Dartmouth, MA

Dartmouth, town (township), Bristol county, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies along Buzzards Bay, adjacent to New Bedford. The site, part of a land purchase made by William Bradford and Captain Myles Standish from the Wampanoag Indian chief Massasoit, was settled by Quakers in the 1650s. It was incorporated in 1664 and named Dartmouth, England. Nearly destroyed during the conflict between Native Americans and white settlers known as King Philip’s War (1675–76), Dartmouth was rebuilt and prospered with the whaling and shipbuilding industries at New Bedford (then Bedford Village and part of Dartmouth until separately incorporated in 1787).
Dartmouth’s present economy is based on tourism, other service-related activities, and light manufacturing. It is the site of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (1895). The township includes the resort villages of North Dartmouth and South Dartmouth, as well as the communities of Bliss Corner and Smith Mills. Demarest Lloyd State Park faces Buzzards Bay. Area 62 square miles (161 square km). Pop. (2000) 30,666; (2010) 34,032.