The Town of Randolph is a suburban city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the city population was 34,984. Randolph adopted a charter effective January 2010 providing for a council-manager form of government instead of the traditional town meeting. Randolph is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalities that have applied for, and been granted, city forms of government but wish to retain "The town of" in their official names.
History
Before European colonization the area that is now Randolph was occupied by the Massachusett, Wampanoag, and Pokanoket tribes. It was called Cochaticquom by the local Cochato and Ponkapoag tribes. The town was incorporated in 1793 from what was formerly the south precinct of the town of Braintree. According to the centennial address delivered by John V. Beal, the town was named after Peyton Randolph, first president of the Continental Congress.
Randolph was formerly the home of several large shoe companies. Many popular styles were made exclusively in Randolph, including the "Randies". At the time of Randolph's incorporation in 1793, local farmers were making shoes and boots to augment household incomes from subsistence farming. In the next half century, this sideline had become the town's major industry, attracting workers from across New England, Canada and Ireland and later from Italy and Eastern Europe, each adding to the quality of life in the town. By 1850, Randolph had become one of the nation's leading boot producers, shipping boots as far away as California and Australia.
The decline of the shoe industry at the beginning of the twentieth century led to Randolph's evolution as a suburban residential community. Boot and shoe making has been supplanted by light manufacturing and service industries. The town's proximity to major transportation networks has resulted in an influx of families from Boston and other localities who live in Randolph but work throughout the metropolitan area.
Starting in the 1950s, Randolph saw significant growth in its Jewish community with the exodus of Jews from Boston's Dorchester and Mattapan neighborhoods. In 1950, fifteen or twenty Jewish families lived in the town; by 1970, Randolph had about 7,000 Jewish residents, and about 9,000 in 1980, the largest such community south of Boston. At its peak, Randolph had a kosher butcher, Judaica shop, kosher bakery, and two synagogues. By the early 1990s, the population shrank to about 6,000.
The inspiration for the nationally observed Great American Smokeout came from a Randolph High School guidance councilor, who observed in a 1969 discussion with students that he could send all of them to college if he had a nickel for every cigarette butt he found on the ground. This touched off an effort by the Randolph High School class of 1970, supported by the Randolph Rotary Club, to have local smokers give it up for a day and put the savings toward a college scholarship fund. The event went national in 1977.
Registered historic places
Randolph is home to four Nationally Registered Historic Places:
Jonathan Belcher House, 360 N. Main St. (Listed April 30, 1976)Home of Jonathan Belcher (1767–1839), built in 1806, home to the Randolph Club (formerly Ladies Library Association) since 1911. Stetson Hall, 6 S. Main St. (Listed December 7, 2011)Former Town Hall, built in 1842. Ponkapoag Camp of Appalachian Mountain Club (Listed September 25, 1980) Gills Farm Archaeological District (Listed October 4, 1983)
Geography
Randolph is located at (42.173417, −71.049124). Located fifteen miles south of Boston, at the intersection of Routes 128 and 24, Randolph's location has been an important factor in its economic and social history. Randolph is located in eastern Massachusetts, bordered by Milton and Quincy on the north, Braintree and Holbrook on the east, Canton on the west, and Avon and Stoughton on the south and southwest. Randolph is 15 miles south of Boston and 211 miles from New York City.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 10.5 square miles (27.2 km2), of which 10.1 square miles (26.1 km2) is land and 0.4 square mile (1.1 km2) (4.10%) is water. It is drained by the Cochato River and Blue Hill River, which flow into the Neponset River.