Dedham is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest by Westwood, and on the southeast by Canton. The town was first settled by European colonists in 1635.
The history of Dedham, Massachusetts, from 1800 to 1999 saw tremendous growth and change come to the town. Having been named Dedham shiretown of the newly formed Norfolk County in 1793, the town got an influx of new residents and visitors. This growth was aided by new turnpikes and railroads. In the 19th century many former farms would become businesses and homes for those who commuted into Boston. The population of the town grew by more than 10 times, and included Horace Mann, Louis Brandeis, and Henry Bradford Endicott.
Dedham, Massachusetts, has been featured on both television and film screens.
Francis Ball Fay was a merchant, American politician, and philanthropist. He served as U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.
The Norfolk County Courthouse is a National Historic Landmark at 650 High Street in Dedham, Massachusetts. It currently houses the Norfolk County Superior Court. It is significant as a well-preserved Greek Revival courthouse of the 1820s, and as the site a century later of the famous Sacco-Vanzetti trial. The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1972, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Waldo Colburn was an American lawyer, jurist and politician from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Colburn was originally a member of the Whig party and after that party dissolved he became a Democrat. He was a descendant of Nathaniel Colburn, a selectman and signer of the Dedham Covenant.
Augustus Bradford Endicott was a Massachusetts state legislator and sheriff of Norfolk County.
Theron Metcalf was an American attorney and politician from Massachusetts. He was a New England jurist and served as an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Clifford Holmes Marshall was an American politician who served as a State Representative and Sheriff of Norfolk County, Massachusetts.
Ralph Wheelock (1600–1683) was an English Puritan minister, American colonial public official, and educator. He is known for having been the first public school teacher in America.
St. Mary of the Assumption Church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church in Dedham, Massachusetts, in the Archdiocese of Boston.
John Warren Thomas was a shoemaker, and politician who twice served as the Sheriff of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, first for one year, from 1852 to 1853, and again for 21 years, from 1857 to 1878.
Chauncey C. Churchill was treasurer of Norfolk County, Massachusetts for 34 years and an Overseer of the House of Corrections. He was born in West Fairlee, Vermont as the son of William L. and Eliza Lamphear Churchill. He moved to Sudbury, Massachusetts before relocating again to Dedham, where he took a job at the Merchant Woolen Company's mill on Mother Brook.
The Dedham Historical Society and Museum is a historical society dedicated to preserve and establish a greater sense of appreciation for the history of Dedham, Massachusetts. It consists of a museum and an archive. As of 2002, it had nearly 1,000 members.
The history of St. Mary's Church in Dedham, Massachusetts begins with the first mass said in Dedham, Massachusetts in 1843 and runs to the present day.
John Endicott was an American politician from Dedham, Massachusetts.
Patrick O'Beirne was an Irish-born priest who ministered in the Archdiocese of Boston.
Rev. John P. Brennan was the first American Catholic priest to declare bankruptcy.
The Samuel Dexter House is a historic house at 699 High Street, Dedham, Massachusetts. It was built ca 1762 by Samuel Dexter, a member of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. Dexter purchased the property on which the house stands on March 18, 1761. He moved to Woodstock, Connecticut c. 1775.
Nathaniel Colburn (1611-1692) was an early settler and selectman in Dedham, Massachusetts.
