Avon, Massachusetts

Avon is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. First settled by Europeans in 1700, it was originally known as East Stoughton and was formerly a part of Stoughton. Because many people in East Stoughton did not approve of how that section of town was treated, they voted to separate, to form their own town. Since East Stoughton did not have the required amount of land to form a town, a small piece of land was acquired from Holbrook. Avon, which was named for the River Avon in England, was officially incorporated in 1888. The town’s seal includes a bust of William Shakespeare, who was from Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.6 square miles, of which 4.4 square miles is land and 0.2 square miles is water. Avon is bordered by Brockton on the south, Stoughton on the west, Randolph on the northeast and Holbrook on the east. Avon is 17 miles south of Boston, 27 miles northeast of Providence, Rhode Island and 211 miles from New York City.

Avon is governed by a three-person Board of Selectmen, which appoints a Town Administrator to carry out the day-to-day executive functions of the Board. The legislative side of the Town is governed by an Open Town Meeting. The town is served by the Brockton Area Transit Authority and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), which provide public transit service to Brockton and Boston.