Located in the heart of southeastern Massachusetts, Taunton has witnessed the full scope of American history for more than three and a half centuries. IN this engaging book, William F. Hanna vividly describes the life of the city and its people from the time of settlement in the 1630s down to our own day. Although this is the first full-length treatment of Taunton's history in more than a century, within these pages are people who have never before appeared in any history of the city. For the first time, Taunton's rich ethnic history is explored, as is the vital role that the city's women have played throughout its past. A History of Taunton, Massachusetts presents more than three hundred years of local heroes, villains, and everday people, all with a story to tell.

King Philip's War--one of America's first and costliest wars--began in 1675 as an Indian raid on several farms in Plymouth Colony, but quickly escalated into a full-scale war engulfing all of southern New England. At once an in-depth history of this pivotal war and a guide to the historical sites where the ambushes, raids, and battles took place, King Philip's War expands our understanding of American history and provides insight into the nature of colonial and ethnic wars in general. Through a careful reconstruction of events, first-person accounts, period illustrations, and maps, and by providing information on the exact locations of more than fifty battles, King Philip's War is useful as well as informative. Students of history, colonial war buffs, those interested in Native American history, and anyone who is curious about how this war affected a particular New England town, will find important insights into one of the most seminal events to shape the American mind and continent.