FOXBOROUGH (Town Hall) - Foxboro MA - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

FOXBOROUGH, 2 m. (town, alt. 296, pop. 5834, sett. 1704, incorp. 1778), was named for Charles James Fox, British champion of the American Colonies. In 1781 the Foxborough Foundry was established for casting cannon and cannon balls for the Continental Army. As a result of its rapid industrialization, the town in 1798 passed a pioneer eight-hour-day law for heavy industry providing '66 cents for eight hours' work and $1.33 for eight hours' work of a man and a team sufficient to carry a ton weight.'

It was the straw bonnet industry, however, which built up the town. Women and children braided and wove straw to help the finances. A certain Mrs. Cornelius Metcalf conceived the ingenious idea of adopting orphan children and putting them to work in the preparation of straw - a profitable combination of baby-farm, child labor and sweatshop. After the decline of the straw bonnet industry, the production of indicating, recording, and controlling instruments gained importance.

On near-by Sunset Lake is the summer home of Bruce Barton, author of 'The Man Nobody Knows.'

American-Guide-Series - Massachusetts: a Guide to its Places and People, p.612

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Eh what can you say. A plain old town hall, built in 2016. I spent the last 10 years of my working life in Foxboro. Don't think any child labor was used in the making of the building. More interesting is the water reservoir built 1858 by the Union Straw Works that is located right next to the Town Hall. (In Gallery).

Book: Massachusetts Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 612 Year Originally Published: 1937

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