The City of Brockton is a major urban community south of Boston with a rich
industrial history. Brockton was the shoe manufacturing center of the
region from the late 18th century through the 1950′s. In the Civil War, it
was claimed that half of the Union Army wore boots made in Brockton and at
the height of the shoe industry in 1929, more than 30,000 people were
employed by shoe manufacturers in a city which dominated the world footwear
market until after World War II.
The city was the site of pioneering in electrical power in 1883 when the
third electric power station in the country was opened under the
supervision of Thomas Edison, and in 1884 when Edison returned to witness
the opening of the City Theater, the first in the world to be lighted from
a central power station. The city was also the site of the first fire
station to be electrically operated.
The community prides itself on its diversity; of populations, of interests
and of facilities. Brockton hosts the Fuller Museum of Art, felt by
residents to be one of the finest small museums in the country, as well as
the Brockton Historical Society Complex with museums devoted to shoes, fire
fighting artifacts and Thomas Edison. Residents take special pride in
their sports heroes, who include world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky
Marciano and middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler. William H.
McGunnigle, less well-known but of great importance, was a Brockton
resident credited with inventing the first baseball glove.
industrial history. Brockton was the shoe manufacturing center of the
region from the late 18th century through the 1950′s. In the Civil War, it
was claimed that half of the Union Army wore boots made in Brockton and at
the height of the shoe industry in 1929, more than 30,000 people were
employed by shoe manufacturers in a city which dominated the world footwear
market until after World War II.
The city was the site of pioneering in electrical power in 1883 when the
third electric power station in the country was opened under the
supervision of Thomas Edison, and in 1884 when Edison returned to witness
the opening of the City Theater, the first in the world to be lighted from
a central power station. The city was also the site of the first fire
station to be electrically operated.
The community prides itself on its diversity; of populations, of interests
and of facilities. Brockton hosts the Fuller Museum of Art, felt by
residents to be one of the finest small museums in the country, as well as
the Brockton Historical Society Complex with museums devoted to shoes, fire
fighting artifacts and Thomas Edison. Residents take special pride in
their sports heroes, who include world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky
Marciano and middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler. William H.
McGunnigle, less well-known but of great importance, was a Brockton
resident credited with inventing the first baseball glove.
