North America -- United States of America -- Commonwealth of Massachusetts -- Suffolk County
Suffolk County
10 May 1643
SUFFOLK created as one of four original counties in Massachusetts; SUFFOLK included territory in the northeast corner of present Rhode Island.(Mass. Recs., 2:38)
08 Jul 1663
SUFFOLK lost to Rhode Island Colony when King Charles II granted Rhode Island a charter as a self-governing corporate colony and defined its boundaries; SUFFOLK eliminated from Rhode Island. (Bowen, Disputes, 33; Swindler, 8:368)
May 1664
SUFFOLK lost to New Plymouth Colony when a joint commission from Massachusetts and Plymouth demarcated their mutual boundary ("Old Colony Line"). (Bradford, 427 n.)
27 Feb 1665
[27 February 1664/1665] SUFFOLK gained from Rhode Island Colony when royal commissioners set the provincial boundaries of Massachusetts, New Plymouth, and Rhode Island along the Blackstone River and the east side of Narragansett Bay, pending a conclusive royal decision. (Arnold, 1:315)
15 Mar 1690
[15 March 1689/1690] SUFFOLK gained non-county area in Connecticut when Massachusetts created the town of Woodstock. Woodstock lay almost entirely within present Connecticut, the result of uncertain geographical knowledge and disagreement over the line between the two colonies. (Bowen, Disputes, 53-58; Bowen, Woodstock, 1:31)
07 Oct 1691
SUFFOLK continued under the new Massachusetts Bay provincial charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II [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)
10 Jul 1731
SUFFOLK lost to creation of WORCESTER; SUFFOLK eliminated from Connecticut. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 2, ch. 8 [1730-1731], sec. 1/p. 584)
17 Feb 1747
[17 February 1746/1747] SUFFOLK lost to PROVIDENCE (R.I.) when Rhode Island implemented the 1746 royal settlement of the boundary with Massachusetts; SUFFOLK eliminated from Rhode Island. (Arnold, 2:157; R. I. Recs., 5:207-209)
20 Nov 1770
SUFFOLK lost small area to PLYMOUTH when town of Bridgewater gained from town of Stoughton to accommodate local property owners [location unknown, not mapped]. (Mass. Col. Acts, vol. 5, ch. 15 [1770-1771], sec. 1/p. 116)
03 Mar 1792
Boundary between SUFFOLK and MIDDLESEX was redefined in part when the boundary between towns of Medway and Sherburne was redefined [no change]. (Mass. Acts 1792, ch. 23, sec. 1/p. 155)
20 Jun 1793
SUFFOLK lost to creation of NORFOLK. (Mass. Acts 1793, ch. 43, sec. 1/p. 272 and ch. 9, sec. 1/p. 314)
18 Jun 1803
SUFFOLK lost towns of Hingham and Hull to PLYMOUTH. (Mass. Acts 1803, ch. 14, sec. 1/p. 246)
06 Mar 1804
SUFFOLK gained from NORFOLK when Boston gained from Dorchester.(Mass. Acts 1804, ch. 45, sec. 1/p. 412)
22 Feb 1825
Boundary between SUFFOLK and NORFOLK was adjusted when the line between Boston and Brookline was adjusted [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1825_pt. for location].(Mass. Acts 1825, ch. 90/p. 73)
25 Mar 1834
SUFFOLK gained from NORFOLK when Boston gained Thompson Island from Dorchester. (Mass. Acts 1834, ch. 102/p. 129)
16 Mar 1836
Boundary between SUFFOLK and NORFOLK was redefined when line between Boston and Roxbury was redefined [not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1836, ch. 37/p. 681)
19 Apr 1837
Boundary between SUFFOLK and NORFOLK was adjusted slightly when line through water between Roxbury and Boston was adjusted [not mapped].(Mass. Acts 1837, ch. 202, sec. 1/p. 222)
22 Feb 1841
SUFFOLK lost to ESSEX when town of Saugus gained from town of Chelsea.(Mass. Acts 1841, ch. 30, sec. 1/p. 350)03 May 1850
Boundary between SUFFOLK and NORFOLK was adjusted when line through water between Boston and Roxbury was adjusted [not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1850, ch. 281, sec. 1/p. 460)
21 May 1855
SUFFOLK gained small area from NORFOLK when Boston gained from Dorchester [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1855_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1855, ch. 468, sec. 1/p. 907)
03 Apr 1860
