Massachusetts: Consolidated Chronology of State and County Boundaries

10 April 1606

King James I chartered two Virginia companies, headquartered in different English cities, to establish colonies along the coast of North America: the Virginia Company of London, assigned coast between 34 degrees and 41 degrees north latitude; and the Virginia Company of Plymouth, assigned coast between 38 degrees and 45 degrees north latitude, including present Massachusetts and Maine. Colonies of the two companies were to be at least 100 miles apart, even in area of overlapping grants. (Paullin, pl. 42; Swindler, 10:17-23; Van Zandt, 92)

3 November 1620

King James I replaced the charter to the Virginia Company of Plymouth with a charter for a Council for New England to establish colonies in a region between 40 degrees and 48 degrees north latitude and extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, including present Massachusetts and Maine. (Swindler, 5:16-26)

25 December 1620

The Pilgrims and other colonists aboard the Mayflower decided to settle at the place that became Plymouth, Massachusetts. Because their land grant was from the Virginia Company of London and they had landed in a region outside the authority of that company, their plantation had no specified or recognized limits and no governmental authority. The Pilgrims acquired a new land patent for their settlement on 1 June 1621. (Andrews, 1:259, 272, 279)

20 August 1622

The Council for New England granted to Ferdinando Gorges and John Mason all land along the Atlantic coast between the Merrimack and Sagadahoc (now Kennebec) Rivers, to be called the province of Maine. It covered the eastern part of present New Hampshire and the southwestern part of present Maine. (Andrews, 1:334; Swindler, 4:264)

4 March 1629

[4 March 1628/1629] King Charles I chartered the Massachusetts Bay Company to establish a colony in the territory stretching from three miles north of the Merrimack River ("to the Northward of any and every Parte thereof") to three miles south of the Charles River and extending westward from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific Ocean. The northern limit was in dispute and Massachusetts claimed a line three miles north of the source of the Merrimack River, which would have included part of present New Hampshire and Maine. Map depicts the modern northern and western limits of Massachusetts. (Andrews, 1:359; Paullin, 26, pl. 42; Swindler, 5:32-42)

7 November 1629

After Ferdinando Gorges and John Mason divided their 1622 land grant, the Council for New England granted to John Mason the territory to be called New Hampshire, lying between the Merrimack and Piscataqua Rivers and extending up to 60 miles inland from the coast. The remainder of the 1622 grant between the Piscataqua and Kennebec Rivers was left to Gorges and continued to be known as Maine. (Swindler, 6:304)

13 January 1630

[13 January 1629/1630] The Council for New England (chartered to establish colonies between 40 degrees and 48 degrees north latitude) issued a new land patent (the "Old Charter") that granted land title and trading rights, but no powers of government, to New Plymouth Colony for the area east of Narragansett Bay and south of a line from the Pawtucket (now Blackstone) River to the mouth of the Cohasset River. New Plymouth Colony included part of present Rhode Island. (Andrews, 1:295; Paullin, 28, pl. 43A; Swindler, 5:28)

26 June 1630

The Council for New England patented the Province of Lygonia, consisting of a square territory south and west of the Sagadahoc (now Kennebec) River measuring 40 miles long and 40 miles wide. Lygonia overlapped part of Maine (area between the Kennebec and Piscataqua Rivers). The patent included "power to make Laws &c." [not mapped]. (Farnham, 7:134)

1633

Residents of the town of Exeter (N.H.) and nearby settlements in southern New Hampshire, under the mistaken belief that they were located outside New Hampshire, placed themselves under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts [not mapped]. (Morison and Morison, 12)

7 June 1635

The Council for New England, faced with competition from Massachusetts and less success than expected in managing its own colonies, tried to protect the interests of its principal members, including Ferdinando Gorges (for Maine) and John Mason (for New Hampshire), by first distributing all its land among them and then, on this date, surrendering its charter to the crown. Members hoped the king would a) confirm the land grants they had made to themselves, b) abrogate the Massachusetts charter, and c) create a new royal colony for all of New England with Gorges as its governor. Technically, this threw all of New England, outside of Massachusetts, under the direct jurisdiction of the crown, but some earlier grants remained effective. (Preston, 305)

3 April 1639

King Charles I granted Maine to Ferdinando Gorges as a proprietary colony. Territory included the area in present western Maine between the Piscataqua and Kennebec Rivers inland (up river) 120 miles from the Atlantic coast, plus two islands south of Cape Cod in present Massachusetts: Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Thomas Gorges, a distant relative of Ferdinando Gorges, established a government in 1640, and created several "counties" (without specified names or boundaries), and conducted the colony's affairs until annexation by Massachusetts in 1652 [not mapped]. (Preston, 321-322, 334, 344; Swindler, 4:269)

9 June 1640

Massachusetts and New Plymouth agreed on the course of their mutual boundary from the mouth of Bound Brook at the Cohasset marshes through Accord Pond to a point three miles south of the Charles River, a refinement of their charter boundary descriptions. (Bradford, 426)

14 June 1641

Massachusetts gained all of New Hampshire when the colonists there voluntarily accepted Massachusetts's jurisdiction; there had been no effective government or judicial system there since the dissolution of the Council for New England and the death of John Mason, New Hampshire's principal land holder [not mapped]. (Swindler, 6:319)

October 1641

Thomas Mayhew of Watertown, Mass., and his son, Thomas Mayhew, purchased title to Nantucket Island, Martha's Vineyard, and the Elizabeth Islands from both claiments to the islands: Lord Stirling and Ferdinando Gorges. The Mayhews governed the islands, which remained outside the control of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and New York until the 1660s [not mapped]. (Banks, 1:80-84, 131-138)

1642

Nathaniel Woodward and Solomon Saffrey officially demarcated the southern limit of Massachusetts, three miles south of the Charles River, as prescribed in its charter of 1628/1629, implicitly setting its boundary with Connecticut and Rhode Island. (Hooker, 16-17; Van Zandt, 66-67)

Massachusetts, responding to a request from disgruntled Rhode Islanders, extended its jurisdiction over the settlement at Pawtuxet. (Arnold, 1:111)

10 May 1643

Massachusetts created four original counties: ESSEX, MIDDLESEX, NORFOLK (original, extinct), and SUFFOLK. NORFOLK included territory in Massachusetts and the New Hampshire settlements; SUFFOLK included territory in the northeast corner of present Rhode Island. Non-County Area 1 was created in Massachusetts Colony. It consisted of unsettled, unorganized area covering the western half of the province. (Mass. Recs., 2:38)

1644

Based upon its participation with Connecticut and New Plymouth in the Pequot War (1636-1637), Massachusetts claimed much of the territory formerly controlled by the Pequots, roughly between the Thames and Pawcatuck Rivers at the eastern end of present Connecticut, plus Block Island in present Rhode Island. Massachusetts established a settlement (now Pawcatuck, Conn.) near the mouth of the Pawcatuck River [not mapped]. (Bowen, Disputes, 31)

27 August 1645

Massachusetts claimed to have secured a patent for the whole area of Rhode Island on 10 December 1643, and subsequently tried to enforce its authority in the western and southwestern parts of Rhode Island. This patent was later deemed invalid and possibly fraudulent. (Arnold, 1:118-119)

March 1646

[March 1645/1646] The Province of Lygonia gained from Maine when the English government settled the jurisdictional dispute between the two provinces in favor of Lygonia, effectively reducing Maine to a few settlements between the Piscataqua and Kennebec Rivers [not mapped]. (Williamson, 1:302)

