Discover 35 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Taunton (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Old Colony Historical Society, Taunton City Hall, and Taunton Common. Also, be sure to include Watson Pond State Park in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Taunton (Massachusetts).
Table of Contents
Old Colony Historical Society
The Old Colony History Museum is located at 66 Church Green in Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Since 1926, the museum has occupied the historic former Bristol Academy school building. The building was designed in 1852 by Richard Upjohn, architect of New York City's Trinity Church, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Church Green Historic District. The museum was previously located in the former Union Mission Chapel on Cedar Street.
The Old Colony History Museum is home to an extensive collection of regional objects and archives and a research library specializing in local history and genealogy. Its parent organization, the Old Colony Historical Society, was founded on May 4, 1853, making it one of New England's oldest historical societies.
The organization maintains a research library specializing in genealogy of Southeastern Massachusetts and local history, a museum of objects associated with the history of the Taunton area, and hosts many public programs.
The OCHM is open year-round Tuesday–Saturday, 10–4. Admission fees apply.[1]
Address: 66 Church Grn, 02780-3445 Taunton (Taunton)
Taunton City Hall
Building in Taunton, Massachusetts. Taunton City Hall is an historic city hall containing the offices of the municipal government for the city of Taunton, Massachusetts, including the office of the mayor and the city council chambers. The building was originally constructed in 1848, and expanded in 1896. It is a contributing property to the Church Green national historic district, located at the intersection of U.S. Route 44 and State Route 140. An arson fire in 2010 caused severe damage and forced the building to close for ten years.[2]
Address: 15 Summer St, 02780-3430 Taunton (Taunton)
Taunton Common
Building in Taunton, Massachusetts. US Post Office-Taunton Main is the main post office facility in the city center of Taunton, Massachusetts. Built in 1930 with funding from the Works Progress Administration, it is a fine example of Classical Revival architecture. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987; it was included in the Taunton Green Historic District in 1985.[3]
Address: 4 Court St Ste 204, Taunton (Taunton)
Watson Pond State Park
City park in Taunton, Massachusetts. Watson Pond State Park is a public recreation area occupying ten acres on the east side of Watson Pond in the northern portion of the city of Taunton, Massachusetts. The state park comprises a 300-foot swimming beach, picnic area, bathhouse and pavilion. Fishing and non-motorized boating are offered.[4]
Address: 1644 Bay St, 02780-7302 Taunton (Taunton)
Mount Pleasant Cemetery
Cemetery in Taunton, Massachusetts. Mount Pleasant Cemetery is an historic cemetery at Crocker, Cohannet, and Barnum Streets in Taunton, Massachusetts. Opened in 1836, but based on a family burial ground dating to the early 18th century, it is the fourth garden cemetery in the U.S. rural cemeteries, based on the early Victorian model of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.[5]
Address: 7-11 Crocker St, 02780 Taunton (Taunton)
Dean-Hartshorn House
The Dean-Hartshorn House is a historic house located at 68 Dean Street in Taunton, Massachusetts.[6]
Taunton Public Library
Public library in Taunton, Massachusetts. Taunton Public Library is the public library of Taunton, Massachusetts. It is located at 12 Pleasant Street, in an architecturally distinguished Beaux Arts building built in 1903 with funding support from Andrew Carnegie, to which a modern addition was made in 1979. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a particularly fine local example of Beaux Arts architecture.[7]
Address: 12 Pleasant St, 02780-3203 Taunton (Taunton)
Neck of Land Cemetery
Cemetery in Taunton, Massachusetts. The Neck of Land Cemetery is a small historic cemetery on Summer Street in Taunton, Massachusetts. Established in 1687 near the confluence of the Mill and Taunton Rivers, it was the city's first cemetery. Most of its graves predate 1800; there are four burials before 1700, including two children. The cemetery is a roughly rectangular plot, about 0.5 acres in size, on the south side of Summer Street, between Prospect and West Summer Streets. The most significant individual buried in the cemetery is Taunton founder and first female land claimer Elizabeth Poole.
