Editing Dighton, Massachusetts (section)

== History ==
===Crossroads===
[[File:Dighton Wharves historic marker.jpg|thumb|left|Site of Dighton Ferry Landing]]
Dighton's location has long made it a crossroads for travel. The "Old Bristol Path" took early settlers from the Pilgrim settlement in [[Plymouth, Massachusetts]] to [[Bristol, Rhode Island]], the home of Massasoit.<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|1}} A ferry took travelers across the Taunton River.<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|34}} Later, a stage coach ran through Dighton, connecting [[Taunton, Massachusetts|Taunton]] and Bristol.<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|2}} Dighton was also along the route between [[Fall River, Massachusetts|Fall River]] and Taunton.<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|16}}

===Origin===
Dighton was originally part of [[Taunton, Massachusetts|Taunton]]'s South Purchase and other surrounding towns. It was separated in 1672,<ref name="Dighton"/> officially incorporated in 1712.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.city-data.com/city/Dighton-Massachusetts.html |title=Dighton Massachusetts |publisher=City-Data.com |access-date=November 10, 2012}}</ref> It was named for Frances Dighton Williams, wife of Richard Williams, a town elder.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n105 106]}}</ref>  At the time of incorporation, the town included land on both sides of the Taunton River, including the land of Assonet Neck, which includes [[Dighton Rock]], a rock found in the shallows of the river which includes cryptic carvings whose origins are debated to this day.  However, in 1799, that land on the east bank of the river was annexed by [[Berkley, Massachusetts|Berkley]], thus giving that town the claim of being the home of the rock.

===Molasses Affair===
In 1765, shortly after the renewal of the [[Navigation Acts#Molasses Act 1733|Molasses Act]], [[Dighton Wharves Historic District|Dighton's wharves]] were the site of the "Molasses Affair," a protest of British taxes on molasses similar to the more famous [[Boston Tea Party]].<ref name=MACRIS>{{cite web|url=https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=dig.d|title=NRHP nomination form and MACRIS inventory record for Dighton Wharves Historic District|publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts|access-date=July 31, 2015}}</ref> A local ship reported a cargo of 63 casks of molasses to the British custom officials, but the ship actually contained double that number.<ref name=MACRIS/> The customs official ordered the ship's cargo impounded while he departed for Newport for assistance.<ref name=MACRIS/> While he was gone, forty local men with blackened faces stole the cargo, ran the ship aground, and drilled holes in the hull to protest British tax policies.<ref name=MACRIS/>

===Revolution===
During the time of the [[American Revolutionary War]], Dighton gave refuge to several refugees from [[Newport, Rhode Island]] who had fled the British occupation there. These included [[Ezra Stiles]] and [[William Ellery]].<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|104}} Stiles kept a diary of his time in Dighton.<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|104}} In January 1778 the town council voted in favor of the [[Articles of Confederation]].<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|116}}

===Industries===

As it was located at the beginning of the tidewater of the river, Dighton was a shipbuilding community, and even had status as a [[Port of call (nautical term)|port of call]]. North of Dighton the [[Taunton River]] becomes too shallow for ships to navigate,<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|152}}<ref name=MACRIS /> and this, along with its centralized location, allowed Dighton to become a shipping hub for southeastern Massachusetts.  In 1789 Dighton was made a port of entry for the surrounding towns.<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|151}} Ships would unload in Dighton and goods were either transferred to smaller boats or towed by oxen along a tow path on the east side of the river to Taunton.<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|151}}

[[Herring]] were plentiful in the Taunton River, and at one point Dighton's herring fishery provided more income to the town than any other industry.<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|144}} Fish were preserved in salt and exported as far away as the [[West Indies]].<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|144}}
[[File:Cpt. Thomas Coram by W. Nutter, 1796.JPG|thumb|right|150px|Thomas Coram]]
Shipbuilding started in Dighton as early as 1698. [[Thomas Coram]] built [[Coram Shipyard Historic District|Dighton's first shipyard]] on the west side of the Taunton River.<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|148}} Shipbuilding grew into a significant industry after 1800, peaking around 1850.<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|149–150}}  During 1840–1845 twenty-two schooners, two sloops, four brigs, and three barks were built in Dighton.<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|149–150}}

There were also cotton mills, paper mills, manufacturers and farming concerns in the town. From before the Civil War to at least 1912, the town was regionally known for its strawberry farms.<ref name="Lane" />{{rp|233}} With time, however, many of these industries left, leaving the town as a rural suburban community with some small farms.

===Tricentennial===
In 2012, Dighton celebrated its Tricentennial with town selectmen donning historic costumes and crossing the Taunton River to Ferry Landing. Afterwards they held a ceremony at Founders Hall.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Nichols|first1=Christopher|title=Dighton Tricentennial marks town's Founder's Day Saturday|url=http://www.tauntongazette.com/article/20120511/News/305119907|access-date=April 16, 2018|publisher=Taunton Daily Gazette|date=May 11, 2012}}</ref>