BROCKTON, a city of Plymouth county (Mass.), United States, about 20m. S. of Boston; served by the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad. Its area is 21.4 sq. miles. Its population in 1920 was 66,254, of whom 17,124 were foreign-born whites, and in 1930, Federal census, was 63,797.
The manufacture of men's shoes has long been the dominating industry. In 1927 there were 6o shoe factories, with a yearly output valued at $100,000,000; four, last factories, making over 1,000,000 pairs of lasts annually; and numerous other industries producing articles used by the shoe manufacturers, such as pat terns, trimmings, rands, blackings and stains (for which the water supply is especially suited), machinery and tools. Brockton is the trading centre for a large population, and is headquarters of the county farm bureau. An annual fair, with an attendance in recent years of over 215,000, has been held since 1873, to promote the agricultural, industrial and educational interests of the city and the county. No dividends are paid, the directors serve without salary, and the profits are used for such purposes as providing scholarships for boys and girls of the county.
The savings banks of the city in 1926 carried 51,058 accounts, with deposits aggregating $20,772,741. The assessed valuation of property was $72,610,050. The city spends annually nearly $1,000,000 on public schools and libraries, and nearly $300,000 on sanitation and the conservation of health. For three succes sive years it won the state award for the best milk supply in Massachusetts. Its death rate is exceptionally low for an indus trial city.
Brockton was a part of Bridgewater until 1821, when it was incorporated as the town of North Bridgewater. Its present name was adopted in 1874, and the city was chartered in 1881. The population was 8,007 in 1870; 13,608 in 1880; 27,294 in 1890; 40,063 in 1900; and 56,878 in 1910. It was the first city in Massachusetts to abolish all grade crossings (1896) ; and was a pioneer in using electricity for lighting the streets and operating the street railway system.