The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[8]
Pilgrim Congregational Church
Congregational church in Taunton, Massachusetts. Pilgrim Congregational Church is an historic Congregational Church at 45 Broadway in Taunton, Massachusetts. The Ronamesque stone church was designed by architect Richard Upjohn and built in 1852. The congregation was established by a doctrinal division of the First Parish Church. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1984.[9]
First Parish Church
Church in Taunton, Massachusetts. First Parish Church is an historic church located within the Church Green Historic District in Taunton, Massachusetts. It is the fourth meetinghouse since 1647 to be located on what was the original town common. The current church building was built in 1830, constructed of field stone in the Gothic Revival style.
The church steeple is capped with four pinnacles and contains the 1804 bell from the third meetinghouse. In 1869 the sanctuary was enlarged and a chapel was also added. In 1965 another addition was made to the east.[10]
Union Mission Chapel-Historical Hall
Building in Taunton, Massachusetts. The Union Mission Chapel-Historical Hall is an historic building at 5 Cedar Street in Taunton, Massachusetts. Built as a chapel in 1867, it has also served as a mission hall and museum, and housed the local American Legion chapter for many years beginning in 1926. The building, one of the few stone structures in the city, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[11]
St. Mary's Complex
Catholic church in Taunton, Massachusetts. St. Mary's Complex is a historic Roman Catholic Church complex at Broadway and Washington Street in Taunton, Massachusetts. The parish, the first in Taunton, was established in 1830, and the present church, its second was built in 1868, to a design by Patrick C. Keely. The complex, also including a rectory, convent, and school, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[12]
Reed and Barton Complex
The Reed and Barton Complex is an historic industrial complex at West Brittania and Danforth Streets in Taunton, Massachusetts. It is the site of one of Taunton's first and largest industries, now known as Reed & Barton, a privately held silversmithing business that operated from 1824 to 2015. The company's success was instrumental in Taunton becoming known as the "Silver City". The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[13]
Address: 144 West Britannia Street, Taunton (Taunton)
St. Thomas Episcopal Church
Building in Taunton, Massachusetts. St. Thomas Episcopal Church is an historic church at 115 High Street in Taunton, Massachusetts, United States. Its present building, an 1857 Gothic Revival structure designed by Richard Upjohn, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[14]
Westville Congregational Church
Building in Taunton, Massachusetts. The West Congregational Church of Taunton, formerly the Westville Congregational Church, is a historic church located at 415 Winthrop Street in Taunton, Massachusetts. Built in 1792 and moved to its present location in 1824, it is the city's oldest church building, and a well-preserved example of Federal period architecture. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[15]
Taunton Iron Works
The Taunton Iron Works was located on the banks of the Forge River in what is now Raynham, Massachusetts. It was the first iron works established in Plymouth Colony, and only the third in New England. Much more successful than earlier works at Saugus, and Braintree, it operated for a remarkable period of two hundred and twenty years, from 1656 to 1876.[16]
Whittenton Mills Complex
The Whittenton Mills Complex is a historic textile mill site located on Whittenton Street in Taunton, Massachusetts, on the banks of the Mill River. The site has been used for industrial purposes since 1670, when James Leonard built an iron forge on the west bank of the river. The first textile mill was built in 1805 and expanded throughout the 19th century. The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and now contains various small businesses.
In October 2005, the site gained national attention when the mill's 1832 wooden dam threatened to collapse after heavy rains. More than 2,000 people were evacuated for several days while officials and work crews could shore up the dam with boulders. As of 2012, there is an effort underway to have the dam removed entirely, and allow for restoration of the river bed.
