In 1634, English settlers first arrived in the territory that is now Attleboro. The deed that granted them the land was written by Native American
Wamsutta. The land. It included the towns of
Cumberland, Rhode Island, until 1747 and
North Attleborough, Massachusetts, until 1887. In 1643, Attleboro was part of the adjacent town of Rehoboth until it was separately incorporated as a town in 1694. In 1697 in response to an unwanted amount of disturbances, mainly from nearby tribes of natives, the town had a meeting and ended up deciding that selectmen would keep tabs on strangers and foreigners as well as banning certain ones from entering the town. The town was reincorporated in 1914 as the City of Attleboro, with the "-ugh" removed from the name, although North Attleborough kept it. In the 1600's many of the people who settled in this area were from Attleborough, England, after which the city is named. During the Native American insurgency in the colonial era, Nathaniel Woodcock, the son of an Attleborough resident, was murdered, and his head was placed on a pole in his father's front yard. His father's house is now a historical site. It is rumored that
George Washington once passed through Attleborough and stayed near the Woodcock Garrison House at the Hatch Tavern, where he exchanged a shoe buckle with Israel Hatch, a revolutionary soldier and the new owner of the Garrison House. The city became known for jewelry manufacturing in 1913, particularly because of the
L.G. Balfour Company. That company has since moved out of the city, and the site of the former plant has been converted into a riverfront park. Attleboro was once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World", and jewelry manufacturing firms continue to operate there. One such is the Guyot Brothers Company, which was started in 1904. General Findings, M.S. Company, James A. Murphy Co., Garlan Chain, Leach & Garner, and Masters of Design are jewelry manufacturing companies still in operation.
Cancer cluster In late 2003,
The Sun Chronicle reported that a state investigation had been launched into the deaths of three women in the city from
glioblastoma. In 2007, the State of Massachusetts issued a report concluding that although the diagnosis rate for brain and central nervous system (CNS) cancers was higher than expected when compared to statewide data, the increase was determined not to be statistically significant. Scorecard,
Environmental Defense's online database of polluters, lists seven facilities contributing to cancer hazards in Attleboro, including Engineered Materials Solutions Inc., the worst offender in Massachusetts.
Shpack Landfill contamination incident In 2002, the Massachusetts Public Health Department was asked to evaluate the former
Shpack Landfill, on the border of Norton and Attleboro, for its cancer risks. The investigation continued at least through 2004. The informal landfill included
uranium fuel rods, heavy metals, and
volatile organic compounds. ==Geography==