26 May 1652

Massachusetts declared an interpretation of its 1628/1629 charter that would make its northern boundary an east-west line through a point three miles north of the most northerly part of the Merrimack River, which it decided later (1 August 1652) was the parallel of 43 degrees, 40 minutes, 12 seconds north latitude, cutting the Atlantic Coast near present Casco Bay, Maine. Massachusetts used this interpretation to claim part of Maine and, until 1740, to create a few towns in present southern Vermont and southwestern New Hampshire [not mapped]. (Van Zandt, 64; Williamson, 1:337)

20 November 1652

Massachusetts created YORKSHIRE (now YORK, Me.) in Maine after southern Maine towns (area between the Kennebec and Piscataqua Rivers) acknowledged Massachusetts's jurisdiction over all territory within the new boundaries that it declared on 26 May 1652. Towns located farther north near Casco Bay gave their allegiance later, the last in 1658, practically eliminating the Province of Lygonia. The Massachusetts claim conflicted with the 1635 grant of Maine to Ferdinando Gorges. (Farnham, 7:274, 288; Mass. Recs., vol. 4, pt. 1:124; Reid, Maine, 21)

26 May 1658

ESSEX gained small area (15 acres) from MIDDLESEX when town of Andover gained from town of Billerica [location unknown, not mapped]. (Mass. Recs., vol. 4, pt. 1:333)

The Pawtuxet settlers, who gave their allegiance to Massachusetts in 1642, returned to Rhode Island jurisdiction. (Arnold, 1:267)

18 September 1658

Commissioners of the United Colonies of New England, a confederation of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Haven, and New Plymouth, tried to settle the dispute between Connecticut and Massachusetts over the Pequot Country (area in present eastern Connecticut) when it decided the Mystic River was the boundary between the two colonies, leaving Massachusetts with the territory between the Mystic and Pawcatuck Rivers in present eastern Connecticut. Massachusetts asserted that the Pequot Country extended well east of the Pawcatuck into present western Rhode Island, a claim Rhode Island resisted, but Massachusetts imposed its authority on both sides of the Pawcatuck for the next several years [not mapped]. (Arnold, 1:277-278; Bowen, Disputes, 32)

23 April 1662

King Charles II granted Connecticut a charter as a self-governing corporate colony. Boundaries included the southern Massachusetts line on the north, with an eastern boundary at Narragansett Bay, overlapping part of the Rhode Island patent. Massachusetts and Rhode Island did not concede their claims to territory between the Pawcatuck River and Narragansett Bay (the Narragansett Country), but Connecticut quickly took control of the area. (Bowen, Disputes, 32; Swindler, 2:135-136)

7 May 1662

HAMPSHIRE created from Non-County Area 1 (towns of Springfield, Northampton, Hadley, and all territory within 30 miles), effectively covering the entire western part of the province. (Mass. Recs., vol. 4, pt. 2:52)

8 July 1663

New Plymouth Colony and SUFFOLK lost to Rhode Island Colony when King Charles II granted Rhode Island a charter as a self-governing corporate colony. New Plymouth Colony still included part of present Rhode Island; SUFFOLK eliminated from Rhode Island. (Bowen, Disputes, 33; Swindler, 8:368)

12 March 1664

[12 March 1663/1664] King Charles II granted to the Duke of York the following: all territory between the Connecticut and Delaware Rivers; the islands of Long Island, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket; and the area between the Kennebec and St. Croix Rivers extending inland from the Atlantic coast to the St. Lawrence River. This grant covered most of present Maine, the major coastal islands, and the western third of the mainland in present Massachusetts. (Swindler, 4:278-280)

May 1664

New Plymouth Colony gained from SUFFOLK and Rhode Island Colony when a joint commission from Massachusetts and Plymouth demarcated their mutual boundary ("Old Colony Line"). (Bradford, 427 n.)

8 June 1664

New Plymouth Colony protested that Rhode Island's new charter infringed upon Plymouth's territory under its 1629/1630 patent. (Arnold, 1:308)

September 1664

In the fall of 1664, royal commissioners tried to settle the implicit conflict between the recent grant (12 March 1663/1664) of New York to the Duke of York and the western limit of Massachusetts, as specified in its 1629 charter, by proposing a boundary line running 20 miles east of the Hudson River. While never formalized, this proposal was widely accepted in principle but did not prevent a long, serious dispute between the two colonies. (Schwarz, 20; Van Zandt, 70)

19 October 1664

Massachusetts, faced with new charters for Connecticut and Rhode Island, gave up its claim to Block Island in present Rhode Island and to the Pequot Country east of Connecticut's Mystic River and around the Pawcatuck River. (Arnold, 1:308)

November 1664

In November 1664, YORKSHIRE (now YORK, Me.) went into abeyance after representatives of the Gorges family rejected Massachusetts's claim and resumed government of Maine (area between the Kennebec and Piscataqua Rivers). (York County, 2:5)

27 February 1665

[27 February 1664/1665] New Plymouth Colony and SUFFOLK gained from Rhode Island Colony when royal boundary commissioners set the provincial boundaries of Massachusetts, New Plymouth, and Rhode Island along the Blackstone River and the east side of Narragansett Bay, pending a conclusive royal decision. (Arnold, 1:315)

8 April 1665

Royal boundary commissioners decided the dispute over the Narragansett Country (present southwestern Rhode Island) by dismissing Massachusetts's claim and placing the area directly under royal jurisdiction. They created King's Province and gave Rhode Island temporary control over this new province pending a conclusive royal decision. Connecticut's claim to the area slipped into abeyance. (Arnold, 1:315; James, 86-87; Potter, 178, 181)

23 June 1665

Royal commissioners replaced Gorges's jurisdiction over Maine (between the Kennebec and Piscataqua Rivers) with a new government under direct authority of the crown. (Farnham, 7:308)

5 September 1665

CORNWALL (N.Y., extinct) created by New York to cover all of the Duke of York's grant between the Kennebec and St. Croix Rivers in present Maine and Quebec, Canada [not mapped here; see Maine and New York]. (Williamson, 1:421)

21 July 1667

The Peace of Breda, between England and France and the Netherlands, confirmed the English conquest of New York from the Dutch in 1664 and transferred Acadia (now Nova Scotia) from English to French control, including a fort on the Penobscot River in present Maine. Actual transfer of Acadia did not occur until 1670. (Farnham, 7:311, 314; Parry, 10:231)

27 May 1668

Massachusetts reasserted authority over all of Maine west of the Kennebec River, an area that had been put under royal government in June 1665. YORK (Me., formerly called YORKSHIRE) was reinstated. (Farnham, 7:317)

19 May 1669

HAMPSHIRE gained from non-county area in Connecticut when the town of Westfield (now Southwick) was created from the town of Springfield. Part of Westfield extended into Connecticut, the result of disagreement over the line between Connecticut and Massachusetts. (Bowen, Disputes, 53-58; Mass. Recs., vol. 4, pt. 2:432)

