
File:Howard & Foster's Shoe Factory, Brockton, MA.jpg|Shoe factory in 1910
</gallery>

===Historical firsts===

====World firsts====
* On October 1, 1883, Brockton became the first place in the world to have a [[Three-phase electric power|three-wire]] underground electrical system when [[Thomas Edison]] threw a switch to activate it.<ref>[http://www.thomasedison.com/enlightened.html#brocktonbreak Edison's Fabulous Breakthrough in Brockton, Massachusetts], thomasedison.com; accessed April 16, 2014.</ref>
* The City Theater opened on October 24, 1894, the first theater in the world to be tied into the three-wire electrical system.

====US firsts====
* On December 30, 1884, the first electrically operated fire station in the United States opened in Brockton.
* The department store [[Santa Claus]] appeared in Brockton in December 1890, when [[James Edgar (entrepreneur)|James Edgar]], of Edgar's Department Store, suited up for the first time.<ref>[http://1stdepartmentstoresanta.com/james-edgar.pdf Department Store Santa Tradition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707060442/http://1stdepartmentstoresanta.com/james-edgar.pdf |date=2011-07-07 }}; retrieved April 19, 2011</ref>
* Brockton became the first city in the country to abolish [[grade crossings]] in 1896.
* In 2020, Brockton became the first city in [[New England]] with a majority-Black population. Brockton's new majority-Black population is expected to have a positive impact on the city's culture, economy, and politics.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Berke |first=Ben |title=Brockton is now majority Black, for first time in city's history |url=https://www.enterprisenews.com/story/news/local/2020/10/23/brockton-is-now-majority-black-for-first-time-in-citys-139-year-history/114467122/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=Enterprise News |language=en-US}}</ref>

====World records====
* On November 23, 2010, Brockton set the world record for the most Santa Hat wearers in one place at one time, with 872 people participating in the event.<ref>[http://www.worldrecordsacademy.org/mass/most_Santa_hat_wearers_in_one_place_Brockton_sets_world_record_101979.html World Records Academy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515160211/http://www.worldrecordsacademy.org/mass/most_Santa_hat_wearers_in_one_place_Brockton_sets_world_record_101979.html |date=2012-05-15 }}; accessed April 16, 2014.</ref>
* On November 20, 2011, Brockton doubled the city's Santa Claus hat-wearing record with 1792 people in downtown Brockton wearing Santa hats.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/massachusetts/2011/11/20/sea-santas-stand-counted/orsfeGAv8F6guYbukoD53N/story.html|title=Brockton dons Santa hats, shatters its own record - the Boston Globe|website=[[The Boston Globe]]}}</ref>