Famous People-1

Famous People-2

Fun Things to Do Great Places to Eat Historic Buildings

History – 1

History -2

Religious Institutions

Town Buildings Town Statistics

Shoe Industry Shoe Pictures Video of RandolphMaps

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Town Statistics

• State of Massachusetts• Norfolk County• Precinct 10• Population in 2010 – 32,000• Size – 10.2 square miles• Demographics 2010 --- White – 41% Non-

White – 59%• Median Income – $66,000. 00• State Representative – Walter Timilty• State Senator – William Joyce• Congressman – Michael Capuano• US Senators – Elizabeth Warren and ?

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Town Buildings Town Hall and Police Station This building used the be the Stetson High School

Library Fire Station

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History

The first people to live in the area that we call Randolph were descendants of Native Americans from the Wampanoag tribes. The Wampanoag Chief sold the land to help pay for a war!At first Randolph was part of Braintree along with Holbrook.In 1726 the new settlers petitioned for the right to make a new precinct “or town.”The town is named after Peyton Randolph.

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History – Part 2• Started as a farming community but it

was hard to grow crops because there was too much granite.

• People started making shoes in their homes to make extra money.

• The shoe industry grew.• Randolph was a big shoe

manufacturing town by 1850.• The railroad helped them move the

shoes to stores.• They made boots and shoes for

miners and workers all over the country.

• Most companies moved to Brocton and the town became more suburban.

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Shoe Industry• The shoe industry started in people’s homes in the

late 1700’s.• Soon small shoe companies started up in Randolph.• The shoe companies made mostly boots and sold

them across the country and to Cuba.• Shoe box companies started in Randolph to make

boxes for the shoes.• More shoes were made when a railroad station was

made in Randolph.• The shoe business started to go down during the Civil

War in the 1860’s because many men went to war and the small companies could not compete with the large companies in Brocton.

• Many shoe companies changed business and started making other things like cigar and candy boxes, precut homes, and sneakers.

• The last shoe company, Randy’s, closed its doors in 1975.

HomeClick the shoe picture for pictures of shoes made in Randolph.

Shoe PicturesOld Work Books

Old Boots

Randy’s Sneakers

Randy’s Sneakers

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Famous People

Mary Eleanor Wilkins FreemanMary was born in Randolph, Massachusetts on October 31, 1852. She had a very strict childhood and her parents were very religious. She lived most of her life in Randolph and Vermont.

Mary wrote stories and poems for children while she was a teenager to help support her family. She was once a secretary to Oliver Wendell Holmes. When she became interested in ghosts and the supernatural, she wrote some scary short stories. Mary wrote many stores that showed what life was like in New England and she received several awards for her books. She married Charles Freeman in 1902. She died on March 13, 1930.

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Martin E. Young

Martin was born on January 5, 1896 in Randolph. He graduated from Stetson High School in 1913 and he graduated from Stratton College. During WWII he served with the medical corps in France. After the war Martin worked for his father, Eddy C Young, founder and owner of a company that made precut buildings. Martin had always been interested in helping others and was a member of many groups that did that. During his life in Randolph he held just about every job in town. He was also a state rep. He got many awards and accolades. He died in 1963. They built the Young School in 1968 in his honor.

More Famous PeopleEbenezer Belcher

Peyton Randolph

Ebenezer Belcher was born on December 16, 1778 in Braintree, MA, and died July 26, 1838 in Randolph, MA. He married Eulalia Nash on August 7, 1800 in Randolph, MA.Ebenezer was one of the early shoemakers in Randolph. He made shoes and work boots for local farmers and he mended them as well. Transportation was scarce. He had a wagon and let others use his wagon to carry their goods. In 1837 he was one of the town leaders who asked for Randolph to be separated from Holbrook. This was not accomplished until 1872. Jonathan Belcher was one of his sons and Jonathan built Belcher House.

The town of Randolph is most likely named after Peyton Randolph. He was born in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1721 and he never lived in Randolph. He was the first president of the Continental Congress before the Revolutionary War. He was against unfair taxes and worked for American Independence. He died in 1775.

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Historic Places to Visit• Belcher House

• Stetson Hall

• Ponkapog

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Click a place name for more information.

Click a picture to enlarge it.

BELCHER HOUSE

The Jonathan Belcher House is a historic house in Randolph, MA.The house was built in 1806 by Jonathan Belcher and his wife Abigail. Their grand daughter, Abigail Tower Tarbell, gave the house to The Ladies Library Association in 1911; the Association later changed its name to the Randolph Women,s Club, whose home it is today. The house is used for weddings and other events and is occasionally open to the public.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 30, 1976.Some activities that are held here include Easter egg hunts, Christmas showcases, and the Strawberry Festival.

STETSON HALL

Stetson Hall was built in 1842 as a gift to the town from boot namufacturer, Amasa Stetson. It had space for town offices. It was used as the high school until 1902. The auditorium was used to show movies for 10 cents in the 1920’s. Renovations to the building were completed in 2009. It is now used as a community center and office building.

PONKAPOG POND

The first near-Boston Applachian Mountain Club camp opened in July, 1921. You can rent cabins, swim, fish, and hike here. You can also take a walk on the Bog Walk.

Click HERE to see the walk in the winter.

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Fun Places and Things to Do

• Imagination Station Playground• Zaputus Ice Rink• Movie Theater• Lazer Zone• High School Pool• Ponkapog Pond• Summer Camp• Fourth of July Parade

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CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES

Good Places to EatHome

FAT CACTUS

DADDY’S DAIRY

DAIRY BARN

LINWOOD’S PIZZA

CORNER STORE

Religious Institutions

Jewish Temple

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Congregational Church

Episcopal Church

Catholic Church

Baptist Church

Baraca Evangelical Baptist Church