1670

England surrendered to France the forts of Acadia (now Nova Scotia), including one on the Penobscot River in present Maine. France claimed the remainder of territory east of the Kennebec River in present Maine. (Farnham, 7:312; Hart, 1:511)

by 7 October 1673

Massachusetts, relying on a new survey of its northern limit and responding to the Dutch capture of New York in August 1673, claimed some of the Duke of York's grant east of the Kennebec River in present Maine (including the Pemaquid settlement) and created an unnamed county that on 27 May 1675 was named DEVONSHIRE (Mass., extinct). This unnamed county overlapped part of CORNWALL (N.Y., extinct), but the Duke of York did not recognize the Massachusetts claim. (Mass. Recs., 5:16; Reid, Maine, 138; Williamson, 1:443)

3 June 1674

HAMPSHIRE gained non-county area in Connecticut when the town of Suffield was created. Suffield was entirely within present Connecticut, the result of uncertain geographical knowledge and disagreement over the boundary between the colonies. (Bowen, Disputes, 53-58; Mass. Recs., 5:13)

29 June 1674

Following the Treaty of Westminster (9 February 1673/1674) that ended the Anglo-Dutch War and restored New York to the English, King Charles II regranted to the Duke of York the territory he had granted on 12 March 1663/1664, including all territory between the Connecticut and Delaware Rivers, the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, and the area between the Kennebec and St. Croix Rivers extending inland from the Atlantic coast to the St. Lawrence River. The grant covered most of present Maine; part of Quebec, Canada; both the major coastal islands; and the western third of the mainland in present Massachusetts. DEVONSHIRE (extinct) continued to operate for settlements in present Maine situated east of the Kennebec River, although they were within the formally defined jurisdiction of New York's CORNWALL (N.Y., extinct). (Parry, 13:136; Swindler, 4:282; Williamson, 1:446)

September 1675

In the fall of 1675, DEVONSHIRE (extinct) was apparently eliminated when war broke out between the Abnaki Indians and the English in present Maine. New York's CORNWALL (N.Y., extinct) also ceased to exist. (Williamson, 1:446)

20 July 1677

YORK (Me.) continued as a de facto county in present southwestern Maine after England's Committee for Trade and Plantations ruled that the 1639 proprietary grant of Maine (area between the Kennebec and Piscataqua Rivers) to Ferdinando Gorges was valid and that Massachusetts had exceeded the intent of its charter by extending its jurisdiction more than three miles north of where the Merrimack River meets the Atlantic coast. (Farnham, 7:339)

15 March 1678

[15 March 1677/1678] Massachusetts purchased the proprietary rights granted in 1635 to Ferdinando Gorges, an attempt to legitimatize the extension of its jurisdiction northeastward to the Kennebec River in present New Hampshire and Maine. (Farnham, 7:350)

18 September 1679

ESSEX gained towns of Amesbury, Haverhill, and Salisbury from NORFOLK (original) when King Charles II made New Hampshire a royal colony separate from Massachusetts; NORFOLK (original) eliminated. (Swindler, 6:322; Van Zandt, 61)

17 March 1680

[17 March 1679/1680] YORK (Me.) eliminated when Massachusetts organized a new government for Maine (area between the Piscataqua and Kennebec Rivers) in accordance with terms of Ferdinando Gorges's 1635 grant. (Farnham, 7:356; Williamson, 1:556, 563)

16 May 1683

HAMPSHIRE gained non-county area in Connecticut when the town of Enfield was created. Most of Enfield was in present Connecticut, the result of uncertain geographical knowledge and disagreement over the boundary between the colonies. (Bowen, Disputes, 53-58; Mass. Recs., 5:410-411)

1 November 1683

DUKES (N.Y., extinct) created by New York, in present Massachusetts, from the Elizabeth Islands, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Island. New York re-created CORNWALL (N.Y., extinct) to cover all of the Duke of York's grant in present Maine and Quebec, including the Pemaquid settlement governed since 1674 by Massachusetts [not mapped here; see Maine and New York]. (N.Y. Col. Laws, ch. 4/1:122)

18 June 1684

England's Court of Chancery annulled the Massachusetts charter, technically putting Massachusetts and Maine (area between New Hampshire and the Kennebec River) directly under the authority of the crown. Actual transfer of authority occurred when the royal governor arrived 17 May 1686. (Farnham, 7:359; Van Zandt, 66)

2 June 1685

New Plymouth Colony created three original counties: BARNSTABLE, BRISTOL, and PLYMOUTH to cover all non-county area in New Plymouth. BRISTOL included part of present Rhode Island. (Ply. Laws, ch. 6/p. 19)

17 May 1686

The arrival of its first royal governor inaugurated the Dominion of New England, the new single province that King James II created (8 October 1685) by uniting King's Province (present southwestern Rhode Island, formerly termed Narragansett Country), Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine (area between New Hampshire and the Kennebec River). No changes were made in counties. (Farnham, 7:367; Hart, 1:573; N.H. Early Laws, 1:99; Williamson, 1:576)

20 December 1686

The new royal governor of the Dominion of New England added New Plymouth Colony and territory east of the Kennebec River ("Country of Pemaquid") to the Dominion, according to his commission (3 June 1686) and royal order (12 September 1686). No changes were made in counties. (Barnes, 69; N.H. Early Laws, 1:144)

1 April 1687

In the spring of 1687, CORNWALL (N.Y.) was eliminated when the area was incorporated into the Dominion of New England, a new province into which New York, New Jersey, and the New England colonies eventually were consolidated. (Barnes, 69; N.H. Early Laws, 1:144)

18 April 1689

Upon learning of the Glorious Revolution (replacement of King James II by King William III and Queen Mary II) in England, Bostonians imprisoned the royal governor and others, thereby ending the Dominion of New England. Massachusetts resumed self-government and attempted to re-establish its authority in southern Maine, but a new war between England and France left the area east of New Hampshire either in turmoil or under French control until the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697. (Craven, 224; Morris and Kelly, pl. 11)

22 April 1689

New Plymouth Colony reinstated its former government after the fall of the Dominion of New England. (Craven, 225)

15 March 1690

[15 March 1689/1690] SUFFOLK gained non-county area in Connecticut when Massachusetts created the town of Woodstock. Woodstock lay almost entirely within present Connecticut, the result of uncertain geographical knowledge and disagreement over the line between the two colonies. (Bowen, Disputes, 53-58; Bowen, Woodstock, 1:31)

19 March 1690

[19 March 1689/1690] Massachusetts formally extended its jurisdiction over New Hampshire, which had petitioned (20 February 1689/1690) for the annexation as a means to fill the governmental void left by the fall of the Dominion of New England [not mapped]. (N.H. Early Laws, 1:261, 371)

7 October 1691

King William III and Queen Mary II issued a new charter for the province of Massachusetts Bay, extending its boundaries to encompass New Plymouth Colony; Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard; and the former colonies of Maine (area between the Kennebec and Piscataqua Rivers); Acadia (now Nova Scotia); and all remaining territory of present Maine between Acadia and the Kennebec River. This legitimized Massachusetts control of Maine; YORK (Me.) was reinstated. ESSEX, HAMPSHIRE, MIDDLESEX, and SUFFOLK continued under the new Massachusetts Bay provincial charter [no change]. BARNSTABLE, BRISTOL, and PLYMOUTH became Massachusetts Bay Colony counties when Massachusetts Bay absorbed New Plymouth Colony [no change]. DUKES (N.Y., extinct) was eliminated. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 1, ch. 27 [1692-1693], sec. 1/p. 63; Swindler, 5:80)