Boundary between SUFFOLK and NORFOLK was adjusted slightly when line along streets between Boston and Roxbury was shifted to sides of streets from centerlines [not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1860, ch. 172, sec. 1/p. 138)
06 Jan 1868
SUFFOLK gained from NORFOLK when Boston gained all of Roxbury. (Mass. Acts 1867, ch. 359, sec. 1/p. 754)
03 Jan 1870
SUFFOLK gained from NORFOLK when Boston gained all of Dorchester.(Mass. Acts 1869, ch. 349, sec. 1/p. 646)
02 Apr 1870
Boundary between SUFFOLK and NORFOLK was adjusted slightly when line along streets between Boston and West Roxbury was shifted from one side to the other [not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1870, ch. 146, sec. 1/pp. 21, 95)
18 Jun 1870
SUFFOLK gained small area from NORFOLK when Boston gained from Brookline [not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1870, ch. 374, sec. 1/p. 290)
12 Apr 1872
SUFFOLK gained small area from NORFOLK when Boston gained Mt. Hope Cemetery from town of West Roxbury [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1872_pt. for location].(Mass. Acts 1872, ch. 197, sec. 1/p. 143)
27 Apr 1872
SUFFOLK exchanged small areas with NORFOLK when Boston exchanged with Brookline [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1872_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1872, ch. 267, sec. 1/p. 210)
05 Jan 1874
SUFFOLK gained from MIDDLESEX and NORFOLK when Boston gained all of Brighton, Charlestown, and West Roxbury. (Mass. Acts 1873, ch. 286, sec. 1/p. 716, ch. 303, sec. 1/p. 747, and ch. 314, sec. 1/p. 810)
08 May 1874
SUFFOLK gained small area from NORFOLK when Boston gained from Brookline. (Mass. Acts 1874, ch. 220, sec. 1/p. 143)
29 May 1874
Boundary between SUFFOLK and MIDDLESEX was adjusted when line between Boston and Newton was adjusted [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1874_pt. for location].(Mass. Acts 1874, ch. 277, sec. 1/p. 189)
01 Jul 1875
SUFFOLK lost small area to MIDDLESEX when Newton gained from Boston [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1875_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1875, ch. 184, sec. 1/p. 773)
27 May 1890
Boundary between SUFFOLK and NORFOLK was adjusted when line between Boston and Brookline was adjusted [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1890_pt. for location].(Mass. Acts 1890, ch. 339, sec. 1/p. 299)
04 May 1891
Boundary between SUFFOLK and MIDDLESEX was adjusted when line between Boston and Somerville was adjusted [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1891_pt. for location].(Mass. Acts 1891, ch. 294, sec. 1/p. 856)
13 Apr 1894
Boundary between SUFFOLK and NORFOLK was adjusted slightly when line between northern Brookline and Boston was adjusted [not mapped]. (Mass. Acts 1894, ch. 242, sec. 1/p. 219)
29 Mar 1898
Boundary between SUFFOLK and MIDDLESEX was adjusted when line through the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge was adjusted [not mapped], and line between Boston and Newton was adjusted [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1898_pt. for location]. (Mass. Acts 1898, ch. 242, sec. 1/p. 178 and ch. 243/p. 179)
01 Apr 1898
Boundary between SUFFOLK and NORFOLK was adjusted when line between Boston and Hyde Park was adjusted [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1898_pt. for location].(Mass. Acts 1898, ch. 251, sec. 1/p. 185)
13 May 1898
Boundary between SUFFOLK and MIDDLESEX was adjusted when line between Boston and Newton was adjusted [change too small to display on interactive map; shapefile users see small_changes 1898_pt. for location].(Mass. Acts 1898, ch. 431, sec. 1/p. 376)
29 Mar 1910
Boundary between SUFFOLK and MIDDLESEX was adjusted when line in the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge was adjusted [not mapped].(Mass. Acts 1910, ch. 312, sec. 1/p. 239)
01 Jan 1912
SUFFOLK gained from NORFOLK when Boston gained all of Hyde Park.(Mass. Acts 1911, ch. 469, sec. 1/p. 450 and ch. 583, sec. 1/p. 600)
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