02 Jun 1685

BRISTOL created as one of three original counties in New Plymouth Colony; BRISTOL included part of present Rhode Island. (Ply. Laws, ch. 6/p. 19)

 

07 Oct 1691

BRISTOL continued under the new Massachusetts Bay provincial charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II; Massachusetts Bay absorbed New Plymouth Colony [no change]. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 1, ch. 27 [1692-1693], sec. 1/p. 63; Swindler, 5:80)

 

18 Mar 1712

[18 March 1711/1712] The "Old Colony Line" that divided Massachusetts and New Plymouth when they were separate colonies was declared the boundary separating SUFFOLK from BRISTOL and PLYMOUTH [no change]. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 21, ch. 152 [1711]/p. 799)

 

17 Feb 1747

[17 February 1746/1747] BRISTOL lost to NEWPORT (R.I.) and PROVIDENCE (R.I.), and lost to creation of BRISTOL (R.I.) when Rhode Island implemented the 1746 royal settlement of the boundary with Massachusetts. BRISTOL still included part of present Rhode Island. (Arnold, 2:157; R. I. Recs., 5:207-209)

 

18 Feb 1830

Boundary between BRISTOL and NORFOLK was clarified when line between towns of Attleborough and Wrentham was clarified [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1830, ch. 48/p. 319)

 

09 Apr 1836

 

01 Mar 1862

BRISTOL gained from NEWPORT (R.I.) and lost to PROVIDENCE (R.I.) when Massachusetts and Rhode Island implemented the U. S. Supreme Court settlement (31 December 1861) of their boundary to the Atlantic Ocean; BRISTOL eliminated from Rhode Island. (Bayles, Providence, 1:29; R.I. Acts 1861, ch. 379/pp. 4-6; Ullman, 83-84; Van Zandt, 68)

 

01 Jun 1867

 

Massachusetts Atlas of Historical County Boundaries, John H. Long, Editor and Historical Compiler; Peggy Tuck Sinko, Associate Editor; Douglas Knox, Book Digitizing Director; Emily Kelley, Research Associate; Laura Rico-Beck, GIS Specialist and Digital Compiler; Peter Siczewicz, ArcIMS Interactive Map Designer; Robert Will, Cartographic Assistant.  Copyright The Newberry Library 2009