WEST BRIDGEWATER

town (township), Plymouth county, eastern Massachusetts, approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Boston. The area was deeded by Massasoit, a Wampanoag Indian chief and sachem (intertribal leader) of all Wampanoags, to six people in trust for 56 proprietors of Duxbury plantation for the price of knives, hatchets, hoes, coats, and cotton. It was settled by colonists in 1656. Some mills were established along its rivers in the 19th century. West Bridgewater's economy, long focused on agriculture, is now based on retail trade and light manufacturing. It was administratively separated from Bridgewater in 1822. Area 16 square miles (41 square km). Pop. (1990) 6,389; (1996 est.) 6,647.