1 March 1692

[1 March 1691/1692] King William III and Queen Mary II commissioned a royal governor for New Hampshire, effectively separating it from Massachusetts. Jurisdiction extended from three miles north of the Merrimack River to the Piscataqua River, but, as in 1679, no western limit was specified. Both Massachusetts and New Hampshire granted land and established towns in present New Hampshire west of the Merrimack River, often in conflict with each other. (N.H. State Papers, 2:57)

22 June 1695

DUKES created from non-county area in Massachusetts Bay Colony (Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands). NANTUCKET created from non-county area in Massachusetts Bay Colony (Nantucket Island). (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 1, ch. 7 [1695-1696]/p. 216)

20 September 1697

Acadia (now Nova Scotia) was effectively separated from Massachusetts and confirmed to France by the Treaty of Ryswick that ended King William's War between England and France and restored the pre-war empires. No boundaries were specified and France threw the jurisdiction of present Maine into doubt by claiming all territory east of the Kennebec River. (Farnham, 8:29; Hart, 2:76-77)

1705

The northern boundary of Rhode Island with Massachusetts came into question when the towns of Providence (R.I.) and Mendon (Mass.) complained of the line's uncertain location. Commissioners redefined the boundary in 1711 but it was never surveyed. The effective division between the colonies continued along the present line west of the Pawtucket (now Blackstone) River and down that river south to the Seekonk River. (Arnold, 2:18, 26-27)

19 November 1707

PLYMOUTH gained town of Rochester from BARNSTABLE. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 21, ch. 60 [1707]/p. 755)

29 October 1708

PLYMOUTH gained small non-county area between BRISTOL and PLYMOUTH [not mapped]. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 21, ch. 76 [1708]/p. 767)

18 March 1712

[18 March 1711/1712] The "Old Colony Line" that divided Massachusetts and New Plymouth when they were separate colonies was declared the boundary separating SUFFOLK from BRISTOL and PLYMOUTH [no change]. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 21, ch. 152 [1711]/p. 799)

15 April 1713

Following the Treaty of Utrecht (31 March 1713), by which Acadia (now Nova Scotia) was formally transferred from France to Great Britain, Massachusetts lost nominal jurisdiction over Nova Scotia when that area was made a separate province. Limits specified in the treaty ("ancient boundaries") were vague, but from this date Massachusetts held actual control of territory west of the St. Croix River, that is, present Maine. (Farnham, 8:33; Gipson, 3:29 n.74, 5:334)

13 July 1713

Agents of Connecticut and Massachusetts accepted a 1702 survey as the definitive rendition of their mutual chartered limits east of the Connecticut River (substantially the same as the present line and up to eight miles north of the Woodward-Saffrey line of 1642). They also agreed that Massachusetts would retain its jurisdiction over the border towns of Enfield and Woodstock that it had formed when the 1642 line was believed accurate, even though those towns extended south of the new line into Connecticut's territory. This agreement was accepted by both colonies but never confirmed by London. Demarcation of the new line was completed in 1717. (Bowen, Disputes, 58; Hooker, 20)

26 June 1716

YORK (Me.) gained all Massachusetts territory between the Kennebec and St. Croix Rivers in present Maine. Northern limit was indefinite. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 9, ch. 75 [1716-1717]/p. 485)

1717

Commissioners from Connecticut and Massachusetts settled their boundary from the Connecticut River westward to New York. Massachusetts retained its jurisdiction over the border towns of Suffield and Westfield, which it had created earlier and which extended south of the line into Connecticut. (Bowen, Disputes, 59)

1729

Renewal of the boundary dispute between Rhode Island and Massachusetts was sparked by a petition for annexation to Rhode Island by some citizens of the town of Attleborough (Mass.), who believed they resided west of the provincial boundary prescribed in Rhode Island's 1663 charter, which was indefinitely set aside by royal commissioners in 1664. Several attempts to settle the issue failed, and in 1733 Rhode Island appealed to the king. (Arnold, 2:99, 101, 113)

10 July 1731

WORCESTER created from HAMPSHIRE, MIDDLESEX, and SUFFOLK; WORCESTER included the town of Woodstock in Connecticut. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 2, ch. 8 [1730-1731], sec. 1/p. 584)

29 June 1732

MIDDLESEX exchanged with WORCESTER when town of Harvard was created from towns of Groton, Lancaster, and Stow. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 2, ch. 4 [1732-1733], sec. 1/p. 644)

14 June 1735

WORCESTER gained small area from MIDDLESEX when town of Upton was created from town of Hopkinton. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 2, ch. 11 [1735-1736], sec. 1/p. 764)

5 August 1740

King George II settled the lines between Massachusetts and New Hampshire substantially as they are today. The eastern boundary of New Hampshire went up the Piscataqua and Salmon Falls Rivers and thence on a straight line north to a point 120 miles inland or, if closer, the limit of the colony. The southern boundary of New Hampshire was to run three miles north of the Merrimack River from the coast westward to a point north of Pautucket Falls (now Lowell, Mass.) and thence in a straight line west to New York. Demarcation of the southern boundary of New Hampshire in 1741 actually ran a little north of west, an error that later occasioned some controversy but has remained unchanged to the present. (Farnham, 8:47; Van Zandt, 59)

16 January 1742

[16 January 1741/1742] WORCESTER gained from HAMPSHIRE when town of Western (now Warren) was created from towns of Brookfield, Brimfield, and Kingsfield. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 2, ch. 17 [1741-1742], sec. 2/p. 1088)

28 May 1746

King George II settled the dispute between Massachusetts and Rhode Island in favor of Rhode Island by confirming the judgment of a royal commission that had decided (30 June 1741) on a line substantially the same as that prescribed in Rhode Island's 1663 charter. As a result, Rhode Island gained its present northeast corner (the "Attleborough Gore") and a three-mile wide strip east of Narragansett Bay. Decision was implemented in 1747. (Arnold, 2:132-134)

17 February 1747

[17 February 1746/1747] BRISTOL lost to NEWPORT (R.I.) and PROVIDENCE (R.I.), and lost to creation of BRISTOL (R.I.) when Rhode Island implemented the 1746 royal settlement of the boundary with Massachusetts. BRISTOL still included part of present Rhode Island, and NEWPORT (R.I.) included part of present Massachusetts. SUFFOLK lost to PROVIDENCE (R.I.) when Rhode Island implemented the 1746 royal settlement; SUFFOLK eliminated from Rhode Island. (Arnold, 2:157; R. I. Recs., 5:207-209)

May 1749

HAMPSHIRE lost the towns of Enfield, Somers (formerly part of Enfield), and Suffield to Connecticut when Connecticut responded to the towns' request for annexation and extended jurisdiction over the area south of the 1713 provincial line. HAMPSHIRE continued to control a small part of Southwick that extended into Connecticut. WORCESTER lost town of Woodstock to Connecticut when Connecticut extended jurisdiction over the area south of the 1713 provincial line; WORCESTER eliminated from Connecticut. (Bowen, Disputes, 62; Hooker, 22, 26)

October 1750

Rhode Island surveyors, acting without the cooperation of Massachusetts to demarcate the lines confirmed by the king in 1746, discovered that the 1642 Woodward-Saffrey line, recognized for a century as the southern line of Massachusetts, ran far south of where it should have been according to the original Massachusetts charter. Except for occasional protestations, Rhode Island did not push the issue to a resolution during the colonial period. In 1846 a U.S. Supreme Court ruling left the line unchanged because it had functioned so long as the effective boundary. (Arnold, 2:183, 299 n.; Van Zandt, 67)

