The present town of Berkley, then belonging to the neighboring towns of Dighton and Taunton, was first settled in 1638. It was officially incorporated as a separate town in 1735. The town was named for the philosopher and bishop George Berkeley (1685–1753), who lived in Newport, Rhode Island from 1728 to 1731. The change in the spelling to "Berkley" was likely due to the carelessness of the engrossing clerk of the Massachusetts General Court.[2]
Berkley's old Town Hall, a two-story white clapboard building located on Berkley Common, was built in 1849.[3] When a new Town Hall was built across the street in 2015, the Old Town Hall became home to the Berkley Historical Society.[3] The new 9,778-square-foot Town Hall was built in 2014–2015, at a cost of $3.5 million.[4] The new building contains a senior center, office, kitchen, and high-efficiency LED lighting.[4]
Geography
1895 map of Berkley
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 17.4 square miles (45.1 km2), of which 16.5 square miles (42.8 km2) is land and 0.93 square miles (2.4 km2), or 5.24%, is water.[5] The town is bordered by the Taunton River and Dighton to the west, Taunton to the north and northeast, Lakeville to the east, and the Assonet Bay and Freetown to the south. The town is located 35 miles (56 km) south of Boston, 22 miles (35 km) east of Providence, Rhode Island, and 30 miles (48 km) northwest of the Cape Cod Canal.
The highest point in Berkley is the summit of Bryant Hill near the southern border of the town, at 167 feet (51 m) above sea level.[6]
The town can be accessed by two state routes, Route 24 and Route 79. Route 24, a four-lane divided freeway, bisects the town, and includes one exit for the town at Padelford Street. Route 79 passes along the town's border with Lakeville, and meets Route 140 just across the town line in Taunton. The Berkley–Dighton Bridge crosses the Taunton River to the Segreganset neighborhood of Dighton. The current bridge was completed in 2015, and is the only bridge to cross the river between the Brightman Street Bridge between Fall River and Somerset, and the Plain Street Bridge in Taunton, a distance of 12.5 miles (20.1 km).
Myricks is an association community or populated place (Class Code U6) and a junction of railroad lines in Berkley.
As of the census[18] of 2000, there were 5,749 people, 1,843 households, and 1,566 families residing in the town. The population density was 347.6 inhabitants per square mile (134.2/km2). There were 1,885 housing units at an average density of 114.0 per square mile (44.0/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.7% White, 0.6% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.06% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.0% of the population.
There were 1,843 households, out of which 47.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.8% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.0% were non-families. 10.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.11 and the average family size was 3.35.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 30.5% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 36.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $66,295, and the median income for a family was $69,222. Males had a median income of $45,154 versus $31,639 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,652. About 0.7% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.6% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Berkley Public Library
Town government
Executive Branch: Three-member Board of Selectmen with three-year staggered terms.
The Bridge Village Heritage Park at 70 Elm Street is a tiny park at the foot of the Berkley-Dighton Bridge on the Taunton River.[21] It is a spot for fishing, picknicking, and putting in a canoe or kayak.[21] Opened in October 2006, this .5-acre (2,000 m2) area is aimed at canoeing and kayaking. Motor boats and boats in tow are prohibited.
Dighton Rock State Park is a park that holds the Dighton Rock, a boulder with petroglyphs of uncertain age and authorship, in a museum on an 85-acre (340,000 m2) site on the Taunton River. Trails and a stage for theatre productions highlight the park.
Berkley Congregational Church was established just two years after the town's founding in 1735. Located at 13 South Main Street, the church has offered continuous religious services since its inception.
^"1950 Census of Population"(PDF). Bureau of the Census. 1952. Section 6, Pages 21-10 and 21-11, Massachusetts Table 6. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1930 to 1950. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
^"1920 Census of Population"(PDF). Bureau of the Census. Number of Inhabitants, by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions. Pages 21-5 through 21-7. Massachusetts Table 2. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1920, 1910, and 1920. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
^"1890 Census of the Population"(PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. Pages 179 through 182. Massachusetts Table 5. Population of States and Territories by Minor Civil Divisions: 1880 and 1890. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
^"1870 Census of the Population"(PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1872. Pages 217 through 220. Table IX. Population of Minor Civil Divisions, &c. Massachusetts. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
^"1860 Census"(PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1864. Pages 220 through 226. State of Massachusetts Table No. 3. Populations of Cities, Towns, &c. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
^"1850 Census"(PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1854. Pages 338 through 393. Populations of Cities, Towns, &c. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
^ ab"Bridge Village Heritage Park". Visit Southeastern Massachusetts. Southeastern Massachusetts Convention & Visitors Bureau. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
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