Where to Stay in Taunton, Massachusetts

What is Taunton known for?

Taunton is the Silver City for its silversmithing tradition and the Christmas City for the displays that go up on Taunton Green, and the first of the two records a manufacturing trade rather than a decoration. Bristol County is run from here. The city is the county seat and its economic and cultural hub, ranking behind only New Bedford and Fall River among Bristol County's municipalities.

What are the main landmarks in Taunton?

Twenty-five entries carry the city's register. First Parish Church, Pilgrim Congregational Church and Union Congregational Church are the named churches, the Old Colony History Museum holds what Bristol County has collected, and the rest is domestic architecture. Named houses make up most of the twenty-five.

Alfred Paull House, George Dean House, Abiezar Dean House, Albert Sweet House, Asa Lincoln House, Eldridge House, the Dean-Barstow House, the Dean-Hartshorn House and the Fairbanks-Williams House are among them, which puts Taunton's heritage in its streets rather than in monuments.

What is the history of Taunton?

Taunton dates from 1637. The town took shape in what became Bristol County, on the banks of the Taunton River, and the founding year is the oldest date the record carries. Taunton River shaped the layout, winding through the settlement on its way south toward Mount Hope Bay ten miles off.

Silver followed later. Silversmithing gave the place its working identity and the Silver City nickname that has outlived the workshops, which is the single strongest thread in the city's record. Building came in waves.

First Parish Church, Pilgrim Congregational Church and Union Congregational Church carry the religious record, while Abiathar King Williams House, Abiezar Dean House and Asa Lincoln House belong to the domestic stock listed alongside them. The museum keeps the rest. The Old Colony History Museum holds what the wider district around Taunton has collected, which fits a city that serves as Bristol County's cultural hub as well as its seat.

Christmas is the newer tradition. Displays on Taunton Green earned the second nickname, and between the silver trade and the lights Taunton carries two names that its Bristol County neighbours New Bedford and Fall River do not.

Where is Taunton?

The Taunton River winds through the city on its way south, reaching Mount Hope Bay ten miles off, which makes the water the one continuous feature across about 48 square miles of Bristol County. Bristol County lies in the temperate band. Well north of the equator, Taunton has four distinct seasons and no coast of its own, since the bay the river drains into lies beyond the city limits.

What is the climate of Taunton?

Mount Hope Bay moderates less than it might. Taunton sits ten miles up the Taunton River from that water, far enough inland that the city runs colder in winter and warmer in summer than the coast does, and the temperate band this far north of the equator does the rest. The Green fills with lights.

Christmas displays are a winter tradition here, which suits a place where the season is long enough to be worth decorating.

How do you get to Taunton?

Roads bring everyone in. Taunton stands inland on the Taunton River, so the approach is overland through Bristol County, with New Bedford and Fall River the larger municipalities on the same ground. Taunton Green is the target.

Anyone driving in for the city rather than through it should aim for the centre, since about 48 square miles of municipal ground lie between the outer limits and the square the displays occupy.