12 April 1753

HAMPSHIRE boundaries were redefined to cover all territory west of the Connecticut River [no change]. WORCESTER boundaries were redefined to cover all adjacent territory not already specifically part of another county [no change]. YORK (Me.) boundaries were redefined to cover all territory east of New Hampshire that was not specifically part of any other Massachusetts county [no change]. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 3, ch. 27 [1752-1753]/p. 656)

9 June 1756

Boundary between HAMPSHIRE and WORCESTER was adjusted when the dispute between the towns of Greenwich (extinct) and Hardwick was settled [no discernible change]. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 15, ch. 51 [1756-1757]/p. 550)

1 November 1760

CUMBERLAND (Me.) and LINCOLN (Me.) created by Massachusetts from YORK (Me.). (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 4, ch. 7 [1760-1761], secs. 1, 2, 6/pp. 372-374)

30 June 1761

BERKSHIRE created from HAMPSHIRE; BERKSHIRE included a small area of present New York. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 4, ch. 33 [1760-1761], sec. 1/p. 432)

7 October 1763

CUMBERLAND (Me.), LINCOLN (Me.), and YORK (Me.) were extended northward to the Atlantic watershed when King George III created the new royal province of Quebec, which was bounded on the south by the watershed between the St. Lawrence River and the Atlantic Ocean. This implicitly set the northern limit of Maine. (Cappon, Petchenik, and Long, 1, 77; Shortt and Doughty, 119-120)

5 January 1764

WORCESTER gained small area from HAMPSHIRE when town of Western (now Warren) gained from town of Palmer. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 17, ch. 14 [1764-1765]/p. 516)

5 February 1765

HAMPSHIRE gained small area from WORCESTER when town of Greenwich (extinct) gained from town of Hardwick. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 17, ch. 218 [1764-1765]/p. 603)

6 March 1767

MIDDLESEX gained small area from WORCESTER when town of Ashby was created from towns of Fitchburg and Ashburnham [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1767_pt. for location]. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 4, ch. 15 [1766-1767]/p. 908)

30 June 1768

HAMPSHIRE gained from BERKSHIRE when town of Worthington was created from Plantation #3. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 4, ch. 16 [1768], sec. 1/p. 1028)

20 November 1770

PLYMOUTH gained small area from SUFFOLK when town of Bridgewater gained from town of Stoughton to accommodate local property owners [location unknown, not mapped]. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 5, ch. 15 [1770-1771], sec. 1/p. 116)

18 May 1773

Massachusetts and New York agreed on the course of their boundary (a straight line roughly parallel to and 20 miles east of the Hudson River, in accord with the informal agreement of 1664), thereby ending over a century of uncertainty and dispute. The line was demarcated in 1787 [no change]. (Cappon, Petchenik, and Long, 89; Schwarz, 220; Van Zandt, 70)

1774

HARTFORD (Conn.) gained from HAMPSHIRE when Connecticut unilaterally took over a small part of the town of Southwick that extended south of the 1713 provincial boundary. HARTFORD included a small area of Massachusetts. (Bowen, Disputes, 65; Hooker, 25)

4 July 1776

Massachusetts, including the area of Maine, became an independent state. (Declaration of Independence)

23 June 1779

HAMPSHIRE gained from BERKSHIRE when town of Cummington was created from Plantation #5. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 5, ch. 6 [1779-1780], sec. 1/pp. 1072-1073)

25 February 1783

MIDDLESEX gained from WORCESTER when town of Boxborough gained from town of Harvard. (Mass. Acts 1783, ch. 8, sec. 1/p. 214)

12 March 1783

HAMPSHIRE gained from BERKSHIRE when town of Middlefield was created from towns of Worthington, Chester, Partridgefield (now Peru), Becket, Washington, and Prescott's Grant (now Middlefield). (Mass. Acts 1783, ch. 19, sec. 1/p. 228)

3 September 1783

Commissioners from Great Britain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris (ratifications exchanged 12 May 1784) ending the War of the American Revolution, recognizing American independence, and defining the northern U.S. boundary around Maine as the St. Croix River to the Atlantic watershed and thence westward to the parallel of 45 degrees north latitude. Later treaties and surveys settled details of this boundary (and some disputes over them), but there were no later changes in its essential definition. (Parry, 48:481-486; Van Zandt, 12)

9 October 1783

HARTFORD (Conn.) lost the town of Colchester to NEW LONDON (Conn.); area in Massachusetts was unchanged. (Conn. St. Recs., 5:220, 281, 378, 384)

15 October 1783

HAMPSHIRE gained from WORCESTER when town of Orange was created from towns of Athol and Royalston. (Mass. Acts 1783, ch. 2, sec. 1/p. 38)

16 March 1784

WORCESTER gained small area from MIDDLESEX when town of Berlin was created from towns of Marlborough, Northborough, and Bolton. (Mass. Acts 1784, ch. 23, sec. 1/p. 98)

9 February 1785

HAMPSHIRE gained from BERKSHIRE when town of Rowe was created from the Myrifield Grant and non-town territory. (Mass. Acts 1785, ch. 2, sec. 1/p. 230)

12 May 1785

HARTFORD (Conn.) lost to creation of MIDDLESEX (Conn.); area in Massachusetts was unchanged. (Conn. St. Recs., 6:10-11)

13 October 1785

HARTFORD (Conn.) lost to creation of TOLLAND (Conn.); area in Massachusetts was unchanged. (Conn. St. Recs., 6:93)

3 March 1786

CUMBERLAND (Me.) gained from YORK (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1786, ch. 18, sec. 1/p. 407)

7 March 1786

WORCESTER gained small area from MIDDLESEX when town of Southborough gained from town of Framingham [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1786_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1786, ch. 21, sec. 1/p. 410)

14 May 1789

HARTFORD (Conn.) lost to TOLLAND (Conn.) when town of Bolton gained from town of East Windsor; area in Massachusetts was unchanged. (Conn. St. Recs., 7:62)

1 May 1790

HANCOCK (Me.) and WASHINGTON (Me.) created by Massachusetts from LINCOLN (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1789, ch. 25, sec. 1/p. 25)

1 May 1791

LINCOLN (Me.) gained from HANCOCK (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1790, ch. 10, sec. 1/p. 81)

3 March 1792

Boundary between MIDDLESEX and SUFFOLK was redefined in part when the boundary between towns of Medway and Sherburne was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1792, ch. 23, sec. 1/p. 155)

16 November 1792

MIDDLESEX gained from WORCESTER when town of Ashby gained from town of Ashburnham. (Mass. Acts 1792, ch. 2, sec. 1/p. 224)

9 March 1793

HAMPSHIRE gained from BERKSHIRE when town of Hawley gained from Plantation #7. (Mass. Acts 1793, ch. 18, sec. 1/p. 242)

20 June 1793

NORFOLK created from SUFFOLK. (Mass. Acts 1793, ch. 43, sec. 1/p. 272 and ch. 9, sec. 1/p. 314)

15 July 1794

WORCESTER gained small area from HAMPSHIRE when town of Western (now Warren) gained from town of Palmer to accommodate local property owners [location unknown, not mapped]. (Temple, 10)

2 May 1796

HARTFORD (Conn.) gained town of Hartland from LITCHFIELD (Conn.), lost to NEW HAVEN (Conn.) when town of Wolcott was created from towns of Southington and Waterbury; area in Massachusetts was unchanged. (Conn. St. Recs., 8:372-373)

