Place:Westport, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States

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NameWestport
Alt namesHead of The Riversource: USGS, GNIS Digital Gazetteer (1994) GNIS25006127
Head of Westportsource: Getty Vocabulary Program
Town of Dartmouthsource: USGS, GNIS Digital Gazetteer (1994) GNIS25011768
Westport Villagesource: USGS, GNIS Digital Gazetteer (1994) GNIS25006127
TypeTown
Coordinates41.583°N 71.083°W
Located inBristol, Massachusetts, United States
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Westport is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,532 at the 2010 census.

The village of North Westport lies in the town.

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History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Westport, so named because it was the westernmost port in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was first settled in 1670 as a part of the town of Dartmouth by members of the Sisson family. The river, and the land around it, was called "Coaksett" in the original deed; the name now spelled "Acoaxet" lives on in the southwestern community along the western branch of the Westport River. Like many areas in the region, Westport was affected by invading Wampanoags during King Philip's War. Several small mills were built along the Westport River, and in 1787, the town, along with the town of New Bedford, seceded from Dartmouth.

There were several cotton mills along the river, the largest of which was at the junction of the river with Lake Noquochoke on the Dartmouth town line. The Macomber turnip traces its ancestry to turnips sowed in Westport shortly after 1876. During the Second World War, a coastal defense installation was raised on Gooseberry Island. The town is now mostly residential, with a large farming community. Horseneck Beach State Reservation, located to the north and west of Gooseberry Island, is a popular summer destination for many in the area.

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