What is it like to live in Norton?

While resident John Freeman considers it a stretch to call Norton rural, he said he likes living in “the country.’’

Mary Lyon Hall at Wheaton College. debee tlumacki for the boston globe

February 14, 2017

2 minutes to read

The fact that John Freeman lives on Freeman Street in Norton is not a coincidence: Freeman estimates that his family goes back at least five generations in this Southeastern Massachusetts town.

Freeman, 72, spent the first 10 years of his life in a house on West Main Street “built out of Hurricane of ’38 lumber,’’ he said. His family then moved to Freeman Street, where the road could get a little tricky to travel. “When the mud got bad, they put up a ‘Pass at your own risk’ sign,’’ Freeman recalled.

Freeman and his wife, “Dottie,’’ married in 1970 and built a house on Freeman Street. About 10 years ago, they moved into his childhood home, out of which Freeman operates his garage.

Freeman is nostalgic for the Norton of his youth. He remembers when the town celebrated its 250th anniversary in 1961 and his grandfather sold bulls and cows right in town. He fondly reminisces about the toolmakers, machinists, welders, and farmers he knew growing up, and he appreciates the investments they made in the community over the long haul.

He acknowledges that much has changed in his lifetime — Norton’s population is flirting with 20,000 — and he’s concerned about affordability for other people seeking to move here. He has opposed Proposition 2½ tax overrides. Freeman is thankful that his father had the foresight to hang onto the family’s land. One of his sons lives on the street, and the other resides in Freeman’s late grandmother’s house in town.

While he considers it a stretch to call Norton rural, Freeman said he likes living in “the country.’’

BY THE NUMBERS

154

The number of years Wheaton College accepted only women. The college was founded in Norton in 1834 and opened enrollment to male students in 1988

72
The par of the 7,241-yard TPC Boston Golf Course, originally designed by famed golfer Arnold Palmer, which hosts a major professional golf tournament event every Labor Day Weekend.

125
The number of animals under care at Winslow Farm, a nonprofit animal sanctuary in town, including goats, donkeys, pigs, miniature horses, alpacas, llamas, emus, and peacocks.

PROS & CONS

Pro
Recently renovated high school
A renovation of Norton High School, completed two years ago, included an addition containing a new cafeteria and updated science labs. The town funded $13 million of the $32 million project; the Massachusetts School Building Authority is covering the rest.

Con

No commuter rail
There is no commuter rail station town; residents looking to ride into Boston or Providence must travel to a nearby town, such as Mansfield.