22 June 1797

MIDDLESEX exchanged with NORFOLK when town of Natick exchanged with town of Needham. (Mass. Acts 1797, ch. 22, sec. 1/p. 142)

8 February 1798

PLYMOUTH gained small strip from NORFOLK when town of Bridgewater gained from town of Stoughton [not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1798, ch. 10, sec. 1/p. 164)

11 October 1798

HARTFORD (Conn.) gained from NEW HAVEN (Conn.) when town of Berlin gained from town of Wallingford; area in Massachusetts was unchanged. (Conn. St. Recs., 9:284-285)

25 October 1798

Commissioners from Great Britain and the United States agreed on the true course of the St. Croix River, fixing part of the U.S.-Canadian boundary in accordance with the 1783 Treaty of Paris and settling a dispute between Massachusetts and Nova Scotia that dated back to 1764 [no change]. (Van Zandt, 12)

20 February 1799

KENNEBEC (Me.) created by Massachusetts from LINCOLN (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1799, ch. 23, sec. 1/p. 257)

28 February 1799

Boundary between HANCOCK (Me.) and KENNEBEC (Me.) was clarified [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1799, ch. 39, sec. 1/p. 275)

18 February 1801

WORCESTER gained from HAMPSHIRE when town of Dana (extinct) was created from towns of Greenwich (extinct), Hardwick, and Petersham. (Mass. Acts 1801, ch. 14, sec. 1/p. 453)

18 June 1803

PLYMOUTH gained towns of Hingham and Hull from SUFFOLK. (Mass. Acts 1803, ch. 14, sec. 1/p. 246)

13 October 1803

HARTFORD (Conn.) gained from NEW LONDON (Conn.) and TOLLAND (Conn.) when the town of Marlborough was created from towns of Colchester, Glastonbury, and Hebron; area in Massachusetts was unchanged. (Conn. Spec. Acts 1803, 2:1157-1158)

6 March 1804

SUFFOLK gained from NORFOLK when Boston gained from Dorchester. (Mass. Acts 1804, ch. 45, sec. 1/p. 412)

1804

HAMPSHIRE gained from HARTFORD (Conn.) when Massachusetts gained part of the town of Southwick (the "Southwick Jog") that lay south of the Connecticut boundary and that had been annexed from Massachusetts in 1774. HARTFORD (Conn.) eliminated from Massachusetts. (Hooker, 25-26; Van Zandt, 69)

4 March 1805

OXFORD (Me.) created by Massachusetts from CUMBERLAND (Me.) and YORK (Me.). CUMBERLAND (Me.) gained from YORK (Me.), lost to KENNEBEC (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1805, ch. 24, secs. 1-2/pp. 573-574)

20 June 1807

WORCESTER gained small area from MIDDLESEX when town of Northborough gained from town of Marlborough. (Mass. Acts 1807, p. 52)

8 March 1808

OXFORD (Me.) gained from KENNEBEC (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1808, ch. 97/p. 323)

WORCESTER gained small area from MIDDLESEX when town of Upton gained from town of Hopkinton to accommodate local property owner [location unknown, not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1808, ch. 106, sec. 1/p. 336)

1 June 1809

SOMERSET (Me.) created by Massachusetts from KENNEBEC (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1809, ch. 62, sec. 1/p. 459)

6 March 1810

Boundary between KENNEBEC (Me.) and LINCOLN (Me.) was redefined in part when line between the towns of Gardiner and Litchfield was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1810, ch. 108/p. 194)

25 February 1811

LINCOLN (Me.) gained from KENNEBEC (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1811, ch. 61/p. 290)

21 June 1811

HANCOCK (Me.) gained from SOMERSET (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1811, ch. 36/p. 430)

2 December 1811

FRANKLIN created from HAMPSHIRE. (Mass. Acts 1811, ch. 61/p. 467)

29 February 1812

KENNEBEC (Me.) exchanged with LINCOLN (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1812, ch. 160/p. 309)

12 June 1812

HANCOCK (Me.) gained from SOMERSET (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1812, ch. 4/p. 7)

1 August 1812

HAMPDEN created from HAMPSHIRE. (Mass. Acts 1812, ch. 137/p. 291)

16 February 1813

SOMERSET (Me.) gained from HANCOCK (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1813, ch. 85/p. 157)

26 February 1813

KENNEBEC (Me.) gained from SOMERSET (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1813, ch. 108/p. 179)

28 January 1814

OXFORD (Me.) gained from KENNEBEC (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1814, ch. 79/pp. 316-317)

7 February 1816

WORCESTER gained small area from FRANKLIN when town of Athol gained from town of Orange. (Mass. Acts 1816, ch. 62/p. 71)

15 February 1816

PENOBSCOT (Me.) created by Massachusetts from HANCOCK (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1816, ch. 121, sec. 1/p. 156)

17 June 1816

PENOBSCOT (Me.) gained from HANCOCK (Me.) when town of Hampden gained from town of Frankfurt and town of Orrington gained from town of Buckstown (now Bucksport). (Mass. Acts 1816, ch. 13, sec. 1/p. 195 and ch. 14/p. 196)

14 June 1817

PENOBSCOT (Me.) gained from SOMERSET (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1817, ch. 15/p. 398)

24 November 1817

Under authority of the Treaty of Ghent (24 December 1814) commissioners from Great Britain and the United States agreed on the division of the islands in Passamaquoddy Bay. Moose, Dudley (now Treat), and Frederick (now Dudley) Islands were assigned to the U.S. and made part of WASHINGTON (Me.) [not mapped]. (Paullin, 59)

2 February 1819

SOMERSET (Me.) gained from OXFORD (Me.). (Mass. Acts 1819, ch. 41, sec. 1/p. 71)

15 March 1820

CUMBERLAND (Me.), HANCOCK (Me.), KENNEBEC (Me.), LINCOLN (Me.), OXFORD (Me.), PENOBSCOT (Me.), SOMERSET (Me.), WASHINGTON (Me.), and YORK (Me.) were eliminated from Massachusetts and became Maine counties when the state of Maine was admitted to the Union. (U.S. Stat., vol. 3, ch. 19 [1820]/p. 544)

28 January 1822

HAMPSHIRE gained from FRANKLIN when town of Prescott (extinct) was created from towns of Pelham and New Salem. (Mass. Acts 1822, ch. 34, sec. 1/p. 614)

21 February 1822

FRANKLIN gained from BERKSHIRE when town of Monroe was created from town of Rowe and non-town area called the Gore. (Mass. Acts 1822, ch. 93, sec. 1/p. 707)

8 February 1823

HAMPSHIRE gained small area from WORCESTER when town of Ware gained from town of Western (now Warren). (Mass. Acts 1823, ch. 76/p. 114)

14 June 1823

NORFOLK gained small area from PLYMOUTH when town of Cohasset gained from town of Scituate to accommodate local property owners [location unknown, not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1823, ch. 28/p. 237)

22 February 1825

Boundary between NORFOLK and SUFFOLK was adjusted when the line between Boston and Brookline was adjusted [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1825_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1825, ch. 90/p. 73)

3 November 1826

WORCESTER exchanged narrow strips with TOLLAND (Conn.) and WINDHAM (Conn.), and HAMPDEN exchanged narrow strips with TOLLAND (Conn.) when an irregularity in the state boundary was straightened [not mapped]. (Bowen, Disputes, 66; Hooker, 28)