In 2008, scenes from the Martin Scorsese film Shutter Island, portraying the Dachau concentration camp were filmed here.[17]
Winthrop Street Baptist Church
Church in Taunton, Massachusetts. Winthrop Street Baptist Church is a historic Baptist church located at 39 Winthrop Street in Taunton, Massachusetts, USA. The Late Gothic Revival church was built in 1862 and was the second Baptist church built on the site. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[18]
North Taunton Baptist Church
Baptist church in Taunton, Massachusetts. North Taunton Baptist Church is a historic Baptist church located at 1940 Bay Street in Taunton, Massachusetts. The small Federal era church was constructed in 1837, in what was a still very rural part of Taunton containing mostly farmland.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[19]
Union Congregational Church
Congregational church in Taunton, Massachusetts. Union Congregational Church is an historic Congregational church at 265 West Brittania Street in Taunton, Massachusetts. The church was built in 1872-73 on land donated by the owner of the Whittenton Mills, and is a nearly unaltered example of Stick/Eastlake style architecture. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[20]
George Dean House
The George Dean House is a historic house located at 135 Winthrop Street in Taunton, Massachusetts.[21]
C.J.H. Bassett House
The C.J.H. Bassett House is a historic house located at 20 Chestnut Street in Taunton, Massachusetts. The house was built in 1851 for Charles Jarvis Hunt Bassett, a prominent Taunton attorney and president of the Taunton Bank.[22]
Harris Street Bridge
Truss bridge in Taunton, Massachusetts. The Harris Street Bridge is a historic truss bridge that spans the Taunton River off Dean Street in Taunton, Massachusetts. Built in 1887, it is the oldest surviving bridge in the city, and was built as part of the one of the city's earliest public works projects after incorporation as a city. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It is closed to traffic, and is in disrepair.[23]
Lloyd Dean House
The Lloyd Dean House is a historic house located at 164 Dean Street in Taunton, Massachusetts.[24]
William L. White Jr. House
The William L. White Jr. House is a historic house located at 242 Winthrop Street in Taunton, Massachusetts.[25]
Gen. Thomas Lincoln House
Historical place in Taunton, Massachusetts. The Gen. Thomas Lincoln House is a historic house located at 104 Field Street in Taunton, Massachusetts.[26]
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish
Catholic church in Taunton, Massachusetts. Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish is a Roman Catholic parish designated for Polish immigrants in Taunton, Massachusetts, United States.
Founded in 1927, it is one of the Polish-American Roman Catholic parishes in New England in the Diocese of Fall River. The parish has traditionally been staffed by Conventual Franciscans.[27]
Leonard School
The Leonard School is a historic school building at 356 West Britannia Street in Taunton, Massachusetts. It is a two-story brick structure, with a hip roof and a projecting front section that is topped by a truncated tower. A large gable in front of this tower is filled by a large half-round window. An enclosed gable-roof porch shelters the main entrance. Built in 1888 in the Italianate style, it is one of several local schools designed by Gustavus L. Smith. It is named after the locally prominent Leonard family, who were leaders in the city's industrial development.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It closed in 2009.[28]
Albert Field Tack Company
Building in Taunton, Massachusetts. The Albert Field Tack Company is a historic industrial site located at 19 Spring Street in Taunton, Massachusetts, next to the Mill River. Built in 1868 for a company founded in the 1820s to manufacture fasteners, the main office building is an unusually high-style building given its industrial setting. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It has since been converted into apartments.[29]
Abiezar Dean House
The Abiezar Dean House is a historic house located at 57 Summer Street in Taunton, Massachusetts.[30]
Charles R. Atwood House
Tourist attraction in Taunton, Massachusetts. The Charles R. Atwood House is a historic house located at 30 Dean Street in Taunton, Massachusetts.[31]
Abiathar King Williams House
The Abiathar King Williams House is a historic house located at 43 Ingell Street in Taunton, Massachusetts, United States.[32]
George Capron House
The George Capron House is a historic house located at 6 North Pleasant Street in Taunton, Massachusetts.[33]
J.C. Bartlett House
The J.C. Bartlett House is a historic house located in Taunton, Massachusetts. The house was built in 1880 for J.C. Bartlett, a prosperous mining engineer. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The large-scaled Mansard house features bold Italianate details in its justified quoins, bracketed cornice and window detailing. It originally had decorative iron cresting on its roof, that has since been removed. The exterior has been partially covered with vinyl siding. The original slate Mansard roof has been replaced with asphalt shingles.[34]
Lord-Baylies-Bennett House
Historical landmark in Taunton, Massachusetts. The Lord-Baylies-Bennett House is a historic house located at 66 Winthrop Street in Taunton, Massachusetts.[35]