11 February 1829

WORCESTER gained small area (one acre) from MIDDLESEX when town of Bolton gained from town of Marlborough to accommodate local property owner [location unknown, not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1829, ch. 47/p. 72)

3 March 1829

MIDDLESEX gained small area from WORCESTER when town of Ashby gained from town of Fitchburg to accommodate local property owner [location unknown, not mapped]; MIDDLESEX exchanged with NORFOLK when town of Holliston gained from town of Medway. (Mass. Acts 1829, ch. 125/p. 200 and ch. 133/p. 209)

5 February 1830

WORCESTER gained small area from FRANKLIN when town of Athol gained from town of New Salem. (Mass. Acts 1830, ch. 33/p. 300)

18 February 1830

Boundary between BRISTOL and NORFOLK was clarified when line between towns of Attleborough and Wrentham was clarified [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1830, ch. 48/p. 319)

7 February 1831

HAMPDEN gained small area from WORCESTER when town of Palmer gained from town of Western (now Warren). (Mass. Acts 1831, ch. 37/p. 545)

25 March 1834

SUFFOLK gained from NORFOLK when Boston gained Thompson Island from Dorchester. (Mass. Acts 1834, ch. 102/p. 129)

27 March 1835

MIDDLESEX exchanged with WORCESTER when towns of Holliston, Hopkinton, and Milford exchanged territory. (Mass. Acts 1835, ch. 72/p. 382)

16 March 1836

Boundary between NORFOLK and SUFFOLK was redefined when line between Boston and Roxbury was redefined [not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1836, ch. 37/p. 681)

9 April 1836

Boundary between BRISTOL and PLYMOUTH was redefined in part when line between towns of Rochester and Fairhaven was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1836, ch. 193, sec. 1/p. 876)

16 March 1837

WORCESTER gained from FRANKLIN when town of Athol gained from town of New Salem. (Mass. Acts 1837, ch. 80, sec. 1/p. 70)

19 April 1837

Boundary between NORFOLK and SUFFOLK was adjusted slightly when line through water between Roxbury and Boston was adjusted [not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1837, ch. 202, sec. 1/p. 222)

16 March 1838

Boundary between MIDDLESEX and WORCESTER was redefined in part when line between towns of Marlborough and Bolton was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1838, ch. 36/p. 330)

2 April 1838

FRANKLIN gained from BERKSHIRE when towns of Charlemont and Rowe gained from town of Zoar. (Mass. Acts 1838, ch. 56, sec. 1/p. 344 and ch. 57, sec. 1/p. 345)

23 April 1838

NORFOLK gained from MIDDLESEX when town of Roxbury gained from town of Newton. (Mass. Acts 1838, ch. 167, sec. 1/p. 481)

20 March 1840

PLYMOUTH gained small area from NORFOLK when town of Scituate gained from town of Cohasset to accommodate local property owner [location unknown, not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1840, ch. 58, sec. 1/p. 206)

22 February 1841

ESSEX gained from SUFFOLK when town of Saugus gained from town of Chelsea. (Mass. Acts 1841, ch. 30, sec. 1/p. 350)

24 March 1843

MIDDLESEX gained small area from WORCESTER when town of Marlborough gained from town of Southborough to accommodate local property owners [location unknown, not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1843, ch. 89, sec. 1/p. 53)

3 March 1846

Boundary between MIDDLESEX and WORCESTER was redefined in part when line between towns of Shirley and Lunenburg was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1846, ch. 74/p. 35)

31 March 1847

Boundary between NORFOLK and PLYMOUTH was clarified in part when line between towns of Weymouth and Abington was clarified [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1847, ch. 138/p. 391)

25 April 1848

Boundary between MIDDLESEX and WORCESTER was redefined in part when line between towns of Shirley and Lunenburg was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1848, ch. 194, sec. 1/p. 708)

2 February 1849

Boundary between FRANKLIN and HAMPSHIRE was clarified when line between towns of Williamsburg and Whately was clarified [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1849, ch. 3/p. 198)

3 May 1850

Boundary between NORFOLK and SUFFOLK was adjusted when line through water between Boston and Roxbury was adjusted [not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1850, ch. 281, sec. 1/p. 460)

4 May 1853

Boundary between BERKSHIRE and HAMPDEN was clarified when line between towns of Sandisfield and Tolland was clarified [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1853, ch. 293/p. 535)

25 May 1853

HAMPSHIRE gained from HAMPDEN when town of Norwich (now Huntington) gained from towns of Chester and Blandford. (Mass. Acts 1853, ch. 421, sec. 1/p. 639)

10 April 1854

MIDDLESEX gained small area from ESSEX when town of Reading gained from town of Lynnfield. (Mass. Acts 1854, ch. 246, sec. 1/p. 163)

11 January 1855

BERKSHIRE lost to COLUMBIA (N.Y.) when New York acquired the southwestern corner of Massachusetts, known as Boston Corner. (Pratt, 2:223; Van Zandt, 70, 76)

15 May 1855

Boundary between BERKSHIRE and HAMPDEN was redefined when line between towns of Sandisfield and Tolland was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1855, ch. 358, sec. 1/p. 755)

21 May 1855

SUFFOLK gained small area from NORFOLK when Boston gained from Dorchester [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1855_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1855, ch. 468, sec. 1/p. 907)

7 January 1858

MIDDLESEX gained from ESSEX when town of North Reading gained from town of Lynnfield. (Mass. Acts 1857, ch. 238, sec. 1/p. 572; Mass. Sec. Comm., 41)

1 April 1859

WORCESTER gained small area from MIDDLESEX when town of Milford gained from town of Holliston. (Mass. Acts 1859, ch. 149/p. 312)

3 April 1860

Boundary between NORFOLK and SUFFOLK was adjusted slightly when line along streets between Boston and Roxbury was shifted to sides of streets from centerlines [not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1860, ch. 172, sec. 1/p. 138)

21 March 1861

Boundary between NORFOLK and PLYMOUTH was clarified in part when boundary between towns of Abington and Randolph was clarified [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1861, ch. 86/p. 390)

1 March 1862

BRISTOL gained from NEWPORT (R.I.) and lost to PROVIDENCE (R.I.) when Massachusetts and Rhode Island implemented the U. S. Supreme Court settlement (31 December 1861) of their boundary to the Atlantic Ocean; BRISTOL eliminated from Rhode Island. (Bayles, Providence, 1:29; R.I. Acts 1861, ch. 379/pp. 4-6; Ullman, 83-84; Van Zandt, 68)

1 June 1867

Boundary between BRISTOL and PLYMOUTH was clarified in part when boundary between towns of Lakeville and Taunton was clarified [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1867, ch. 352, sec. 1/p. 745)

6 January 1868

SUFFOLK gained from NORFOLK when Boston gained all of Roxbury. (Mass. Acts 1867, ch. 359, sec. 1/p. 754)

20 March 1868

MIDDLESEX gained from WORCESTER when town of Hudson gained from town of Bolton. (Mass. Acts 1868, ch. 79, sec. 1/p. 62)

3 January 1870

SUFFOLK gained from NORFOLK when Boston gained all of Dorchester. (Mass. Acts 1869, ch. 349, sec. 1/p. 646)

2 April 1870

Boundary between NORFOLK and SUFFOLK was adjusted slightly when line along streets between Boston and West Roxbury was shifted from one side to the other [not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1870, ch. 146, sec. 1/pp. 21, 95)

18 June 1870

SUFFOLK gained small area from NORFOLK when Boston gained from Brookline [not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1870, ch. 374, sec. 1/p. 290)

7 March 1872

NORFOLK exchanged small areas with WORCESTER when town of Bellingham exchanged with town of Mendon. (Mass. Acts 1872, ch. 69, sec. 1/p. 57)

12 April 1872

SUFFOLK gained small area from NORFOLK when Boston gained Mt. Hope Cemetery from town of West Roxbury [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1872_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1872, ch. 197, sec. 1/p. 143)

27 April 1872

NORFOLK exchanged small areas with SUFFOLK when Boston exchanged with Brookline [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1872_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1872, ch. 267, sec. 1/p. 210)

5 January 1874

SUFFOLK gained from MIDDLESEX and NORFOLK when Boston gained all of Brighton, Charlestown, and West Roxbury. (Mass. Acts 1873, ch. 286, sec. 1/p. 716, ch. 303, sec. 1/p. 747, and ch. 314, sec. 1/p. 810)

8 May 1874

SUFFOLK gained small area from NORFOLK when Boston gained from Brookline. (Mass. Acts 1874, ch. 220, sec. 1/p. 143)

29 May 1874

Boundary between MIDDLESEX and SUFFOLK was adjusted when line between Boston and Newton was adjusted [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1874_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1874, ch. 277, sec. 1/p. 189)

1 July 1875

MIDDLESEX gained small area from SUFFOLK when Newton gained from Boston [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1875_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1875, ch. 184, sec. 1/p. 773)

27 May 1890

Boundary between NORFOLK and SUFFOLK was adjusted when line between Boston and Brookline was adjusted [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1890_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1890, ch. 339, sec. 1/p. 299)

4 May 1891

Boundary between MIDDLESEX and SUFFOLK was adjusted when line between Boston and Somerville was adjusted [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1891_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1891, ch. 294, sec. 1/p. 856)

13 April 1894

Boundary between NORFOLK and SUFFOLK was adjusted slightly when line between northern Brookline and Boston was adjusted [not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1894, ch. 242, sec. 1/p. 219)

14 April 1897

Boundary between BARNSTABLE and PLYMOUTH was clarified in part when line between towns of Wareham and Bourne was clarified [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1897, ch. 281, sec. 1/p. 258)

30 April 1897

Boundary between NORFOLK and PLYMOUTH was adjusted when line between towns of Cohasset and Hingham was adjusted [no discernible change]. (Mass. Acts 1897, ch. 330, sec. 1/p. 318)

29 March 1898

Boundary between MIDDLESEX and SUFFOLK was adjusted when line through the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge was adjusted [not mapped], and line between Boston and Newton was adjusted [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1898_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1898, ch. 242, sec. 1/p. 178 and ch. 243/p. 179)

1 April 1898

Boundary between NORFOLK and SUFFOLK was adjusted when line between Boston and Hyde Park was adjusted [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1898_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1898, ch. 251, sec. 1/p. 185)

13 May 1898

Boundary between MIDDLESEX and SUFFOLK was adjusted when line between Boston and Newton was adjusted [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1898_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1898, ch. 431, sec. 1/p. 376)

3 June 1899

Many small adjustments were prescribed for the eastern boundary of Rhode Island with Massachusetts, substituting a series of straight lines for indefinite lines such as high-water boundaries [not mapped]. (Ullman, 84; Van Zandt, 68)

16 May 1901

Boundary between MIDDLESEX and WORCESTER was redefined when line between towns of Marlborough and Southborough was redefined [no discernible change]. (Mass. Acts 1901, ch. 393, sec. 1/p. 306)

21 May 1903

Boundary between ESSEX and MIDDLESEX was redefined in part when line between towns of Tewkesbury and Andover was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1903, ch. 373, sec. 1/p. 343)

12 March 1904

Boundary between ESSEX and MIDDLESEX was redefined in part when line between towns of North Andover and North Reading was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1904, ch. 149, sec. 1/p. 98)

22 April 1904

Boundary between ESSEX and MIDDLESEX was redefined in part when line between towns of North Reading and Andover was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1904, ch. 250, sec. 1/p. 213)

1 May 1905

Boundary between MIDDLESEX and WORCESTER was redefined in part when line between towns of Berlin and Hudson was redefined [no change], and when line between towns of Marlborough and Berlin was adjusted [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1905_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1905, ch. 357, sec. 1/p. 283 and ch. 358, sec. 1/p. 284)

2 May 1905

Boundary between ESSEX and MIDDLESEX was redefined in part when line between towns of Lynnfield and Reading was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1905, ch. 361, sec. 1/p. 286)

14 June 1906

MIDDLESEX gained small area from WORCESTER when towns of Boxborough and Littleton gained from town of Harvard [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1906_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1906, ch. 483, sec. 1/p. 654 and ch. 484, sec. 1/p. 655)

28 March 1907

Boundary between MIDDLESEX and NORFOLK was redefined in part when line between towns of Newton and Brookline was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1907, ch. 249, sec. 1/p. 194)

16 May 1907

Boundary between MIDDLESEX and WORCESTER was redefined in part when town of Hopkinton's boundary with towns of Milford and Upton was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1907, ch. 423, sec. 1 and ch. 424, sec. 1/pp. 362-363)

9 June 1909

HAMPDEN gained from HAMPSHIRE when town of Holyoke gained from town of Northampton. (Mass. Acts 1909, ch. 480, sec. 1/p. 498)

29 March 1910

Boundary between HAMPDEN and HAMPSHIRE was redefined in part when line between towns of Ware and Palmer was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1910, ch. 471, sec. 1/p. 422)

Boundary between MIDDLESEX and SUFFOLK was adjusted when line in the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge was adjusted [not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1910, ch. 312, sec. 1/p. 239)

27 April 1911

Boundary between FRANKLIN and WORCESTER was redefined in part when line between towns of New Salem and Prescott (extinct) was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1911, ch. 340, sec. 1/p. 310)

1 January 1912

SUFFOLK gained from NORFOLK when Boston gained all of Hyde Park. (Mass. Acts 1911, ch. 469, sec. 1/p. 450 and ch. 583, sec. 1/p. 600)

23 March 1928

Boundary between NORFOLK and PLYMOUTH was adjusted when line between towns of Hingham and Cohasset was adjusted [no discernible change]. (Mass. Acts 1928, ch. 160, sec. 1/p. 184)

18 September 1933

MIDDLESEX gained small area from ESSEX when town of Wakefield gained from town of Saugus [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1933_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1933, ch. 298, sec. 1/p. 453; Mass. Sec. Comm., 59)

28 April 1938

FRANKLIN gained from HAMPSHIRE when town of New Salem gained from towns of Enfield, Greenwich, and Prescott; WORCESTER gained from HAMPSHIRE when town of Petersham gained from towns of Dana, Greenwich, and Prescott, and when town of Hardwick gained from Greenwich. Dana, Enfield, Greenwich, and Prescott were disincorporated when Quabbin Reservoir was created in the Swift River Valley. (Mass. Acts 1927, ch. 321, sec. 1/p. 384; Mass. Acts 1938, ch. 240, sec. 1/p. 188; Mass. Sec. Comm., 48)

10 April 1947

ESSEX exchanged small areas with MIDDLESEX when town of Lynnfield exchanged with town of Reading. (Mass. Acts 1947, ch. 243, sec. 1/p. 222)